My first reaction every morning, these days, and mostly every hour thereafter. After a difficult start from Puerto Sherry, with lots of sail breakages, the Qingdao, the yacht our daughter is on, is finally making good progress. All yachts have now entered the Doldrums corridor. The Qingdao still has over 3,000 nautical miles to sail before reaching Punta del Este in Uruguay, and are currently sailing at 5.6 knots. They are 77.5 nm behind the leading yacht, and are in fourth place - although it's all very close. Two of the yachts had to divert to Cabo Verde to drop off casualties for medical attention. One eye injury and one with abdominal pain. It makes you realise just how remote they are. It took about 3 days to get the injured/sick people to a place where they could be looked after properly. I just hope that both of them are being well tended to and are ok. Such a worry for their relatives at home.
They are doing great and they seem to be still moving in The Doldrums, so they haven't met the windless state it can sometimes be. Hope the sick and injured get help in a timely manner. It is remote indeed out there but not beyond help in an emergency. For a start, the other yachts would all rally round and help in a real emergency. It's the rule of the sea. Still following them online!
Anything could happen then to change the position they are in. The Doldrums sound frustratingly slow but there might be some wind if they get in the right stream…. What a great adventure…..she will be shattered at the end! A great photo to illustrate this post.
I just went to the website and explored the information on there. I bookmarked it and will try to periodically check in on both your daughter's ship and the ship that Jackie's friend Nick is on. What an amazing race!
@kjarn Yes they are! Not sure how that all pans out with the doldrums corridor, but we'll see as they all emerge from it. I think they all have motors on at present.
@tunia It's the slightly larger yacht on the left of this image. In red and yellow. It doesn't look to be in 4th position, but it's measured by distance from the end point and as they are travelling further west than many of the yachts, they are currently closer than those with a more eastern position.
Beautiful site plan. As a navigator, we hated all these technical innovations. It often happened that the shipowner turned on the position preview page and did not like the ship's speed or course. He couldn't understand that the ship had to avoid a strong storm or current and was not taking the shortest route. These people only care about money. But these are very useful sites for families of those at sea. I keep my fingers crossed for your daughter. Of course, the most important thing is participation, it's a lifelong adventure.
@haskar I can well believe that! We are loving it, although we don't always understand all the nuances, particularly the racing rules in the doldrums corridor. I think we'll learn something though, as they all emerge from it.
I would be checking in too! May all go well with your daughter and all the other participants, let there be some wind through The Doldrums and safe travels to the goal.
I just checked in on them and see that they are now in third place