4:09 AM Fri 11 Dec 2009 GMT
Ocean racing: A game of highs and lows, of gains and losses, where the gains often come in the meteorological lows and the losses in the highs. After the disappointment of losing out on the scoring gate, falling foul of light winds in the final few miles, we've been steadily putting the miles back on, gradually reeling in the rest of the fleet and slowly working our way back up the pack.
For the past 48 hours our more southerly position has finally paid dividends, we've gained in almost every schedule, and we're now well placed, back in touch with the frontrunners. In part this has been due to better wind conditions; in part it's down to the angle we've been able to sail towards Geraldton in Western Australia. As the fleet begins to converge though in the push towards the finish (even if that is more than 1000nm away still!) the opportunity for large gains and losses begins to reduce as the fleet experiences similar wind conditions.
This makes spotting the areas of lighter winds, and trying to avoid these, even more important. The arrival of the daily weather files becomes a key event as Gerry 'the tea' sits down and tries to divine the future through a judicious reading of the tea leaves in his mug of Irish Breakfast Tea, so far, so good. We've managed to keep a good track and look to be set fair for the next day or two as well. However, areas of lighter winds lie in our track and we'll be watching the development of some key wind systems with interest over the next few days. We're all keen to get in to Australia as soon as possible!
In our search for tactical advantage we've not lost sight of the sailing itself, and it's been a fantastic few days, with a real mix of conditions, from torrential rain to bright blue skies and pastel coloured hues as the sun sets behind the boat. For most of yesterday we were screaming upwind, bouncing thorough the waves of the Southern Ocean, heeled over and with just one thought in our minds, keep the vanilla mousse chilling in the companionway, safe! Pudding is an important concept on Cape Breton Island!!
Overnight the winds were forecast to build, with a storm warning issued. So we played the cautious card and changed down to our smaller headsail, only to find that the winds dropped away almost immediately! We're beginning to learn that sailing, and sailing in the Southern Ocean in particular, is not very predictable. Anyway, we kept up the headsail and shook out the reefs in the mainsail (reducing the size of the mainsail by folding in 'slabs' using reefing lines) to maintain speeds even if it was with a fairly unconventional sail plan. Gradually the winds built back up over night and the reefs came back in, balancing the boat and preventing her from being over pressed.
The speed of change is at times quite humbling. A frontal system approaches, the first drops of rain are felt and suddenly the wind speeds have increased in an instant from 25 knots to 40 knots, the boat heels over as the wind hits and visibility collapses as the rain lashes down and the wind whips across the surface of the sea. A rapidly reefed sail and all is under control and half an hour later wind conditions drop back again.
So, as the daylight fades we await the latest schedules to see how we're doing relative to the rest of the fleet, particularly with regard to the last six hours. Hopefully we're still making good progress as we've had consistently good speeds in the right direction. But this is a well-matched fleet and gains and losses often come down to unpredictable wind conditions, rather than differences in the quality of the sailing. Proof, if any were needed, is the fact that after some 3,000nm less than 100nm separates most of the fleet. If the current spread continues then the first half of the fleet might all arrive in Geraldton within a half day window, after more than three weeks sailing. Pretty amazing if true!
Cape Breton Island standing by.
by Adrian Healy
|
Kogarah, NSW
Kitesurfing - Kites
Stand Up Paddle - Wave & Cruising Boards
Foiling - Components (Wings,Masts,etc)