November 18, 2001

Course Director, Ian Adamson

We are now in final negotiation with the local government here on various aspects of the course. Because of this and recently imposed safety requirements from the land and maritime police there will be some final changes to the required gear list which we will post early in December.

Before you all come down, I need to make one aspect of the course clear. Expedition BVI is an adventure race on a continuous course that is kept open 24 hours a day. To keep teams from spreading out over the island chain, we have a restart every 24 hours and in order to do this you may be sent on different courses depending on your team's speed. Regardless of the course you complete, you will still be officially ranked; we just want to keep you safe and together.

Since we want every team to finish, it may take you less than 24 hours to finish each day, and if we have done our sums right, most teams will finish in less than 16 hours. This should give you at least 4 hours of sleep each night.

I am including some information that you may find useful when selecting gear and for the latter stages of your training.

Climate
Although this is a maritime climate and afternoon temperatures are often tempered by the sea breeze, inland temperatures can soar to extreme conditions. I found that the humidity adjusted temperature exceeded 120F while ascending hills out of the wind and in the sun. If you haven't started already, now would be a good time to start your heat acclimatization program especially if you live in the northern hemisphere temperate zone or further north.

Trekking
The forests here are more like dense arid scrub, similar to some parts of the Mexican peninsular or southern USA. Spiny cactus, flesh ripping vines and spiky bushes can make certain areas impassable, or at the least extremely painful to push through. I strongly advocate the use of thorn proof apparel and gloves. My pick (yes they sponsor the race!) is the RailRiders Weather Pants, which can handle just about anything, in combination with long fingered cycling gloves, which you can use for rappelling.

Sea Urchins
There are numerous sea urchins in all coastal waters in the BVI, and if you are unfortunate enough to get one in your foot or leg, it will be a race ending experience. You need to be extremely careful at all times while entering and exiting the water and should wear hard soled footwear. Even thick rubber wetsuit booties will not protect you from the spines of these critters, so be prepared!

Bike Course
The off pavement sections of the bike course are under construction and in parts have washed away or been graded. Consequently the surface is alternately loose or rutted and even semi-slicks could be a problem for good riders in these sections.

If it rains, a fair possibility, you will have to walk some of the hills, up and down, since the grades are stratospheric. Trucks have done back flips on these roads, so that gives you an idea of just how steep it can be! Luckily the steep loose surface sections are only a couple of miles long.

Sea Conditions
Generally the BVI are blessed with extremely good sea faring conditions and are influenced largely by northeast trade winds. Tidal range is about 12 inches so ocean currents are minimal.

Periodically a moderate (8 - 10 ft) ground swell develops from the northeast. This is generally a result of remote Atlantic storms and/or moderate (15 - 20 knot) northerly winds. For those of you used to ocean conditions in the South Pacific or North Atlantic, this is trivial, but for land-locked athletes you could find the kayak and coastaleering sections quite challenging.

Rain/wind squalls are possible even in winter, and consist of a strong wind front with dark clouds that move extremely rapidly across the water. The front is often followed by heavy rain for a short time and then conditions may revert to normal a short time after that.

Although we are likely to experience beautiful conditions for the race, be prepared for possible adverse conditions, and be prepared for the heat!

Ian Adamson
Course Director