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The Virtual BCN Challenge 2020


cheshire~rose

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6 minutes ago, RebelMike said:

@Capt Ahab, would it be OK to use photos from your blog (properly attributed) in our cruising log?

 

I ask here rather than by PM as I expect other teams might wish to do the same!

Thats fine - not that the collection of historical images belong to me either!

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9 hours ago, Captain Pegg said:

Two questions for @cheshire~rose:

 

- should folk other than nominated team members ideally refrain from posting on other teams’ cruise log threads?

- can points also be deducted for musical soundtracks?

 

JP

Great to see you and @Richard T have started the ball rolling by getting your cruise diary up and running.

 

For any readers that would like to follow them the links are here:

 

Team Whisly Galore

 

The Workers

 

To answer your question about people other than the team posting in cruise logs:

 

As you will be aware I have, from the very start, been asking for teams to tell me which forum members are to be official spokespeole for each team. The reason for that now starts to come into play.

 

As with all threads on the forum, people may respond to what you post, ask questions and possibly make suggestions. The organisers feel that the natural flow of open discussion with the teams should be encouraged. After all, there are a lot more people out there reaading this than there are fool enough to volunteer to take part! Our hope is that the general entertainment value of the teams cruise logs will provide some entertainment for others during this time when people really need something to make them smile. In fact if those outside of a team do comment it could open up a dialogue allowing even more scope for creatively written answers rather than teams sticking to a script they have prepared in advance so yes, we positively encourage it. Of course it is possible that if members of competing teams are seen to be heckling others they could get docked points so think carefully before posting ;)

 

We have recruited a panel of individuals to read your cruise logs and pass judegment on which are their favourite each day and which might be worthy of bonus points. These people are boaters but  are not familiar with the forum and so t is very unlikely they will know any of the individuals involved in the teams. What they will need to know is which contributers to a cruise log they need to take notice of and which comments are from people outside of the team and should be disregarded towards the point scoring. That is why it is important I know which forum ID's are to be included as official spokesperson for each team.

 

I have also been asked if there is any limit to the number of posts to a cruise log each day, abolutely not! Many teams have different members with a number of talents and they are not all locked down in the same household so teams, please feel free to update your cruise log as often as you wish with as many posts, photos or video clips as you wish. The style of your cruise log will be entirely up to your team.

 

I do know there are a LOT of people waiting with great anticipation to see how all you intrepid challengers get on each day. It might also be the case that our judging panel will look to see which posts in a blog people have reacted to and a ❤️, a ?, a ?(that is supposed to be a greenie by the way but I couldn't find an emoticon for that), a ?, a ?, a ?, a ? or even a ? show some strength fof feeling on the part of a reader. It is possible that our panel may see the posts that have created a great reaction among their readership and find that helps guide the issuing of the odd bonus point. Of course if any team goes fishing for them that won't count!

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Just a quick confirmation please @cheshire~rose of the email address to send our daily score sheets to, is it the same one that we've been receiving mail from? And to be certain, precisely what information is to be mailed, is it just the Excel score sheet plus the answers to the quiz, so that everything else goes into the cruise diary? Thanks.

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2 minutes ago, Keeping Up said:

Just a quick confirmation please @cheshire~rose of the email address to send our daily score sheets to, is it the same one that we've been receiving mail from? And to be certain, precisely what information is to be mailed, is it just the Excel score sheet plus the answers to the quiz, so that everything else goes into the cruise diary? Thanks.

Yes, please send the emails to me and include your Excel Score sheet and the answer to the daily quiz

 

The attempt at the daily challenge (which is likely to recorded in a photo) and everything else in your cruise diary 

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From our team meeting last night there were a few things that came up that it would be good to get clarity on.

 

Are we correct in understanding that Sunday is not a cruising day, and that the cruising actually starts at 9am on Monday?  We can therefore use Sunday to position ourselves at the start location :)
 

So the only forum post required on the Sunday is the introductory one before midday.  Also that the only email that we need to send on Sunday is the one before midday with our start location.

 

From Monday to Saturday could we get clarity on what exactly you want posted on the forum, and by what time.

 

Similarly for each day what exactly you want by email and by what time.  
 

Reading the initial post there seemed to be overlap between what was in expected in a forum post and what should be sent by email.

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51 minutes ago, john6767 said:

From our team meeting last night there were a few things that came up that it would be good to get clarity on.

 

Are we correct in understanding that Sunday is not a cruising day, and that the cruising actually starts at 9am on Monday?  We can therefore use Sunday to position ourselves at the start location :)
 

So the only forum post required on the Sunday is the introductory one before midday.  Also that the only email that we need to send on Sunday is the one before midday with our start location.

 

From Monday to Saturday could we get clarity on what exactly you want posted on the forum, and by what time.

 

Similarly for each day what exactly you want by email and by what time.  
 

Reading the initial post there seemed to be overlap between what was in expected in a forum post and what should be sent by email.

Sunday is not a cruising Day but should be spent ensuring your vessel is at your virtual starting point and is virtually provisioned for the duration of the challenge, You may wish to spend some time checking the engine is up to the job it has ahead of it and getting your crew to "carb-up" in readiness for a potentially exhausting week ahead. 

 

Cruising will start at 9am on Monday. 

 

Your introductory Cruise log post does not HAVE to be done on Sunday. It can be done at any time up until midday on Sunday, a couple of teams have already posted theirs Likewise your virtual starting point should have been communicated to me by email before midday on Sunday 

 

Cruise Log: Each day Monday to Friday you will update your cruise log as many times as you wish between 9am and 10pm. On Saturday, the final day, the latest time for posts to your cruise log to be considered for judging will be 6pm  Some teams might choose to write one longer post summarising the day's travel, others may find it suits them better to update little and often. The choice is yours. You must include a photo of where you choose to moor each night in the posts that day. You may choose to add additional photos as you desire. The evidence relating to your teams participation in your daily challenge will also be posted in your cruise log. 

 

Email: Each day Monday to Friday you will email your completed Exel score sheet and your quiz answers no later that 10pm (6.30pm on Saturday, the final day). This will allow the organisers to check your points on a daily basis meaning there won't be so much work to do at the end of the week.  If you have completed your score sheet and quiz you can send it as early as you like and it would be very helpful to the organisers if a few did arrive earlier in the day so they can start checking them as they arrive. 

 

 

 

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ANNOUNCEMENT

 

IMPORTANT CLARIFICATION OF THE RULES

 

Our negotiations with canal companies neighbouring the BCN have been limited due to the requirement for some of the organisers to be isolating at this time. 

We can however confirm that the following non-scoring sections can be used:

  • Worcester & Birmingham Canal from Selly Oak Junction to Old Turn Junction 
  • Coventry Canal from Fazeley Junction to Huddlesford Junction 
  • Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal from Hatherton Junction to Aldersley Junction 

 

 The limits of their forbearance is to transit between entry points to the BCN, The speed limit on these sections is restricted to 1.5 MPH 

 

 Any travel beyond these limits results in impounded boats and the entry being declared void.

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1 hour ago, cheshire~rose said:

ANNOUNCEMENT

 

IMPORTANT CLARIFICATION OF THE RULES

 

Our negotiations with canal companies neighbouring the BCN have been limited due to the requirement for some of the organisers to be isolating at this time. 

We can however confirm that the following non-scoring sections can be used:

  • Worcester & Birmingham Canal from Selly Oak Junction to Old Turn Junction 
  • Coventry Canal from Fazeley Junction to Huddlesford Junction 
  • Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal from Hatherton Junction to Aldersley Junction 

 

 The limits of their forbearance is to transit between entry points to the BCN, The speed limit on these sections is restricted to 1.5 MPH 

 

 Any travel beyond these limits results in impounded boats and the entry being declared void.

Is there a reason for the lower speed limit?  I assume that given the non-scoring nature of these portions no one is going to use one of these intentionally - it's only going to be if you get stuck due to a stoppage. 

 

Given that, the 1.5 mph speed limit to get back on to scoring canal seems a little harsh to me, it feels like it's just compounding the penalty for a problem you couldn't predict.

 

I could be wrong though - maybe you've identified a particularly high scoring route using one of these sections that you want to discourage?  I didn't even consider them when route planning!

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I agree, I had planned to use one of these sections - I had even considered declaring that as we were outside the BCN we were going to travel at 4mph - but suddenly that route looks a lot less attractive. Is there any chance of renegotiating the deal, so that we can at least do 2.5mph? After all we would be travelling on the present-day canal, outside the jurisdiction of the BCN management, and should IMHO be able to abide by CRT speed limits instead.

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1 hour ago, RebelMike said:

Is there a reason for the lower speed limit?  I assume that given the non-scoring nature of these portions no one is going to use one of these intentionally - it's only going to be if you get stuck due to a stoppage. 

 

Given that, the 1.5 mph speed limit to get back on to scoring canal seems a little harsh to me, it feels like it's just compounding the penalty for a problem you couldn't predict.

 

I could be wrong though - maybe you've identified a particularly high scoring route using one of these sections that you want to discourage?  I didn't even consider them when route planning!

 

1 hour ago, Keeping Up said:

I agree, I had planned to use one of these sections - I had even considered declaring that as we were outside the BCN we were going to travel at 4mph - but suddenly that route looks a lot less attractive. Is there any chance of renegotiating the deal, so that we can at least do 2.5mph? After all we would be travelling on the present-day canal, outside the jurisdiction of the BCN management, and should IMHO be able to abide by CRT speed limits instead.

Set your time machine for 1923.

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8 hours ago, cheshire~rose said:

Sunday is not a cruising Day but should be spent ensuring your vessel is at your virtual starting point and is virtually provisioned for the duration of the challenge, You may wish to spend some time checking the engine is up to the job it has ahead of it and getting your crew to "carb-up" in readiness for a potentially exhausting week ahead. 

 

Cruising will start at 9am on Monday. 

 

Your introductory Cruise log post does not HAVE to be done on Sunday. It can be done at any time up until midday on Sunday, a couple of teams have already posted theirs Likewise your virtual starting point should have been communicated to me by email before midday on Sunday 

 

Cruise Log: Each day Monday to Friday you will update your cruise log as many times as you wish between 9am and 10pm. On Saturday, the final day, the latest time for posts to your cruise log to be considered for judging will be 6pm  Some teams might choose to write one longer post summarising the day's travel, others may find it suits them better to update little and often. The choice is yours. You must include a photo of where you choose to moor each night in the posts that day. You may choose to add additional photos as you desire. The evidence relating to your teams participation in your daily challenge will also be posted in your cruise log. 

 

Email: Each day Monday to Friday you will email your completed Exel score sheet and your quiz answers no later that 10pm (6.30pm on Saturday, the final day). This will allow the organisers to check your points on a daily basis meaning there won't be so much work to do at the end of the week.  If you have completed your score sheet and quiz you can send it as early as you like and it would be very helpful to the organisers if a few did arrive earlier in the day so they can start checking them as they arrive. 

 

 

 

Can I clarify, can other team members add their thoughts and observations to the cruise log throughout the day.

 

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11 hours ago, cheshire~rose said:

s

<Snip>

To answer your question about people other than the team posting in cruise logs:

 

As you will be aware I have, from the very start, been asking for teams to tell me which forum members are to be official spokespeole for each team. The reason for that now starts to come into play.

 

As with all threads on the forum, people may respond to what you post, ask questions and possibly make suggestions. The organisers feel that the natural flow of open discussion with the teams should be encouraged. After all, there are a lot more people out there reading this than there are fool enough to volunteer to take part! Our hope is that the general entertainment value of the teams cruise logs will provide some entertainment for others during this time when people really need something to make them smile. In fact if those outside of a team do comment it could open up a dialogue allowing even more scope for creatively written answers rather than teams sticking to a script they have prepared in advance so yes, we positively encourage it. Of course it is possible that if members of competing teams are seen to be heckling others they could get docked points so think carefully before posting ;)

 

We have recruited a panel of individuals to read your cruise logs and pass judegment on which are their favourite each day and which might be worthy of bonus points. These people are boaters but  are not familiar with the forum and so t is very unlikely they will know any of the individuals involved in the teams. What they will need to know is which contributers to a cruise log they need to take notice of and which comments are from people outside of the team and should be disregarded towards the point scoring. That is why it is important I know which forum ID's are to be included as official spokesperson for each team.

 

I have also been asked if there is any limit to the number of posts to a cruise log each day, abolutely not! Many teams have different members with a number of talents and they are not all locked down in the same household so teams, please feel free to update your cruise log as often as you wish with as many posts, photos or video clips as you wish. The style of your cruise log will be entirely up to your team.

 

<snip>

 

15 minutes ago, tree monkey said:

Can I clarify, can other team members add their thoughts and observations to the cruise log throughout the day.

 

See above - yes that is exactly what we do want, but in order for a team members contibution to be counted towards the score they must have been registered as an official spokesperson for the team. 

 

This will prevent some outsider who comes in to comment from potentially sabotaging your efforts 

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2 hours ago, RebelMike said:

Is there a reason for the lower speed limit? Yes I assume that given the non-scoring nature of these portions no one is going to use one of these intentionally - it's only going to be if you get stuck due to a stoppage. Don't assume too much! 

 

Given that, the 1.5 mph speed limit to get back on to scoring canal seems a little harsh to me, it feels like it's just compounding the penalty for a problem you couldn't predict.

 

I could be wrong though - maybe you've identified a particularly high scoring route using one of these sections that you want to discourage?  I didn't even consider them when route planning! Yes you could be wrong! 

 

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12 minutes ago, Alan Glass said:

How do l follow the progress please 

 

 

Hi Alan, welcome to the forum

 

Discussion and the daily challenges etc will all be posted in this thread so, if you choose to follow this thread (look at the top right hand corner of the page - it should say "following" then you are likely to get a notification or possibly even an email to let you know there has been a post. This will depends on how you have adjusted your settings.

 

By Sunday lunchtime we should have a first post in a cruise log by each of the participating teams. I will post links to them here in case people struggle to find them but they should be easy to find in the cruise log section of the forum. Once again you can choose to follow any or all of them to see the progress of the teams each day. 

 

Of course you may find the amount of posts generates too many emails so you can always change the settings if it bothers you, but for those who have a bit of time on their hands it could be fun to watch in real time so to speak (whatever year that is!) 

 

 

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18 minutes ago, Alan Glass said:

How do l follow the progress please 

 

 

Each team will have their own thread in the Cruise Diaries sub-forum.

 

See post #279 above that explains things.

 

ETA - the boss beat me to it by a few seconds.

Edited by Captain Pegg
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14 minutes ago, FadeToScarlet said:

Can I play as the Great Mattress of the Tame Valley?

You can play with as whoever you want! 

 

I reckon you might be one of a handful who might be able to tame the Great Mattress of Tame!

 

 

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2 minutes ago, CornishMeades said:

How do we sign up to enter this? 

Welcome to the forum!

 

You will need to post a couple more posts before you can use the personal message system so reply to this a couple of time then click on the roses that are my icon on the top left and send me a message.

I will need a working email address for you as well as a team name 

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