December 15, 2008
Starting Over - UPDATED
Leg three of the Volvo Ocean Race began this past Saturday. Cochin, India to Singapore. The yacht Hold the Mayo was off to a pretty good start. Passing the southern tip of Sri Lanka I was in the 4,500's and moving up through the fleet steadily. I was in a good wind line and moving toward even more favorable conditions.
They announced at about 2:00 this afternoon that they were starting over.
There was some ambiguous language in the sailing instructions that could be read as not requiring boats to leave the island of Sri Lanka to port. There were a number of boats that went above Sri Lanka and thus gained signifcant advantage.
The committee running the game couldn't just punish this group of boats because they did not explicitly exclude that course in the instructions.
Likewise they could not just let things continue as they were because that would not have been fair to those who followed the intent of the instructions.
Here is the language in question:
I certanly read this as you have to go to the south of Sri Lanka, though going above the island is not expressly forbidden.
There will be a restart off the southern tip of Sri Lanka tomorrow morning at 5:00 am EST (11:00 - GMT + 1. The official time zone of the race.).
Leave the island of Sri Lanka to port.
Sail through the Pulau We gate. The gate is a line true north of position 05°50.000N - 095°20.000E, leaving the island, Palau We, to starboard.
Finish in Singapore. The mark will be set @ 01°15.830N - 103°36.010E
I'll be on autopilot for an hour in the morning putting me at a disadvantage against those for whom the start is during waking hours. Every place I am behind 4,500 I'm going to be that much more aggravated, and I will have that much less time to catch up.
I'm thinking right now that it's a good thing you get to throw out your three worst scores.
UPDATE: Woke up this morning and found myself in 22,669th place. I am not happy.
They announced at about 2:00 this afternoon that they were starting over.
There was some ambiguous language in the sailing instructions that could be read as not requiring boats to leave the island of Sri Lanka to port. There were a number of boats that went above Sri Lanka and thus gained signifcant advantage.
The committee running the game couldn't just punish this group of boats because they did not explicitly exclude that course in the instructions.
Likewise they could not just let things continue as they were because that would not have been fair to those who followed the intent of the instructions.
Here is the language in question:
Departing Kochi in mid-December, the fleet will first have to negotiate the southern tip of both India and Sri Lanka. But this leg could be pretty straight-forward, the routing chart shows the north-east Trade Winds just about blowing down to the great circle route from Sri Lanka to the Malacca Straits and on to Singapore. But it won’t be that comfortable; the course puts the average wind a little wider than close hauled on port tack. At least there should be steady breeze.
I certanly read this as you have to go to the south of Sri Lanka, though going above the island is not expressly forbidden.
There will be a restart off the southern tip of Sri Lanka tomorrow morning at 5:00 am EST (11:00 - GMT + 1. The official time zone of the race.).
We feel that the restart is the best choice out of the options available to us for these reasons:
We greatly regret the fact that the sailors that took the northerly route or are in leading positions down south will feel disappointed, and we feel very bad about this. We are extremely sorry but we have thoroughly discussed this solution with all officials, virtual and real ones, and we feel this is the fairest way to redress the situation for the entire player fleet.
I am counted amoung the dissapointed though I hae to concede it is a fair decision and one I am glad I didn't have to make. I will also give them credit for learning a leasson. Gone are the flower descriptions of the anticipatd race and in its place explicit clear instruction:The restart will reinstate the level playing field for every player
The majority (98,100) of the players are already near the restarting point and therefore the impact will be as minimal as possible under the circumstances.
The majority (98,100) of the players are already near the restarting point and therefore the impact will be as minimal as possible under the circumstances.
We greatly regret the fact that the sailors that took the northerly route or are in leading positions down south will feel disappointed, and we feel very bad about this. We are extremely sorry but we have thoroughly discussed this solution with all officials, virtual and real ones, and we feel this is the fairest way to redress the situation for the entire player fleet.
RESTART PROCEDURE
All boats will be teleported to the start point off the southern end of Sri Lanka.
The restart will happen at 11:00 (GMT +1) on 16 December 2008.
The starting position will be 05°600N - 80°600E.
All boats will be sailed automatically until you can log in.
The restart will happen at 11:00 (GMT +1) on 16 December 2008.
The starting position will be 05°600N - 80°600E.
All boats will be sailed automatically until you can log in.
THE COURSE
Starting from the pack boats shall:
Leave the island of Sri Lanka to port.
Sail through the Pulau We gate. The gate is a line true north of position 05°50.000N - 095°20.000E, leaving the island, Palau We, to starboard.
Finish in Singapore. The mark will be set @ 01°15.830N - 103°36.010E
I'm thinking right now that it's a good thing you get to throw out your three worst scores.
UPDATE: Woke up this morning and found myself in 22,669th place. I am not happy.
Posted by: Stephen Macklin at 09:31 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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