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QuoteSevere weather causes racers to change plans
In the 102nd Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac, presented by Veuve Clicquot
July 24, 2010 (CHICAGO) – The 102nd Running of the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac, presented by Veuve Clicquot, kicked off today despite the torrential rain that plagued the Chicagoland area for the last 12 hours.
"The Mac will sail on rain or shine," explained race spokesperson Christie Denson. "Crews prepare for these conditions by having proper foul weather gear, layers made of synthetic performance fabrics made to dry fast, as well and proper footwear and a change of socks."
Despite having the right gear, sailors still scrambled to make their boat calls amidst flooded streets. Many boats had to register last minute crew changes with race officials, as sailors were trapped due to the havoc of the weather.
"Several boats had crew due to arrive from Michigan via train this morning. Due to flooding on the tracks, trains were shut down and they were unable to make the race," explained Chicago Yacht Club's Race Coordinator Amanda Matta.
This means many boats will be sailing lighter than anticipated, which can make for an added challenge to the 333 mile adventure up Lake Michigan.
353 boats made the starting line, and we will continue to monitor how weather impacts their race over the next several days. To track the boats, go to www.cycracetomackinac.com.
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Current state of the GPS Satellite System
Worries about the GPS system arose in May 2009 when the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report saying, "It is uncertain whether the Air Force will be able to acquire new satellites in time to maintain the current GPS service without interruption. If not, some military operations and some civilian users could be aversely affected."
The satellites have a limited life, typically seven to ten years. There's no practical way to fix them once they break. Of the 59 GPS satellites launched to date, 31 are still operating. Of those 31, 17 are past their life expectancy - the oldest was launched in 1990.
The problem is that 24 functional GPS satellites are required for complete global coverage. With 31 still beeping, we've got plenty of spares for the moment. However, due to a combination of schedule slips, construction problems, and cost overruns, we haven't been launching new satellites fast enough to replace those likely to fail soon. The GAO estimated that that over the next four years or so the probability that at least 24 satellites will remain operational will be less than 95 percent, at times dipping as low as 80 percent. Having something less than 24 working satellites would mean total system failure.
24 hours after the report was released, the Air Force responded by saying that "going below 24 won't happen". This was followed up with a plan to move spare satellites closer to those expected to fail, improving current coverage, minimizing outages, and buying time to get new satellites aloft.
