Zezo forum:

Post by nzlpilot | 2020-11-23 | 11:14:11

Does any one know or can point me to information on the Nemo Point Challenge. I have searched but cannot find anything about it. Is its for Reals or VR's or both?

50 Comments

Post by zezo | 2020-11-23 | 11:40:39

It's only VR, and there is no information yet. Maybe they'll define it at later stage as the fleet approaches the spot.

Post by Bemerech | 2020-11-23 | 15:07:15

There was a news in VR on Nov 3rd (still in the news history).
I have it in French, so here is a translation:

"NEMO POINT CHALLENGE!
Your challenge: reach the destination of the virtual Vend�e Globe after getting to the zone of the Nemo Point, the point furthest to any land!
The first finisher to have crossed the zone of the Nemo Point will receive a DIVER X NEMO watch provided by Ulysse Nardin, official time recorder of the Vend�e Globe, which reachs a value of 8900�."

Hope that helps

Post by DeskSailor | 2020-11-23 | 15:08:58

Beat me to it!

Post by Bemerech | 2020-11-24 | 08:31:40

:'D

Post by DeskSailor | 2020-11-23 | 15:08:34

It was in the 'What's new?' section on 3rd November, next to the report a bug question mark.

AIUI first VR sailor to reach it (or cross a notional line) wins a watch donated by UN sponsor; first to win VR VG wins a different watch, both of same value.

Their description is a little unclear on Nemo Point Challenge though, so have a read.

Post by Corsicansailor | 2020-11-28 | 09:46:31

Hi guys, I absolutely could not find the exact regulation of this challenge and I find it extremely vicious....:(

Post by aerobert | 2020-12-04 | 11:32:50

Hi Cvetan,
Perhaps you could add the Nemo point to the list of destinations. First finisher that has gone through its 5nm radius zone gets the prize. It's not on the "racing line," next to the ice exclusion - it's about 800nm North - so a distinct diversion.

Cheers,
Robert (oxfoil)

Post by Hardtack | 2020-12-04 | 12:25:57

If I understood correctly, VR are making this information available only on request, in private communication?

Edit:
This is what I'm talking about:
https://forum.virtualregatta.com/topic/13522-nemo-point-challenge/page/2/?tab=comments#comment-296790
I am not aware of any official information.

Post by aerobert | 2020-12-04 | 19:55:50

There's a link on the VR Offshore help page - it says it's 2 days old;
here:
https://virtualregatta.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360017816200-What-is-the-Point-Nemo-Challenge-

ou ici:
https://virtualregatta.zendesk.com/hc/fr/articles/360017816200-Qu-est-ce-que-le-Nemo-Point-Challenge-

Sweet Breezes,

aeRobert

Post by BooBill | 2020-12-04 | 21:49:37

Okay, that is very different than what I think everyone was thinking. It's not the first to reach the point, but the first to finish, after sailing through the point.

"Point Nemo will have its own ranking. Out of everyone who reaches point Nemo, the first one to reach the finish line will be the winner of the Nemo Point Challenge."

So, that's kind of cool. It will create a race within a race for a splinter group that went to the point. Presumably, no one who is leading the race will divert to the point. At some place back though, people will start to think, "I can't win the race, but I can get that darn watch."

Also, it will cost you VSR points to go after it, if you care about that.

Post by YourMomSA | 2020-12-05 | 00:49:03

The downside of going for it is TBD. It's still possible that a good routing to Cape Horn might go through the area.

Also, I wouldn't assume no one from the leaders will splinter off. I'd bet a few boats from the top 100 or so will go for it. It's a pretty nice watch. Can't say I'm not considering it.

A thought about the request for Cvetan to add a routing destination for it... That would be very helpful. Even more helpful would be if he can set it up with a 5 nm finishing circle. But... here's an idea that would be superb... Put in a gate, defaulted off, that a user could turn on... Which would require the router to pass Nemo's longitude between the latitudes 5 nm north and south of the point. That would allow people to route to Cape Horn, through the "optional Nemo gate" to see how much they'd lose by going for it. No worries if that's too big an ask, but it would be pretty nice.

Post by Lazy_Hikers_Finland | 2020-12-05 | 01:44:10

So already the rules have changed from what they originally (3.11.) posted and also it seems that the other watch has disappeared to a more needy hand. I wonder what Ulysse Nardin as the sponsor has to say about this.

Post by lucarc | 2020-12-05 | 16:42:32

I agree with yourMomSA. I may go for it as well if the loss of time is neglictible. So many things may happen in the north atlantic, losing less than an hour at the point may not even leave you out of the race.

Post by zezo | 2020-12-05 | 17:40:32

Here comes the waypoint ant the finish circle.

Post by YourMomSA | 2020-12-05 | 20:35:48

Cvetan is always my reminder that there ARE people in this world that care about doing quality work. :-)

Post by zezo | 2020-12-05 | 21:07:58

A lot of people care, but the corporate culture kills the incentive. Being outside the corporate shit helps a lot.

Post by FlyingCloud | 2020-12-06 | 13:12:34

You don't get this service at sailgrib4VR, not even when paying 14,99...
Thank you Cvetan!

Post by zezo | 2020-12-06 | 18:35:55

I could not do that level of support indefinitely either, but try to keep up for a month or two every other year or so.

Post by nrten | 2020-12-06 | 19:36:25

I've payed Cvetan the money VR is asking for their routing. You guys can all do easily the same ;-).

Post by cmansart | 2020-12-12 | 14:10:04

Hello, I can see the winner of this Nemo POint Challenge in the ranking page? I do not understand how is it possible to already see the winner!

Post by BooBill | 2020-12-12 | 14:52:37

It would appear that someone was not clear on the rules of the challenge and has crossed the point by sailing westabout around the horn.

If he succeeds in being first back to Sables-d'Olonne by going that way, they should give him 2 watches, lol.

Post by CoreTeam | 2020-12-12 | 17:07:22

He's a genius. He deserves that watch! He didn't broke any rule as there are no rules or sailing instructions. Just that "message" saying "passing there and going to finish line". And this guy made that.... a genius!
Good job VR!!!! Always everything cristal clear in the events.

Post by BooBill | 2020-12-12 | 17:38:52

Rule says you have to be first to finish, after passing Pt Nemo. To finish, he would have to pass the 3 capes, to PORT!

Post by tabasco2 | 2020-12-12 | 22:56:47

THis is the rule:
2- Nemo Point Challenge Ranking
The Nemo Point Challenge ranking will reward the first participant who crosses the finish line with crossed the Point Nemo area indicated on the game interface.

that is, the first boat to arrive that has passed above Nemo point. It does not necessarily have to be the first boat to arrive.

Post by BooBill | 2020-12-13 | 01:59:38

To cross the finish line, you have to finish. You haven't finished unless you have passed (and validated in the game) the 3 marks positioned at the 3 capes. Until you have completed the course that's just a buoy in the water, not "the finish line"

Nobody really believes they are going to hand this dufus a watch, do they?

Post by YourMomSA | 2020-12-13 | 03:18:23

I don't think they'll give him the watch, but I don't think he's a dufus either... I think he decided to have some fun trying to see if he could make an issue of a loophole. But I don't think he'll get the watch without spending more on a lawyer than the value of the watch.

Post by BooBill | 2020-12-13 | 03:53:15

Or, maybe he is a lawyer 🤔

Post by cmansart | 2020-12-13 | 05:18:37

Hi,for me there is something strange here. Maybe a bug? Go to the Nemo Challenge ranking page then click into the winner row: You should see winner boat description and location, right? Now look at the boat name. This is not the same boat name then if you switch to the location page you will see it is not around Nemo point.
A bug somewhere?

Post by cmansart | 2020-12-13 | 05:35:49

Hi again, finally I checked again. I made a mistake in the location page I can see him closed to nemo point.
And checked yes, he crossed the point by sailing West around the horn!

Post by WaterHammer | 2020-12-13 | 08:09:49

As it looks now, Point Nemo is on the same isochrone as the optimal course. However, from there you are out of the wind and will lose a lot (maybe even 24 hours as it looks now). But it is still a week to go and maybe the low goes up more North.

Post by YourMomSA | 2020-12-14 | 04:18:24

So... Now I'm confused about the rule again.

At one time, it seemed the rule was first to Point Nemo.

Then it seemed to be first to Point Nemo and then eventually finish.

Then it seemed to be first finisher among boats who went to Point Nemo. This seems likely to be the actual rule, since they're showing a ranking page, with DTF on it, that contains only the boats who have been to Point Nemo.

But... today's news article sounds different again. Sounds like the second-to-last of the above. Dragon1503 wrote that Kasihan would have to go around the three capes correctly, having already validated Pt. Nemo first, and then get to the finish... He stated the issue with Kasihan's route is that it won't be possible to do that before the event closes. But... The event will be open until March 15. It would not be difficult at all to finish from Pt. Nemo, going the correct direction, starting now. Plenty of time.

I think Dragon probably mis-stated it, just making everything more confusing. I think the actual prize is meant to be for the first official finisher among boats who validated Pt. Nemo. But it's so hard to understand what the rule really is.

EDIT: Mousse Line found the official answer and posted it in the VR forum. I think it may only be available in French:

https://www.virtualregatta.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/REGLEMENT_JEU_VIRTUAL_VENDEE_GLOBE-2.pdf

Annexe 3 of that document appears to say there's one watch for the overall race winner, and a second for the first official finisher among boats who validate Nemo. That should settle it, unless someone tells me I've misunderstood the French. It would also imply that Dragon1503 mis-stated it a bit in the news article. (Also, unrelated point... I don't think it says anything about what happens if the overall winner actually went through Nemo.)

Post by BooBill | 2020-12-14 | 04:54:23

Oh, that's easy. I'll wear the one watch and sell the other.

Post by zezo | 2020-12-14 | 12:47:38

News articles are written by volunteers, not by VR staff, and are not authoritative source of information.

VR have been sued for similar things before, they should have learned their lesson if not to write proper sailing instruction then at least to define it in the legal TOS.

Post by Caladesi | 2020-12-14 | 22:48:35

Definitely plenty of time for Kasihan to finish, especially since, after being first to Nemo, he then spent the credits to teleport to the frigate which looks like it was located just past the Cape of Good Hope at the time based on the shape of his track. If teleporting to the frigate located beyond the mark still counts as a legitimate mark rounding, and assuming it's first to Nemo regardless of when one finishes in Les Sables so long as one finishes by 15 March, then I'd say Kasihan played the game very cleverly indeed...
_/)_

Edit- Having read the French rules in the PDF above, it certainly looks like it's still in play: "Le classement du Challenge Nemo Point r�compensera le premier participant qui aura franchi la ligne d�arriv�e en ayant travers� la zone du Point Nemo indiqu�e sur l�interface du jeu." Like previous posters, I read this as the first player that crosses the finish line having crossed the Nemo Point zone indicated on the game UI.

Post by Hurricane | 2020-12-16 | 06:16:47

Hi,
Caladesi is right for the rules. NEMO challenge winner will be the first finisher having crossing the NEMO area.
The virtual ranking of this challenge will be complety change when some of the actual leaders will cross the area.

And sorry for BooBill but you won't win two watches...

Article V : Dotation
.....
.Une seule dotation par personne et par foyer (m�me nom et m�me adresse) pourra �tre attribu�e dans le cadre du Concours.Dans le cas o� un joueur gagnerait plusieurs dotations, ne lui sera attribu� que le lot de plus grande valeur.

Which mean that one person can just win one prize (the most valuable one)

Post by aerobert | 2020-12-16 | 18:49:51

I think the time to decide is now - at least in the next 12 hours.
Most peoples' route to Nemo only touches the AEZ once.
I'll be looking out for the breakaway.

Sunday 8am UTC is the estimated arrival.

Robert
oxfoil

Post by KLM2235 | 2020-12-17 | 00:35:11

https://virtualregatta.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360017816200-What-is-the-Point-Nemo-Challenge-

Ranking :
Point Nemo will have its own ranking. Out of everyone who reaches point Nemo, the first one to reach the finish line will be the winner of the Nemo Point Challenge

For me, the winner is the best ranked at the end of the race among those who have sailed across Nemo Point ( zone in fact )

Post by Supefleche MTQ | 2020-12-17 | 11:40:01

Hello, how can we turn on the nemo gate? To have an idea of how much we'll lose if we go for the challenge ? I mean here having a route going to cape Horn but passing by Nemo challenge. Thanks.

Post by KLM2235 | 2020-12-17 | 15:19:07

It's not a gate, it's a zone you have to sail across

Post by YourMomSA | 2020-12-17 | 16:01:05

I think the question was about turning it on as a gate in Zezo, to get a routing to Cape Horn that passes through the zone, to see what the impact of going for it would be. This was an idea I suggested a couple weeks ago, but it would have required some mods that are different from other races... Normally the only options for gates are to turn them all on or all off... So defining it as a gate would mean that with "ignore gates" off, you wouldn't see the Nemo routing, and with "ignore gates" on, your routing would ignore the ice limit. I'm not sure how difficult it would be for Cvetan to create it as an independently controlled gate. Cvetan opted to keep it simple and just add it as a destination.

The best way I can think of to answer the question with the as-is settings would be... Check your ETA to Cape Horn. Then route to Nemo and check your ETA there. Then route to Cape Horn from random locations north of your current position until you find a starting location that goes to Cape Horn while also passing close to Nemo, with the Nemo arrival time being similar to your ETA at Nemo from your current position. Compare that routing's Cape Horn ETA to your original ETA. There's your impact.

I tried to do that briefly yesterday, but I couldn't get a routing to pass through Nemo with the right ETA. That early, all routings wanted to drive down to the ice line. It should become possible before we arrive at the ice line, though, and I think even the Nemo routings go to the ice line, so this analysis should be possible eventually.

Post by Supefleche MTQ | 2020-12-17 | 18:27:10

Indeed that was the question. Thank you YourMom for your answer. I'll try this but I think I'll just keep with the normal race. Too many places at stake here I guess ;)

Post by lucarc | 2020-12-18 | 16:03:01

Good idea, I got a 5 hours between the road passing through the Nemo point and the ideal route to the Horn, being 20 minutes maximum behind the current leader. This looks like a gap that cannot be closed up before the end of the race.
Hopefully there is a watch for the VG winner as well, because I won't take the Nemo one :)

Post by aerobert | 2020-12-18 | 11:05:19

Thanks YourMomSA for the logic - I get about 9h. I found a boat about 9h behind the leaders which is placed c.41000

oxfoil

Post by YourMomSA | 2020-12-18 | 16:36:42

I'm seeing a 9-hour loss from my current position with the latest forecast. I'll probably check again with each of the next two forecasts, but am not currently planning to try it. It will be interesting to see how much of the lead pack goes. There has been so much fleet compression in the last two weeks that 10,000+ boats are still within a couple hours of the lead, so I'm guessing most won't go. But... That means whoever DOES go probably won't have all that much competition, relatively speaking.

The big question would be about future fleet compression. If the lead fleet encounters a huge patch of light wind in the Atlantic, and the trailing boats pick up a storm system to bring them forward, then those trailing boats could close up the 9 hour loss fast.

Post by WaterHammer | 2020-12-18 | 17:43:35

I get a very strange routing now. The wind field seems off (in the routing points info). The effect is however, that the route is nudged to pass by Point Nemo quite closely. Is this a hack?

Post by urbicande | 2020-12-18 | 18:29:11

Two nights in a row for me too, weird weird ?????

Post by Vega GP | 2020-12-19 | 10:27:25

Hi, long time reader, first time posting. I see some familiar names from VR regattas here. Hello everyone!

So, who is going for the watch so far?
Looks like 3ve3da & rafal71-TPN have decided to do so.

Seems that Hardtack thought about it but changed his mind :)