Forecasting The Next Rower GPS Turn Off

The rowing team turned off their GPS yesterday and magically rowed 30 km into a stiff breeze (red line below.)  The green line shows my forecast for the next time they turn off their GPS.

ScreenHunter_186 Jul. 25 09.53

About Tony Heller

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29 Responses to Forecasting The Next Rower GPS Turn Off

  1. ACR says:

    Beginning this weekend, the rowers will not have 24 hours of daylight. It won’t affect them much right away, but it will soon enough. Now two things can keep them stationary — bad weather and darkness.

  2. Traitor In Chief says:

    Maybe they got the frenchman to tow them? In any event, they should watch out for rogue killer whales and what not..

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=HMnMgX7GiOA

  3. Traitor In Chief says:

    I wonder if they’re getting towed by that power boat that Reggie seemed to know so much about…..

  4. Fred from Canuckistan says:

    the weather looks very skanky . . wonder if they are getting enough photons to allow their solar panels to generate any electrons.

    They might need to conserve power?

  5. ACR says:

    Looks like they had to navigate through a lot of sea ice as they went south into the Franklin Gulf. It will be interesting to see if the rowers discuss that hazard.

  6. juergenuie says:

    The kayak and the sailboat expedition are stationary.
    The kayak team moved a bit back, which could be a saver location.
    The sailors pulled the boat ashore and found an old leaky Blair Witch like hunting cabin.

  7. Cowpoke says:

    I love these rower updates, keep’em coming.
    Does this sugest that they are Chicago style rowers?

  8. Richard Lynch says:

    The tracker is on again and not where you predicted. They are rowing madly south, hugging the coast. Maybe they are seeking a sheltered place to ride out the storm. If they are afraid to cross open water, this will make their journey impossibly long.

  9. Bob Koss says:

    Straight line full trip Inuvik to Pond Inlet is 2050 km. They have completed about 320 km. along that line. By following the coast they have traveled much farther. How much I don’t know.

    Cambridge Bay is another 850 km. straight line distance. I doubt if they will make it any farther than there. Maybe not even that far.

    • Anto says:

      Bob, I tend to agree. Taking a look at where the ice is, it looks pretty blocked up around Cambridge Bay:
      https://sites.google.com/site/apamsr2/home/pngcby32/

    • It is exactly that sort of information that I’m endeavoring to keep track of. I’ve built a spreadsheet for the lads … and in the last 24 hours they
      (1) hit 7kph for the first time
      (2) ended closer to their starting point than they began.

      Despite today’s record speed (for them), they managed to lose ground on the predicted arrival date.

      To be fair, they were intending to go along a southerly passage here (according to their planned route), but it would be hard to imagine them catching up even if there were no ice ahead. Here are the numbers, which I update when they do:
      http://is.gd/DeHavelle_tag_MLF

      ===|==============/ Keith DeHavelle

  10. stewart pid says:

    Lots of that “first year, rotten, slushy ice” that Reggie’s blowtorch must have missed … how inconvenient 😉

  11. Chewer says:

    The old saying “Cheaters Never prosper” has the polar opposite meaning for dedicated progressives!
    The more you cheat the better the results…

  12. miked1947 says:

    More towing than rowing!

  13. J Calvert N says:

    One of the islands near the right end of your green line is called ‘Fiji’ (well it is according to Google Earth). Maybe it got lost!

  14. HRB in Edmonton says:

    The team started over 3 weeks ago, it’s into the last week of July and they are only about 300 km east of Tuktoyaktuk with a total of about 500 km behind them, struggling with wind and sea ice off the Beaufort Sea. By my measure, they have about another 1100 km to go along the coasts (mainland and Victoria Island) before they reach Cambridge Bay. At that point they are less than halfway to their destination. At their current rate of progress they should reach Cambridge Bay in about 55 days – around September 19th. By that time, daily highs are about +2C and lows are about -2C. And daylight is rapidly diminishing.

    Make ready the rescue helos!!

  15. @NJSnowFan says:

    Hmmm, last night I was thinking the same thing.
    How could they go that far and GPS was not on.
    Lots of Natives with Fossil fueled engines on their boats or did the All Gore give them a lift in s helicopter?

    • kuhnkat says:

      If Al “an inconvenient moron” Gore was in the area that would certainly explain the severity of the storm…

  16. wulliejohn says:

    They only make significant progress when the GPS Tracker is off.
    They therefore must have to devote their energy to either turning the man-powered generator on which the GPS runs or to rowing.
    This also accounts for the random movement across the sea – without the GPS , and magnetic compasses being useless, they are moving by dead-reckoning until they stop and get fresh position and bearings.
    You have to admire their persistence.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5YW4qKOAVM

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