The Magellan Challenge

"THE WORLD'S LAST GREAT ADVENTURE"
The Magellan Challenge Race.
by Jim Betts [email protected]

THE BIG PICTURE

The globe has been circled by sailboats (single-handed) 93 times, starting with Capt. Joshua Slocum in 1898. The smallest one was 12 feet, sailed by Sergio Testa, of Australia, in 1987. It's been done in balloons and atomic subs, but it's never been done in motorboats. Well, many mega-yachts have done it, but not as a race. There is the Volvo Ocean Race (formerly called the Whitbread) in sailboats, but this has a registration fee of $416,900. This will start from England Sept. 23, 2001. There are now 23 entries. There is also the New World Challenge, a 10 boat fleet of 72-foot sailboats starting in San Francisco in the spring of 2002. This will cost you $45,000 to be a crew member. The Magellan Challenge Race will be - by comparison - a "poor man's adventure." Click here for a map and schedule of the course.

THE RACE

Previous material said the MC would start Jan. 1, 2001. Many of you have said (and I have learned) that there is not enough time to prepare. So the start will be Jan. 1, 2002. If all the boats are identical and have the same engine and speed, how do you race? Well, it's like all sorts of races -- you play the conditions; the "grove" in auto racing, the winds in sailboat racing, and such. You will play the sea conditions. Yes, you may win by a few minutes or a few hours, but a win is a win. The race will be scored by how you finish in each of the 18 legs. Each leg is a race. At the end, the scores are totaled for a grand winner. You get a point for each boat you beat.

THE BOAT

Safety is the key. The boat is strong and well-built. It is self-righting and self-rescuing. And it's fairly comfy. The seas of the world are not really violent for the most part. "Long periods of boredom interrupted by moments of panic," as someone once said. All entries will - to be sure - be required to carry suitable safety equipment. In order to assure equal boats, I am in contact with a major builder of aluminum boats in the U.S. to be the official builder. Yes, it would seem to be an idea to have licensed builders worldwide, but why build boats around the world and then ship them to the start? It is easier to move people than boats. After the race, it is anticipated that many will want to sell their boats and the U.S. should be a strong market. Then too, we may do it again, so the boats can be put in storage until that time. Note that the cabin interior may be changed to suit you. What you see in the plans is a suggested layout. I am now awaiting a quote on the price of the boat. Based on various factors, I'm guessing about US$35,000. (As with all things boat-related, don't be surprised if this goes a bit higher!)

THE ENGINE

At this point, the engine is Yanmar 2GM20, two cylinder, 18.2 BP. This engine has been around for years and has a proven record of performance. Its "continuous" speed is 90% of its maximum or 16 HP. You could probably run this wide open for the entire race, but fuel consumption would suffer greatly and the chance of engine failure would increase. There is some thought about a "throttle-stop" or some other way of controlling the speed. We will see. NOTE: The Yanmar engines sold in the US are mostly fresh-water cooled. This is the 2GM20F. Most of those sold elsewhere in the world are sea-water cooled. These also have a hand-crank for starting, while the US version does not. Keep in mind that the sea-water/hand-crank version is special order in the US and takes about four months to deliver. The engines come with a spare-parts kit and this is strongly suggested.

ELECTRICITY

The engine alternator generates 55 amps. The boat will have two heavy-duty 12-V batteries. You can run about any equipment you wish, including an electric stove and even a freezer/refrigerator. Radar pulls about 4 amps, an autopilot is about 1 amp. A 12-V refrigerator is about 5 amps.

WATER AND FOOD

The standard water tank is 40 gallons. This will do for two people for 18 days, the longest leg of the race. You may wish to carry more in bottles. And there's always soda and beer and such. A reverse-osmosis watermaker may also be carried. Take whatever food you like. Just keep in mind that cooking may not be easy at times. I show a one-burner stove, but you can probably fit a two-burner unit, or have a SeaSwing unit in addition to the one-burner unit. This would be handy to keep coffee on a good bit of the time. Keep in mind that canned stew and such can be eaten cold. Look into such things as HeaterMeals, which require no refrigeration and heat themselves. (See their website: https://www.heatermeals.com . You can order a trial package of six meals. Not cheap.)

NAVIGATION

It is assumed that everyone will use GPS. I suggest two, so you have a spare. They are not expensive these days. A sextant is certainly a good backup. You will not need every chart in the world and we plan to supply a chart-pack that shows the key areas and approaches to each port of call (see course). You may also carry such things as weather fax and such. Also radios and radio-phones, sat-phones, etc. Each boat will be required to be radar equipped and also carry a radar-detection device. I am in touch with two companies that do route plans for commercial shipping and they can do this for us. And a communications outfit that can monitor the race, keeping track of each boat.

GENERAL SUPPLIES AND GEAR

You certainly do not want to haul a ton of stuff around the world on a small boat. Supplies of food and such are available at most of the stops. (Very little at Wake Island.) If you have special needs, it is our intention to have some sort of depot at each stop. Stuff can be shipped to a U.S. collection point and forwarded to a port along the way. Probably to a marina or yacht club where we will tie up. (This needs work and is something the "Support Crew" members could handle.)

THE CREW

Between the race days and lay days, we're looking at about eight months. Who knows how many can do the entire trip. So think about changing crews from time to time. Say you can do a month. This would be about from the U.S. to Lisbon. Then someone else would take over your position, etc. Then there is the matter of "qualification." There will be no "test," but you will be expected to file a statement about your boating experience. We do not encourage novices! Every effort will be made to match up suitable crews. Note that a crew of two is required. This is a matter of safety. SOLAS (Safety Of Life At Sea) regulations call for all vessels to maintain a constant watch. Many of the commercial ships are running on autopilot (as you may be).

PAYING FOR THE BOAT

If you want to participate for only part of the race, you may buy a share. With about eight months, and a crew of two, that's about 500 person/days. If the boat (all-up and ready to go) costs around $50,000, that's $100 per person per day. If you plan to participate for 30 days, that's $3,000. (Where can you get a month's vacation/adventure for that?) Someone may want to buy a boat and charter it for part of the race. In any event, banks, boat builders and such will require that each of the participating owners be responsible for the debt. (Is this getting too complicated?) Then there is the question of insurance. My agent says, "forget it!" We will have to look into this.

SPONSORSHIP

I am looking at this area very seriously. It is hoped that we can get some major companies that have world-market products. I can see, "LET PEPSI CHALLENGE YOUR TASTE" on each boat. There are a number of boat-gear companies that have expressed "interest." But, in general, the response so far has been, "Call me when you have at least 25 starters." The major goal of any sponsor is to get exposure. The MC Race is not exactly your "big event," because it is spread over such a long time. A plus to the idea of 18 legs, with a start and finish for each, is that you have 36 "events." In any case, sponsorship money is needed for prize money and possible subsidy of costs. (Including mine!) Which came first, the chicken or the egg? We have the same problem: You can't have a race without sponsors and you can't get sponsors without a race! Potential sponsors will quickly tell you there are already too many events. Those who are trying to sell sponsorships tell me it's tough. :In my past, I have sold everything from boats to advertising, so I know how it is. But you have to try and try and try. It will be nice if we can sell major sponsorships for the entire fleet, but it may come down to selling small spaces on individual boats. At the same time, I would hate for MC boats to look like stock car racers with many tacky decals pasted all over. We will just have to wait and see.

SPEED/RANGE

The boats will go about 6 knots and will have a cruising range of about 3,500 miles on 170 gallons of fuel. The longest leg of the race is some 2,500 miles, so there is a comfortable reserve. Fuel is available at every stop. At some of the stops it is not cheap; up to $2.75 a gallon. And fuel quality is not great, even in the U.S. A good filter system is a must, and spare filters are essential gear.

MORE ABOUT THE BOATS

Earlier material indicated that we would offer plans for building in aluminum and wood. Not so. We do not offer plans because it seems best to have all the boats built by one established builder. This assures that all boats will be identical in all respects and to a high level of workmanship.

SUPPORT CREW

Even if you can't make the race - or even a leg of it - you can be part of the effort by joining as a member of the support crew. Help the entrants as you can. You will receive a regular newsletter about the Race and maybe we'll even have a nice T-shirt one day soon.

WHO IS JIM BETTS?

I have raced sailboats (and cars) for some 45 years. I have built five of the 12 boats I have owned. I founded the International Amateur Boat Building Society and published Amateur Boat Building magazine. With yacht designer Ted Brewer, I co-founded the Yacht Design Institute (a home-study program) and co-authored the book Understanding Boat Design. Co-designer (with Ted) of a number of boats, including the recent GP-16 and SO-DUIT! (See these on web site https://www.databoat.com ) In "real life," I am a journalist and publisher of magazines, books and newsletters. Author of five books, etc, etc. I guess my major credential is that I crewed for the late, great, George O'Day. Back in my dance-on-the-foredeck days.

WHO WAS MAGELLAN?

Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521) the Portuguese navigator who was the first European to discover a route by which ships could sail around the world, around the tip of South America. He set out with five ships in 1520 and was killed in the Philippines in 1521. One ship completed the voyage and landed in Seville Spain, from which they had sailed, Sept. 9, 1522; around the world in just over three years. While Magellan did not complete the voyage, he did circumnavigate the world. On a previous eastbound voyage to the East Indies, he had gone beyond the longitude of the Philippines. John Fiske, an American historian, said, "The voyage was doubtless the greatest feat of navigation that has ever been performed."

If you would like to visit some of the MC Race, go to https://www.ndbc.noaa.gov . This is the site for the National Data Buoy Center of NOAA. These buoys transmit weather conditions and even show you 360-degree pictures of the sea conditions in the area. You will not want to run into these as they are very big! (They do have radar reflectors.)