Kalistani Major History

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Kalistani Sailors Embark on Round the World Race
14 Crews Set out from Kaliburg on 25,000 mile journey
Kaliburg, Grand Duchy of Ananto
October 1, 5537


Sailing for the Duke of Suldanor Team, The sloop known as "Princess Nicolette" sets out for circumnavigation

14 teams set out from Kaliburg this week on a major race to circumnavigate the globe. The race, which has been called "The Ananto Cup" included 14 teams sailing ocean-going sloops from Kalistan and will test the endurance and skill of each six-person team. The Race was organized by several members of the Kalistani Royalty, including Duke Victor Ananto of Suldanor. Each team had a sponsor who supplied the stake for the pool, where first, second and third place winners will get a share. Each sponsor is also responsible for all resupplies along the more than 25,000 mile journey.

"We set the route to bring the ships near port throughout most of the journey," said Race coordinator Sylvia Fredrickssen. "We of course also need to pay attention to prevailing winds: These ships are not allowed to use motors, so if they catch a slack breeze, the will need to utilize their skill to find wind." Ultimately the route will take the competitors past 7 or 8 continents, saving only Makon, which is too far north. "It follows mostly a subtropical route, veering north around Seleya, and south around Dovani," said Fredrickssen. "It crosses the Equator twice on its journey, and is expected to take about 220 days overall."

The craft will remain in constant supply and communication with relays along the route, who will keep track of the location of the ship using online GPS monitors. "The one issue these ships will face is in some of the long stretches, they will not be in range of the supply ships for long periods of time. Places like the stretch of water north east and north west of Majatran nations are long passages of open sea. Granted at that latitude, there aren't many major cyclones to pop up, but still, crews can expect daily storms, and when its not raining, it will be hot. So We will be closely monitoring the ships as they near Beiteynu, and then will anxiously await their appearance off Northern Vascania. Lots of sleepless nights."

The most successful crews will be the ones who best utilize the winds to their advantage, and who work as a team. "These ships require four people to crew them at all time" said Fredrickssen. "We have built two liberty stops into the trip, one in Valruzia and one in New Alduria, which each ship is required to put into port for maintenance and liberty for 24 hours exactly. Otherwise, these crews' lives will be sailing, day and night, and they will need to do everything they can to keep their crew fresh and working as a team, including establishing their own tasks, sleep and duty schedule and cooking schedule. This is truly an endurance test to beat all tests."

Route of the First Ananto Cup Global Sailing Race

Teams include the Duke Victor Ananto team, the ODEN team, the Grand Duchess Martha Greene team, and the Imperial team, among others. The Most eagerly anticipated showdown is between the Duke Victor Ananto team and the Grand Duchess Martha Greene team, both of whom are odds on favorites to win the race. Kaliburg book makers give the Duke Victor Team 2.5:1 odds of winning, while the Grand Duchess Martha team has 3:1 odds at the start of the race. The Dark Horse ship sponsored by Count Conrad Brandstad of Vilbin rounds out the longshots at 31:1 odds.

"This is the first time we have put on a world sailing race," said Fredrickssen. "While its all Kalistani teams this year, perhaps, if al goes well and we decide to do it again, next time some other countries will be interested in participating. But if not, I am sure Kalistani betters and sportsfans will be fine with just Kalistani teams racing."

Now that the teams are off, all we can do is watch. They will clear Lodamun in just over two weeks and then it is open sailing. By then, they will begin to lose sight of one another as some teams pull ahead, while others do their best to keep up. By year's end, the sailors will reach their first liberty port in Valruzia. We wish all crews well, and will be excited to follow along their route.