GS2 Time-to-Finish Contest

THE WINNERS:

Joe's official arrival time: 8:27:48 AM Eastern at May 5, 2016
1st Place - Lincoln Fuller - 8:15:00 AM
2nd Place - Janney Wilson - 8:45:00 AM
3rd Place - Marcia Bierlein Green - 8:01:25 AM
4rd Place - Peter Smith - 8:01:00 AM

Guess the day and time at which GS2 will arrive just off of Castle Hill Inn in Newport, Rhode Island. Entries will be cut off on Saturday, April 16th at 12pm noon Eastern. For guidance, Commanders Weather (GS2's meteorologist service) has thrown their dart conservatively at May 5th, but there are many factors that will come into play that could effect that ETA.

Prizes: (see photos below)
TeamOne Newport is offering the following great GS2 branded apparel.

First Place: Scrambler Jacket ($159.00 value)
Second Place: Short & Long Sleeve Henri Lloyd Performance T-Shirts ($104.00 value)
Third Place: Polo ($35.00 value)
Fourth Place: Hat ($26.00 value)

Meteorologist's Synopsis & Tips for Guessing Arrival Time:
NOTE: Since a record is no longer feasible, Joe expects to time his arrive between 8am and 6pm Eastern time.

From the waypoint off Recife, Brazil at 8 South X 33-34 West, the Great Circle distance to Newport is about, 3,700 nm. The target location to pass the Equator is 0' North X 33' West, so we will sail a Northerly course in the prevailing South Easterly breeze past Fernando de Noronha Islands to get through the Doldrums (Inter Tropical Convergence Zone) '" at this time, this looks like the narrowest crossing of the ITCZ. Goal is to get thru in the narrowest zone of the ITCZ. We then come more NNW-NW until we hit the NE Trade winds, which could occur anytime between the Equator and 3 North. The Trade Winds blow from a True Wind Direction of 50' to 70' at 15-25 knots, so this should allow for some fast sailing in beam reaching conditions, with the bow pointed just west of Bermuda and then Newport, leaving the Caribbean Islands to port. The Bermuda High and associated light winds must be avoided, and there will be a transition out of the Trade Winds and into the more Westerly wind flow between 20' and 30' North. The Gulf Stream will be crossed about 250-300 miles from Newport and that is the last major obstacle before home base. Our arrival estimate is May 5th, but there are many factors that will come into play that could effect that ETA.

Other tips for calculating Joe's ETA:

Distance from Recife Brazil (the Bulge) to Newport is approx 3,700 nm.
Add some percentage for extra distance sailed- say between 10% and 25%
Then take that total mileage and divide it by whatever you think will be GS2's average speed... probably somewhere between 6.5 and 9.0kn
That gives you total hours ; divide that by 24 to get days
Count it out on the calendar or use this tool to get your ETA:
http://www.timeanddate.com/date/timeadd.html

View Entries:
Entries can be viewed on Facebook posts related to the contest. Entries posted using the form below can be viewed here within a few days.

Rules:

Entry can be submitted using the form below or posted as a Facebook comment on any post outlining the contest.
One entry per person. Entry must include specific day and time in 24-hour format: HH:MM:SS.
Entries must be received by 12pm noon on Saturday, April 16, 2016.
Joe's time of arrival will be approximated by his crossing the latitude off of Castle Hill Inn at the location of: 41" 27.88N, 071" 22.70W
In the event that two or more people have selected the same date & time, winner(s) will be chosen at random from those matching closest guess entries.
Joe will make best efforts to finish during daylight hours between 8am and 6pm on his day of arrival.
Terms are subject to change.