My first race sailing a VO70 - one more mark to round
Well, I’ve managed to sail my way up to 315th place after starting over 8 hours late. Its always easier from behind, but I only slipped back once during the day - when I forgot to come back in from gardening in time to change course for Mark No3. That lost me 9 places and about 10 minutes, I reckon.
The rest of the race looks like being a bit of a procession (100 boats have already finished), but I’m trying to gain another place by anticipating a wind shift that has been forecast.
My biggest problem is that the last turning mark is close to the shore. Setting up a delayed command for three hours from now is too risky - I’m likely either to turn too early and miss the mark, or carry on too far and run aground. There’s nothing for it - I’ll have to set the alarm for 01:20 and take the helm. Now how many online games persuade their players to do that kind of thing?
Rumour has it that more than one of the first 50 boats in this race was being sailed by someone who also sails the real thing. I wouldn’t be surprised. Several of them are genuinely exhausted, having taken sleep in short bursts just like real singlehanded blue water helmsmen.
It’s a bit like running in the London Marathon - a huge bunch of people trying hard but doing it for fun, and a small cadre of top class competitors taking it really seriously.
I’m hooked. I’ve just registered for the next race - a 6,000-mile haul from Alicante to Cape Town. This time, I plan to start on time, but wifie will be back at home so I’ll have less time to play. A double challenge.
PS. I couldn’t find an alarm clock, so I did my best to set a delayed command that would take me round the mark during the night. This game shows you actual forecasts at three-hour intervals, but changes the wind continuously (presumably by creating smooth transitions between the forecasts) - I ended up having travelled just a tiny bit further than I had estimated.
I turned before I hit the main coast, but my new course ran me aground on a peninsula to the west of my position, in the company of several other boats. I had overtaken several others during the night, but I was still 315th. With a straight reach to the finish after I’d refloated, there would be nothing new or exciting left, so I retired, happy to have learned a lot and made some new friends (there is a chat line open throughout the race, just like the radio channel on a real boat).
Watch this space for reports on the Alicante to Cape Town race starting in five days’ time.
