14-May-2015 -- This is the first out of 12 reports reaching confluence points along the 51°N-line. In order to achieve this within a single day, we had to optimize our plan. Critical was the daylight time. We had to arrive at the first CP with the first daylight and reach the last point before nightfall. Unfortunately, we were a little too hasty, arriving at this CP too early in order to take clear shots. I apologize for the bad quality of the pictures at this CP. The blurriness is due to a too long exposure time for hand held shots. Going eastwards compared to going westwards gave us exactly 88 minutes more daylight. Why? Because the sun needs 4 minutes to rise between two neighbouring longitudes. 4 minutes x 11 hops x 2 = 88 minutes. Since we compare two directions, the factor 2 is also applied. Also critical were the pauses. To minimise them, we changed drivers, and the one who was not driving was eating our prepared food consisting of two loaves of bread, cheese, tomatoes etc. In comparison to our last attempt 10 years ago, the routing was done by an inboard navigation device. An advantage was that this particular day was Ascension Day, where traffic was significantly lower compared to a normal working day.
We already arrived at Dresden Airport on the day before, spending the night in the nearby town Pirna. The next morning, our alarm-clock woke us at 3:45 AM. After having a quick coffee, we left our hotel at 4:18 AM and reached the confluence monument at 4:30 AM. Note that this official confluence monument is located 130 m to the south-west of the WGS84-confluence. It was still too dark to take pictures of the confluence, so we waited half an hour. The confluence is located just 1 metre from a track, but deep in the forest, which sees daylight much later compared to an open meadow. The WGS-84 confluence is marked with a beacon.
Altogether it took us 16 hours to visit all 12 points, taking the picture of the first confluence at 5:03 AM and the last at 21:08 PM. On average it took us 1 hour 28 minutes to get from one point to another. The total driving distance was 1081 km (half of the time on country roads). Thus, we covered 98 km on average between two CPs, which is 40% more compared to the geometric distance of 11 x 70 km = 770 km. The following table gives some more detailed statistics about the trip.
Here is an overview over all 12 confluences, including a snapshot the of confluence hunters as they appeared at the sites. In those pictures, Elionora is counting the confluence points with her hands in Chinese.
51°N |
14°E |
13°E |
12°E |
11°E |
10°E |
9°E |
8°E |
7°E |
6°E |
5°E |
4°E |
3°E |
Car Parking [hh:mm] |
04:30 |
06:05 |
07:15 |
08:44 |
09:47 |
11:27 |
13:33 |
14:36 |
16:01 |
17:08 |
18:40 |
20:00 |
Picture at CP [hh:mm] |
05:03 |
06:07 |
07:20 |
08:45 |
09:48 |
11:32 |
13:34 |
14:42 |
16:02 |
17:18 |
18:44 |
20:08 |
Time to CP [hh:mm] |
00:12 |
01:02 |
01:08 |
01:24 |
01:02 |
01:39 |
02:01 |
01:02 |
01:19 |
01:06 |
01:22 |
01:16 |
Driving distance [km] |
12 |
90 |
101 |
103 |
99 |
114 |
101 |
88 |
108 |
86 |
95 |
95 |
Parking distance [m] |
142 |
130 |
72 |
73 |
240 |
676 |
110 |
860 |
20 |
700 |
158 |
32 |
Minimal distance [m] |
1 |
11 |
5 |
0 |
43 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
21 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
GPS accuracy [m] |
7 |
3 |
5 |
3 |
6 |
13 |
7 |
6 |
3 |
5 |
3 |
6 |
Altitude |
242 |
294 |
167 |
192 |
378 |
422 |
410 |
51 |
71 |
7 |
7 |
6 |
Country |
D |
D |
D |
D |
D |
D |
D |
D |
D |
B |
B |
B |
CP Visit Details:
- Distance of car parking: 142 m
- Time to reach the CP from the road: 2 min
- Time at the CP: 5:03 AM
- Measured height: 242 m
- Minimal distance according to GPS: 1 m
- Position accuracy: 7 m
- Topography: slightly hilly
- Vegetation: mixed forest of beech, birch and oak
- Weather: partly cloudy, 14° C (felt temperature)
- Given Name: The Waiting for Daylight Confluence
The story continues at 51°N 13°E.