| At sea. Alpha Global Expedition: Adrian Flanagan reaches his antipodal point |
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| Wednesday, 21 June 2006 | |
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Adrian Flanagan: "I reached my selected antipodal position, 24.11 north 143.22 east, at 22h 40m 10s (10:40 pm) on 20 June 2006 UCT. This position is diametrically opposed to my position on 3rd January 2006 while off the coast of Brazil at 24.11 south 36.38 west. If one imagines a stick passed through the very centre of the earth, the points where the stick enters the surface and where it exits are antipodal to one another. Pairs of antipodal points lie on a 'great circle'. All meridians of longitude, which meet at the poles are great circles as is the equator. All other cirles of latitude north and south of the equator are 'small circles', shrinking towards the poles. At least one pair of antipodal points are required on a circumnavigation to define a great circle route. There were many other coordinates I could have selected but which would have meant navigating through the myriad of islands in the South Pacific Ocean. When it became apparent that I would have to go towards Honolulu to pick up spares and then dicovering the damage to the mast that required me to put into Honolulu, the antipodal point at 24.11 north 143.22 east became self-selecting. A major planning consideration was that from Honolulu towards the AP was a 3,200 mile downwind run in the NE trade winds. I have now altered course to 030 degrees, towards the Bering Strait. I have marked a waypoint at 60.00 north 175.00 west as a target and which lies 2,750 NNE of the antipodal position." http://www.alphaglobalex.com |
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| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 21 June 2006 ) |
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