Challenge : The Route du Rhum... beer and sausages - deadline updated

[Professor Thaum]

 

Ahoy, you, comrades Seamen.

This year, let it be known, the Oktoberfest will be held at the pearl of Raiders' Haven :

namely Hellion !

This trading post, flourishing thanks to its silver mines, intends to make a name for itself among the Brick Seas, by organizing the most beautiful, festive and decadent Oktoberfest.

However, although in full swing, this trading post suffers from its isolation and sorely lacks the basic elements that make a great Oktoberfest. Local pâtés, sausages, beers and rums are just enough for the daily consumption of the locals.

To remedy this problem, I, Dr. Thaum, spokesperson for the Sea Rats, have decided to organize an offshore race to resupply Hellion and prepare for Oktoberfest.

Are you already a seasoned sailor? Are you just starting to hear the call of the open sea ? Are you thirsty for adventure ? Do you want to challenge the New Haven Sea ? Do you want to become an old salt !

Everyone who wants to try their luck are cordially invited to join me in Tortuga and register for

the Route du Rhum... , beer and sausages.

There are no registration fees or boat licensing fees, the FTA, which sponsors the race, will cover these costs.

Departure from Tortuga, set the course to Hellion with a first load of meat and cochonaille, then return with holds fed up with silver ingots, and finally the last sprint with holds full of booze.

Help the Sea Rats to make the Oktoberfest great again ! Join the Race !

Rest assured all participants, apart from the dangers inherent to the sea, you risk no bad encounters. The safety of the race is guaranteed by the deployment of 4 fleets of Sea Rats warships along the course and 2 checkpoints: the north checkpoint on the Twins (zone 41), the south checkpoint on Avestia (zone 43). To be absolutely sure, the Andromeda fleet will accompany the competitors who attempt the southern route, while the Magnetic North fleet will accompany the competitors who attempt the northern route. The Black Rock pilots service nevertheless draws your attention to the extreme danger of the entire area southeast of Maldria between El Oleonda and Calinstock. It is obvious that the sea is dangerous in this area, this is in no way due to bad encounters.

The 2 checkpoints are not to be neglected (Dr. Thaum will be grateful to any competitors who bring him Gloogloos or other exotic birds to Tortuga) and make sure you research your trip well, all information can count. Information on New Haven Sea and its islands, HERE

 

*********

This challenge goes from March the 10th to October the 31st of 2025 (625 for the game timeline)

It is supposed to be the last challenge of BoBS Era II and to open onto Era III.

The race will be managed like a MRCA with monthly results and update, BUT, you won’t submit any form for that, all will be fixed with PM. And as I will be the Gamemaster, all PM are for me.

The boats will hoist their sails on April 1st for a 6 month race. Yeah, you counted well. The final arrival will be celebrated in grand style by the most beautiful of Oktoberfests. Let's spread the word !

There are 6 categories for this challenge, 6 MOCs. All categories are obviously independent of each other and the fact of not participating in 1 or more categories will not end the race for you (even if you might not benefit from certain bonuses).

 

So let’s go :

 

The MOCs

CATEGORY A : THE SHIP

Probably the queen category (or the most important) - well yeah, to race offshore, you need a boat, right ?

Present us your boat for the race, all classes are acceptable (according to the rules still in force) and you will also have to give the characteristics of your creation (R M G C $ H). Don't worry about the costs, as already specified, the FTA, the Route du Rhum's major sponsor, will foot the bill.

Beware : every characteritics may be important, as you will have to move bunches of piglets or barrels of booze, on high seas, as fast as possible, but you will not be the only one to race and the organizing committee does not in any way guarantee the absence of clashes between competitors.

Deadline for this first one, May the 1st (anywhere in the world – as far as there is still a 1st of May somewhere, you may still enter)

 

CATEGORY B : THE BONUS

According to the rules, a ship (whatever the class) is allowed a precise number of points to be distributed among the different characteristics. But you're a sly one, aren't you? Tell us then how you bent the rules to get a faster or more resistant ship, ... In short, your boat can benefit from a bonus point on one of the characteristics, so show us how you did it. Be creative. Minimum MOC size 16x16, but no maximum size.

Deadline for this one, May the 15th (anywhere in the world – as far as there is still a 15th of May somewhere, you may still enter)

 

CATEGORY C1 and C2 : THE CHECKPOINTS

2 MOCs possible here.

It all depends on how you planned your route. There are two checkpoints for the race, to rest and refuel along the way depending on whether you bypass Maldria to the north or south. Show us the passage of the checkpoints. How are you going to pass the Twins ? Will you track down the Gloogloo on Avestia ? Will you avoid these checkpoints altogether ? And for the return trip ?

This is the most open of the categories, neither minimal size nor maximum here

Deadline for the first build : June the 15th (anywhere, etc)

Deadline for the second one : September the 15th

 

CATEGORY D : THE RACE

You wanted offshore racing ? Well, here it is ! You suddenly find yourself side by side with another competitor, you see its sails, over there, to starboard... how are you going to handle that?

Show us two micro ships racing each other. Will you tack to increase your lead ? Will you settle the matter with a heavy hand (and heavy guns) ? Unless you decide for a state-of-the-art boarding ?

This is a micro-build category, 16x16 as a minimal size and 32x32 as a maximum seems to be fair.

Deadline for this one : August the 1st

 

CATEGORY E : THE OKTOBERFEST (Of course)

All competitors are at Hellion, congratulations to the winner ! Well, now that there's booze and meat, it's time to throw a hell of a party ! WELCOME TO HELLION'S OKTOBERFEST !

Let’s celebrate the winner of the Route du Rhum, the silver mines of Hellion, the end of the Era II of BoBS, the...

MOC the fest, 20x20 to 48x48 size scale. Be exuberant !

Deadline : Oktober the 31st

 

THE RACE (and the mechanics of the race)

 

The race will be run in MRCA laps, 6 MRCA laps to be precise. The planning is rough, but it breaks down as follows:

Departure on April 1st from Tortuga - zone 32 - (with food in the holds) to Hellion - zone 50 - the first month should take the competitors who pass north of Maldria towards the Twins and those who go south should be around Avestia.

The second round of MRCA should have the competitors making their way to Hellion for the first time.

The round 3 and 4 will be the return to Tortuga with the silver.

The round 5 and 6 are the final rush to Hellion (the booze, the sausages, the Oktoberfest)

A race log will be issued at the end of the each month with the positions of the competitors and any race events (like for a KPA at the end of a MRCA).

How it will be dealt with :

Each month, the competitors have to choose their course (with the zones like a classical MRCA) but no form will be filled. Each competitors will send a PM to me with the chosen route.

The competitors will have a 15 days time to think about their race. All PM with the routes should be in my PMbox the 15 of each month, then I will have 15 more days to finalise the round and publish the results.

The results could lead to some troubles ( leak, severed ship, lost sail, etc, etc) each trouble could lead to a disadvantage, but each disadvantage could be cancelled with an appropriate MOC ( which will be asked by PM back )

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Corweena]

A fittingly epic challenge for the end of an era......time to get building!

[Maxim I]

Very cool challenge :D

But erm, if I have a shipped ready for Era III, and I post it here to participate in this challenge, would that mean that the ship won"t be part of ERA III?

edit: it looks like the map in your link is gone

Edited March 17 by Maxim I

[LM71Blackbird]

I'm looking forward to getting back into some building with the Challenge! Thank you for the effort, Professor!

[Professor Thaum]

On 3/17/2025 at 1:11 PM, Maxim I said:

But erm, if I have a shipped ready for Era III, and I post it here to participate in this challenge, would that mean that the ship won"t be part of ERA III?

Sure IT WILL BE a part of Era III

[Professor Thaum]

The first of April is coming... the start of the race...

 

and not even a single PM for an inscription... I'm very sad

[Brickwolf]

PM sent with route for first round.

 

[Professor Thaum]

Ah ! At least, there is one sailor ready to test himself. Welcome to the race comrade !

I will have a ship of mine ready too before the 15th which will attend

[Professor Thaum]

You have to submit your sail course before the 15th but I would like to know how many ships will attends before the 1st... I have to organize

[LM71Blackbird]

3 hours ago, Professor Thaum said:

You have to submit your sail course before the 15th but I would like to know how many ships will attends before the 1st... I have to organize

I will have a ship and course before the 15th! End of month stuff to finish up IRL, but Major Brickford will be headed for the fest!

[Professor Thaum]

and 2  

[_Salamander_]

I’d like to give it a go, but never participated in BoBS before.

[Professor Thaum]

On 4/7/2025 at 5:26 PM, _Salamander_ said:

I’d like to give it a go, but never participated in BoBS before.

It's never too late

[Professor Thaum]

[Professor Thaum]

[_Salamander_]

On 4/8/2025 at 6:11 PM, Professor Thaum said:

It's never too late

My ship is there… but the link to the map doesn’t work so I can’t pick a route!

[Kwatchi]

9 hours ago, Professor Thaum said:

Sorry.  I personally haven't checked this site in months.

/hands the professor a hanky

[Professor Thaum]

MAPS :

[Fraunces]

If a player missed april the 15th ( due to a big house renovation ) can he or she still enter for the other categories?

[Professor Thaum]

@Fraunces :

Sure and according to the great number of racer, you may enter a ship before may the 1st.

[_Salamander_]

On 4/17/2025 at 4:19 PM, Professor Thaum said:

MAPS :

@Professor Thaum - I’m limited to 0 PMs each day so can’t message you my route. 

My chosen route is 32, 35, 37, 42.  If I’ve understood correctly how routes work, this puts The Golden Frog somewhere south of Maldria.

[Professor Thaum]

Yeaah, sure PM allowed after 10 posts. OK for your course

[Khorne]

Seeing as this is the last challenge, is this open for non-main factions as well like in the previous challenge? In other words, can I enter an Essian vessel for example?

Second question: can I enter a digitally built ship? I never built a ship before, so my collection isn't very ship-oriented to crank something out. I did make something in Studio, which uses all existing parts so I could order those and build it in the future.

[Professor Thaum]

Essian vessel welcome of course . Digital too provided it can be made in real bricks

[Khorne]

8 hours ago, Professor Thaum said:

Essian vessel welcome of course . Digital too provided it can be made in real bricks

Great! I'll probably post the ship over the weekend then and send my route. The ship can 100% be build from real bricks, so that shouldn't pose a problem. I'll see if I can whip up a small accompanying build in real bricks for the post.