Tuesday October 29, 2013
Tim here, back doing updates whilst Diane is incommunicado. Hopefully Diane got a good night’s sleep, her last for 1,267 nautical miles in this first leg.
And… they’re off! Fifteen days of delay due to weather bombs. Fleet tracking is up and running! At 0919 they got started in about 12 knots of wind. Forecast has it building to 20 knots out of the north west with 6 to 7 meter seas (20 to 23ft).
This morning, the MiniTransatweb server is very slow – lots of traffic watching the start. There is a web page of instructions for following the first hour of the race (in english). Looking forward to watching the fleet on the Raz de Sien web cam.
The weather briefing notes: the westerly flow generated by the very deep depression that swept up the English Channel during the weekend is fading quickly. A ridge of high pressure is gradually taking over the Bay of Biscay and is expected to bring moderating north westerly wind patterns. But the sea will remain high for 48 hours. [Wind down: yeah! A day and a half of big seas: boo! -th]
The weather briefing goes on to note: The main obstacle on the way to Lanzarote [Canary Islands], is in the vicinity of Cape Finisterre, as [the fleet’s] arrival there may coincide with a strengthening in the wind of up to 30 knots. Conditions that will be far from comfortable, but that should not be an insurmountable obstacle for the fleet of Minis. Although the crossing of the Bay of Biscay should be completed safely, the passage around Cape Finisterre could be tricky for the [tail end of the fleet]. However, it is by far the best conditions for the past two weeks.
Fair Winds and God Speed Diane!
October 29th, 2013 at 3:58 pm
QUESTION:
In the fleet tracking…how do I find Diane?
I see the list of names on the right…but no REID…???
(yes, I scrolled all the way down).
Also, it looks like 2 boats have retired already….is that right?
October 29th, 2013 at 7:39 pm
When you open up the file at the top on the right it shows proto & series click on series and that brings up the list of series participants. Scroll down & find Diane click on her name it changes to red and her location is now shown in red
Good Luck
October 29th, 2013 at 9:07 pm
Go Diane! To Dave Hamburger, If you mouse over the boats you can find her, not last and near the center, just enlarge the map and keep looking she is near Eric Jeegou and Arnaud Genttien.
October 29th, 2013 at 10:33 pm
Hi Dave. At the top of the list you have to click on “series”. The Protos seem to populate first. 4 boats have retired and others have problems.
October 30th, 2013 at 2:09 am
Could there be something wrong with Diane’s speed tracker? It seems to consistently show her at a slower speed that boats right around her, yet she is holding her position?
With the delayed start, will the departure date from the Canaries for Guataloupe be postponed? If so, when will be know the departure date so can guestimate a ETA at Pointe de Pietre?
October 30th, 2013 at 5:42 pm
Maggie, expect it is GPS satellite based speed calculations. Prior to the fleet’s recently scheduled pit-stop in Porto de Sada, the plan was to start from the Canaries as originally scheduled. At this point, I doubt that solution is practical. When the Mini Transat reports any additional information, I’ll get it posted.