March 24, 2019
Half of the "eight" passed
Three days ago, the American Randall Reeves passed Cape Horn for the second time in one trip. How did he do this?
Everything is very simple – but in fact it is very difficult. Reeves decided to describe the "eight" around Antarctica and the Americas. He called his project the same – Figure 8 Voyage. The route is about 38,000 nautical miles. Monstrously a lot. But this is certainly not surprising, since Reeves has been a passionate admirer of Bernard Muatessey for many years – ever since, while still at university, he interviewed a student radio station.
The American started in October 2018 from San Francisco (this city, we recall, is located on the west coast of the United States). Took the course, first to the south, and then to the east. And walked around the Antarctic for 110 days.
Now the route leads Reeves to the far north. The trip was planned in such a way as to turn out to be in high latitudes in the summer – this allows us to avoid the strongest storms. Reeves will have to go through the Canadian Northwest Passage (he, by the way, went there already) and finish in San Francisco. The whole trip should take less than a year.
But this is a plan, and how it will turn out in reality – only God knows. Because Reeves was already trying to describe the G-8 that he cherished – and was forced to leave the race ahead of schedule. That journey began in October 2017, and Reeves got off because his sloop rolled over twice. For the first time – right in front of Cape Horn – and because of this, both autopilot vehicles failed. And in the second, between Africa and Australia, not far from the Kerguelen archipelago. As a result, flooded electronics.
This time, Reeves and his Moli (the skipper calls his ship just Mo) are lucky. Traveling without special incidents, and goes "Pray" where faster. So, the plan to describe the G8 in less than a year looks quite real.
Yes, you need to briefly tell about the ship, especially since it deserves it. The 45-foot aluminum sloop was built in 1989 specifically for high-latitude expeditions. The first owner – the German Clark Stede – walked around it around two Americas. The second owner – American Tony Gooch – having started from North America, then walked around the Antarctic.
So, Randall Reeves did not invent anything himself. Combined travels of two previous owners of Moli – and it turned out to be the "eight"!
Travel Site Figure 8 Voyage –
http://figure8voyage.com/
Facebook page –
https://www.facebook.com/figure8voyage/
206 March 24, 2019 # 8865
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