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| Message How do you compensate for time lost by a yacht helping another vessel in an emergency, or taking a sick man to an unscheduled port ? Robin Hanford |
Response Thank you for your question Robin. The answers to your question have been given out on Race News during the course of the Race. When a yacht has to come out of the Race to go to the rescue of another, that yacht logs it's position, speed and direction etc and E-mails the report to the Challenge Business for the International E-mail Jury to calculate the time redress to be given at the end of the leg. This is because they have selflessly gone to the aid of another. If on the other hand a yacht diverts to take one of it's own to an unscheduled port, or slows to have them airlifted, then no redress is given as this is considered to be part and parcel of the Race. Indeed, as in Concert's case in leg two, there are penalties if a yacht breaks a mast and motor sails to the nearest landfall. The yachts all understand and agree to abide by these rules before the Race begins.
Robin Haynes
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| Message Do you carry your own water, or do you use a desalination unit to generate water ? If you use a desalination unit when do you use it ? All night, so you have water for the whole day ? What is the power source used to carry out this process ? Doug Morgan |
Response Thanks for such an interesting question Doug. Weight is a big issue on board the Challenge yachts as is the use of available power. A desalination unit is used to produce water. The generator is run to produce the power necessary to operate the unit, generally at night but if water is required for showers etc. it is run during the day aswell. The knack is to produce it and use it quickly, otherwise you end up carrying it.
Robin Haynes
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| Message I have been following the race round the world on the Internet and my Dad is taking me to see the race finish. Could you tell me what is the fastest speed of the boats in the race ? Thomas Jenner ( aged 6 ) |
Response Hello Thomas. Thank you very much for your question. It is lovely to hear from you and I hope you have enjoyed the Race. The answer to your question is that no-one really knows. Each crew at the end of the Race will say that they had the fastest speed, but no one has reported them. What is recorded is the best 24 hour run. On the last leg Concert recorded the highest mileage in a 24 hour period ( measured from midday to midday ) of 258 miles which is an average of just under 11 knots per hour. Which is VERY QUICK ! I hope you enjoy yourself in Southampton. See you there perhaps.
Robin Haynes
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| Message I've often wondered how the use of the Diesel Engine is regulated in an around the world race. What keeps a competitor from motor sailing in the middle of the Doldrums with no-one around to notice ? Is it just on the honesty policy or is every competitor given the same amount of fuel and no questions are asked ? Paul Duncan |
Response Each of the yachts in the BT Global Challenge have engines which are fitted with a shaft brake on the main drive shaft from the engine to the propellers which is only to be used having gained the authorisation of the Race Office e.g to motor sail having lost a mast or going to another yacht's aid; in which case the crew need to use the engines to control the yacht during the rendezvous. The engines can be run at other times to recharge the batteries for the yacht's electrical systems and the heating i.e during the Southern Ocean legs. Other than that the level of fuel on board is not strictly monitored.
Robin Haynes
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| Message What brands and types of electronic equipment do you use on the boats ? e.g GPS, Radar There have been reported equipment failures with the rigs. Have there been any problems with the electronic equipment ? Bevan Webber |
Response Thank you for asking these questions Bevan. There are two Magnavox MX 100 GPS units giving the yachts position to an accuracy of 100 metres. Other equipment consists of a Skanti 300 VHF and a Skanti TRP 8000 long range HF Radio. There are two Toshiba laptops and a printer stored in a special locker in the saloon. One computer allows the yachts to send fax/telex messages anywhere in the world via the Inmarsat Standard C system and the other uses PC Weatherfax software to generate weather system pictures and the navmaster electronic charting system. The Inmarsat Standard C is the primary form of communication with the yacht and a major safety feature. It contains a built in GPS which provides positional reporting to Race Headquarters four times a day. The second Southern Ocean leg from Sydney to Capetown was a severe test of man and machine. A series of knockdowns and huge waves, dumping hundreds of tonnes onto the yachts, took it's toll. Save the Children seemed to have suffered from the most electrical problems with every system on the boat being disrupted at one time or another, which left them " deaf and blind " for long periods. Electrical equipment tends not to like being force fed bread and potatoe mix washed down with condensation and refresh, when the yachts do submarine impressions or suffer a knockdown. This being said, most were repairable with copious amounts of TLC from the crews. These yachts are designed to cope with the rigours of the Southern Ocean and did just that.
Robin Haynes
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| Message Using the G.P.S system, how accurately can the position of the boats be plotted? Jeremy Hodierne |
Response GPS (the Global Positioning System) represents the state of the art in precise, continuous, world-wide satellite navigation. It is operated by the US Department of defence (DOD) and consists of 24 operational satellites. GPS provides two levels of service - a Standard Positioning Service(SPS) and a Precise Positioning Service(PPS). PPS is a highly accurate military positioning service which is not publicly available. The SPS is available to all GPS users and its accuracy is subject to deliberate degradation by a cryptographic technique known as Selective Availability (S/A). Without S/A the typical accuracy is found in the range of 15 to 30 meters, but with it, accuracy is limited to within 100 meters (95 percent probability) and 300 meters (99.99 percent probability). The Global Challenge yachts use SPS with S/A.
Maurice McQuitty - BT Global Challenge Development Team
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| Message How do the yachts communicate with Race Headquarters? Simon Fowles |
Response Each yacht is equipped with an antenna connected to an on board C-Sat transceiver. The transceiver has an integral GPS receiver which is constantly updated with the yachts location using the US military's global positioning system. On-board laptop computers are also used for two-way text messaging between yachts and RHQ to allow regular race reports to be filed and crew messages to be sent and received. All communications facilities between RHQ and the fleet are provided by BT's Race Control System. The system utilises the Inmarsat C Satellite Network for text messaging to and from the fleet and the Data Reporting protocol over the same network to provide location reporting and tracking facilities. RHQ is connected to an appropriate Land Earth Station (Goonhilly for the Atlantic Ocean region) by means of a high speed data network. The Land Earth Station communicates with each yacht using a network of Inmarsat satellites (four in all, one for each Ocean region) in geostationary orbit 22 500 miles above the equator. The yachts are pre-programmed to automatically send their location at six hourly intervals before they set sail, although the system allows RHQ operators to download a new reporting program at any time, thus increasing or decreasing the frequency of reporting. This option may be used during an emergency or as the fleet nears a port of call or other points of interest. The system also allows the yachts to be quizzed for their location at any time using Inmarsats Data Reporting protocol, either singly, in groups or as a fleet. Responses to these location requests are also automatic so the crew can get on with sailing the yacht without disturbance
Maurice McQuitty - BT Global Challenge Development Team
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