View Poll Results: Are you joining the fleet for SHTP 2010?

Voters
22. You may not vote on this poll
  • "1" Long shot - 2012 is more likely.

    3 13.64%
  • "2" Possibility - I'm thinking about it.

    6 27.27%
  • "3" Likely - I'm actively preparing.

    6 27.27%
  • "4" Serious - I'm well on my way.

    4 18.18%
  • "5" Count me in - I'm going.

    3 13.64%
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Thread: SHTP Interest Poll

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Posts
    3,688

    Default SHTP Interest Poll

    Feel free to "out" yourselves if you're willing - it's always fun to see who's getting ready for the race. Start some threads about issues you're facing and ways you've resolved them - that's what this SHTP sub-board is all about.

    So here we go - like last time, a scale of 1 to 5 . . .

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Fresno, Boat in Mexico until Spring
    Posts
    37

    Default SHTP Poll

    Seabird is a 3-likely but could upgrade in near future. Amnesia is deadly!
    Lou

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Posts
    166

    Default

    I was thinking about a grand strategy for 2010 but have returned to more realistic thinking. I'm a definite 1.

    Bill Merrick

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Posts
    23

    Default

    Hesperus is a 2.5 or so at this point. I am hoping to go, but since the I'm 3000 miles from the boat, I'm not actively preparing. Regarding a shore station for comm duties, I believe that it is illegal for a land station to transmit on the marine frequencies, thus the ships at sea would have to check in on the Ham frequencies, thus requiring a ham license. I would be in favor or using a shore station for com duties (largely because of the work required). But it might be a good idea to relax the check in requirements if such is used. When I delivered Hesperus back to the mainland in '07 (after the '06 race), a 26 day passage (as I recall), there were perhaps 4 or 5 days when propagation was poor and no one could report to the Pacific Seafarers net. (One day three boats, of the 8 or 10 on the list, were able to report: Hesperus and two others via Hesperus. The mighty Hesperus, 24 feet long, had the strongest radio on the ocean. And still I couldn't get my report in on a significant number of days.) (I'm not braging there, I purchased the radio from HF Offshore and installed it as they recommended. They know their stuff, for any one who is thinking about installing an SSB.)

    Any way, if a shore station is to be used, relaxing the check in requirements might be a good call.

    Paul Woodward
    s/v Hesperus

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    37.205346,-121.963398
    Posts
    788

    Default SHore station check in - legality

    The FCC issues many types of licenses for Marine and Commercial operation. A fixed base license is available. Note that many YC's have same, hence in Transpac and Pac CUp races boats check in on SSB routinely at the 100 miles to go mark.

    Is the club willing to try a no risk experiment ? If so I am willing to attempt to organize the shore stations as I have the contacts.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Anaheim CA
    Posts
    7

    Default I'd like to go but...

    Right now Prankster is about 1.5. I would prefer to go singlehanded rather than doublehanded in the PacCup but SSS has scheduled its race too early in the year and they seem to be still hung up on SSB radios. PacCup is letting the doublehanders go with sat phones.
    Your southern cousins at PSSA have figured out how to do checkins the easy, reliable way. All it takes is one person ashore with a telephone line. Twice a day each boat uses its sat phone to call the shore based phone and talk to the person there. The competitor states his Lat-Lon and the shore person relays any emergency info if necessary. Then twice a day the shore person makes a recording of everyone’s position on the answering machine so competitors can call in again and hear everyone’s position. A variation on the answering machine is to send reports (for free) on the Iridium E-mail system. This is limited to 160 characters per message but you can send multiple messages. Of course any competitor that wants to have a SSB on board and chat endlessly is welcome to do so. There is no need for a comm boat and 50 and 25 mile arrival checkins can be done with the sat phone and/or Marine VHF.
    We have used this system successfully in the past two Guadalupe Island races and will be using it again this March for the 2010 edition. It seems to me that this system fulfills all of the SSS requirements except inertia and the “not invented here” problem. Am I missing something?
    Frank Ross, Prankster

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Posts
    3,688

    Default

    I'm glad you're still thinking about our race, Frank.

    There will be some SHTP announcements tomorrow night at the LongPac awards meeting.

    FYI, I went back to 1996 (all the records I could find) and out of eight SHTP's, seven of them started in June, as early as June 15th. As was written elsewhere, there would have been no weather benefit to starting in July this year. Also the boats from up north welcome the extra time to get home.

    Based on the length of the Guad Is. race and few number of entries, I could see where the sat phone calls could work for you guys. But that would be one expensive phone bill for the entrants in the SHTP. My sat phone costs in 2008's race were one of my biggest costs and like most of our fleet, I already had the SSB. I used the phone almost entirely for downloading GRIB's and used file compression software to keep the calls very short.
    Last edited by BobJ; 09-23-2009 at 05:31 PM.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Seattle
    Posts
    105

    Default

    I'm interested in doing the race. I put myself as "3" but will probably upgrade once I'm done with my qualifying cruise and the rules come out.

    Adrian

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Posts
    577

    Default

    I'm about 2.25 at this point. I'd put it a little higher, but the job/money thing is looking a bit shaky at this point.

    Max

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Posts
    3,688

    Default

    +1 Max - that's been my problem. Well, that and a low inventory of domestic relations offsets.

    We're doing pretty well so far, but it appears I need to declare options 4 and 5 as a "Bad Karma-Free" Zone. No bad karma to say you're really going to race. Actually I found that it helped to strengthen my resolve and all that crap. Besides, it's anonymous.

    I've talked to a few of you and I know you're out there - ante up.
    Last edited by BobJ; 08-18-2009 at 05:32 PM.

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