HAPPY NEW YEARS

LAT 08 29.9S
LONG 155 02.2E
DTF 3700
ETA 14 JAN 2012

WEATHER LIGHT AND VARIABLE, CLOUD 2/8 CAOTIC, 1002.5

For the past day we have been sailing in near perfect sailing conditions with a perfect breeze from the north blowing us along at a good 6 kts in the right direction. It has been almost like a dream run and I have been saying to all onboard how lucky we are to have this wind as we sail up through the Solomon Sea and past the Laghlan virtual mark to port. The area we are sailing through it is so beautiful some times you need to close your eyes and remember where you are, and then we are quickly reminded, as the wind shuts down completely and the familiar crack crack, crack crack of the main flapping across the boat in 0kts of wind and the random swell – we are near the equator in the doldrums, that’s where we are!

Left in the sweltering mid day sun at 8 degrees south with no wind is extremely hot. There is no option of wearing no shoes on deck as bare feet burn to the deck. We are all drinking about 8L of water per day plus washing, and sunscreen does not seem enough to stop the suns harsh rays on our skin so t-shirts and hats are a must. Today at mid-day, being new years eve we had planned to have champaign, but it was so hot this has been postponed till later in the evening when it cools down. Instead, as the boat speed was 0kts, we jumped into the water for a quick swim. The luke warm water is like paradise, and a nice small cold bucket of water washes the salt off nicely to complete the evolution.

With no wind and no boat speed today I decided to drop the mainsail and undertake some maintenance by replacing the top two batons that had been lost or destroyed since the start of the race during the strong winds. The top batten had clearly snapped itself in half and the inner peice that had snapped off proved impossible to remove without unpicking the sail, therefore we placed another baton in the pocket alongside it to support it and hopefully prevent damage to the mainsail before we can repair it ashore.

During the calm conditions we have also made a wind scoop for the front hatch to try to funnel what wind we can down into the ghetto. This scoop will probably come in very handy for the remainder of the race in the NE trade winds once we reach them.

The good conditions (up until midday today) has allowed perfect training conditions so Gold Coast Sailing Academy has been in full swing as everybody onboard gets lessons and lots of practice helming and trimming. Everybody onboard is doing remarkably well.

With any luck the wind will come back to us this afternoon and we can bring in the New Year in style. Gold Coast Australia has a new years resolution, and its very yellow. HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERBODY! WHOOP WHOOP!!!

LAT 10 41.1S
LONG 154 41.6E
DTF 3650nm
ETA 0600 23 Jan 2012

WEATHER Wind 303@14ts Sea modearate, swell N1m Cloud 7/8 various, Baro 1003.1

Over the past 24hrs Gold Coast Australia has seen a myryd of conditions. Shortly sending my last blog the a large cloud
bank developed to the north and as we sailed into it the wind backed as we were predicting it to 10 hours earlier and then
just as we had got the Y1 secure on the deck the wind increased to 22kts and the havens opened up with bucketfuls of
torrential rain. This lasted only a few minutes, and shortly after the Y1 was re hoisted and we were sailing in sunshine
again. With sunshine the wind once again veered and we were back tacking towards the scoring gate until the wind gradually
backed to the west and we could finally lay it in first place 3 hours and 20 minutes ahead of Geraldton Western Australia.

The monsoonal squalls continued throughout the late afternoon and well into the evening and it was during one of these
storms while another bird was trying to take off with our windex when we experienced what would be some apparently good luck
when the bird dropped a message that not only covered the deck but myself and Anlelise Nelson at the helm. Hopefully this
message bought good luck, or it was from my Auntie and Uncle in the BVI who always say they are sending a bird with a message for us. Either way it was quite unreadable so but very large.

During the monsoonal squalls there were some fantastic displays of lightening. Fearing that our electrical equipment may
get zapped by the storms it is usual practice for the crew to put laptop computers, vhf handled and gps handheld into the
bread oven. Given the intense heat throughout the day however the bread oven did not have time to cool and by the time i got my computer out a couple of hours later it was so hot it had almost melted!

As the monsoonal clouds got bigger, and the night got darker we reduced sail to ta Yankee 2 and place a reef in the
mainsail. Shortly after performing this change we saw one of the longest biggest blackest clouds that I have seen for a
long time off our port bow. Like being chased by a evil creature we sailed our best angle for best speed and did everything
we could to sail past the monster however it was closing us on a steady bearing. Finally I realised that it was upon us so
I bore away to run with it while it lasted. It was like surfing a barrel, we could see the light at the end of the tunnel,
but it was slowly dissapearing until we were surrounded by complete blackness. I have never experienced such blackness in
my life. Finally we came out the other side conditions began to cear up for the rest of the night.

When I came on deck in the morning as we were nearing the Adel gate the wind had disappeared almost all together and we were
coasting along with full main and winseaker. As we rounded Adel the wind returned once again to perfect sailing conditions
of 13-16kts from the NW and have remained stable all day. We are keeping a close eye out for changing clouds as no doubt the monsoonal squalls will return this evening.

This is once again quite a close race and at the last sked Geraldton had made some good miles on us since the scoring gate.
Our VHF radio stopped transmitting just prior to race start and dispite taking it apart and trying to fix the problem we
still have had no success. We are able to recieve VHF however and it is nice to listen to the yachts behind us bantering
amongst themselves, and sometimes even talking about us. For the boys on the boats behind, my ears are buring and i am listening!

Anybody who has been watching the race on the tracker would have noticed that at the 1200 sked we were placed in 9th position. This is due to the position of the waypoints used by the race officials so it is not surprising that now we are through the scoring gate we have a 30nm lead on the other boats. Here is what the daily report had to say:

“Gold Coast Australia has reported crossing the Scoring Gate at 1121 UTC and is in line for three bonus points as the first team to reach it, while the second team to report their crossing is Geraldton Western Australia at 1440.44 UTC, who are set to claim two bonus points.”

LAT 13 15.0S
LONG 153 17.8E
DTF 3580nm
ETA 0600 28 Jan 2012

WEATHER

Wind 000@13 Sea moderate NE 1m Swell Confused Cloud 6/8 developing, Low Cl, High St, High Ci, Baro 1019 falling

SKIPPERS BLOG

The wind at the moment is not playing the game for Gold Coast Australia, it seems like our friend Coriolis has gone on
holiday! In accordance with the Routing Chart we should have SE’ly wind, in accordance with the GFS Grib we should have had
NWly wind for the past 20 or so hours, yet it continues to blow from the NE. This is a major setback for Gold Coast as we
have been hugging the west hand side of the course for the last two days covering the fleet in preparation for the new wind
from the west. Apart from the wind backing a very slow 5 degrees every two hours for the last few hours, the current weather
is about as constant as it can possibly get, and therefore no good for my tactics at all! Weather is weather and it will
do what it wants despite human efforts to predict it and control it, and this is yacht racing and this is why we love our
game so much. With the only 4nm separating the first 6 boats, and 10nm separating the first 9 boats in the fleet the racing to the scoring gate is incredibly close and very exciting.

The weather at the moment is definatly extrodinary, and thought we saw cats paws and mares tales in the sky yesterday which
normally indicate an approaching storm, until now there has been little change in the wind for the past 20 hours apart from
a slight increase and shift to the North East where we do not want it to go. As the afternoon builds there are bluish grey
haze filling the horizon all the way to the clouds, signs of monsoon type weather. There is also signs of upper level
activity in the clouds above us and the barometer has started to drop and the air is cooling which also tell us of a change
in wind soon to come, though this change may come too late for us to get to the scoring gate first, it will assist in
sailing through the doldrums that can be normally found between between the equator and 12 degrees this time of year and hopefully still benefit us in our more westerly course.

Apart from the frustration of the wind not doing what it is “supposed to” these have been perfect sailing conditions, with
11-14kts of constant wind Gold Coast is humming along nicely -even though on not the predicted and desired course.
Everybody on board is having a fantastic time as the sun is out and the breeze is nicely cooling on our hot bodies and if it
wasn’t for the pressure of trying to beat the other boats to the scoring gate life could not be better. It is no wonder so
many cruising boats flock to these latitudes and give up the manontony of “ordinary life” for a gypsy life on the sea and at
the moment I am defiantly seeing merit in selling everything and moving to a pacific island!

With the perfect conditions on deck our on board library is getting a good work out, as everybody enjoys the sunshine while
reading books and listening to music on deck, relieved by the odd splash of water that soon dries out before you need to
turn your book to the next page. The only thing really missing from this perfect scenario is wildlife, and apart from a
small pod of dolphins this morning and a boobie bird that keeps trying to steel our wind vane we have seen very little wild
life for this part of the world where usually turtles, dolphins and sharks are a common occurrence. This makes you wonder
what has happened to our ecosystem over the past few years to reduce such numbers in ocean wild life and what will become of us if the oceans become barren.

LAT 15 24.3S
LONG 154 39.5E
DTF 3705nm
ETA 0600Z 28 JAN 11

WIND 320@5.5kts, Sea Calm, Swell South 1m, Cloud 5/8 Stratus, Baro 1001.0

SKIPPERS BLOG

The past day has been a mixture of perfect sailing conditions and frustrating oscillating light winds and extreme heat as we
try to make miles to windward towards our waypoint 12nm to the SE of the Louisiade Archipelago. Clipper yachts have a very
poor tacking angle of about 120 degrees in light airs, and their 38 Tonne hulls do not like the light conditions at all.
Despite the conditions everybody is very happy onboard and lots of maintenance is being done with everybody getting involved.

Owing to the light winds and occasional spell of boredom, the conversation on deck ranges to the most extraordinary topics,
many of which I dare not mention but often end up with everybody in stitches laughing on deck.

With the other yachts about 50nm to our East, it is frustrating to think that they may be getting better speeds than us, and
with each other in company will no doubt be racing their yacht harder than us as there is more to gain or loose in the
immediate vicinity. Out here in the wild west, we are on our lonesome apart from Geraldton who is not (yet) in sight, and
concentration often lapses as we slip silently and slowly through the sea and tack occasionally to try to make the best ground to windward.

While it is obvious looking at the sky that the weather is coming from the west I am uncertain what sort of weather we are
to be expecting. Yesterday we saw cats paws and lambs tails which is normally a sure sign of upper level activity and a
storm approaching, yet there is still no sign of any more than 6kts of wind. At the moment there are three different
weather models trying to anticipate the path and intensity of Tropical Cyclone Grant. One model suggests it will charge
across the Gulf of Carpentaria and into the coral sea bringing us strong winds, another model suggests it will do this but
weaken to a storm, and another model suggests that it will die off altogether. I am banking on one of the first two of
these options as that will bring us wind before the yachts to the east, while the third option may results in the SE trades
returning that will surely benefit the yachts to the east. Either way, at the moment the GFS files are no real indication
to the conditions at present but give us a good indication of what may happen and something to base our tactical theory on.
The real tell tail signs are in the clouds and I am watching them with anticipation hoping that they will soon bring us wind to take us to the north ahead of the other yachts.

LAT 16 58.6S
LONG 154 20.3
DTF 3778

WIND 240@7KTS SEA CALM SWELL 180@1M BARO 1001.9 CL0UD 2/8 Mares Tails

Gold Coast Australia has been experiencing fantastic sailing conditions as we head north in the Coral Sea towards PNG. The
perfect conditions have allowed us to carry out some maintenance on the boat and rectify problems that have occurred since we left South Port Yacht Club.

One serious issue that has required attention is our leaking stern gland and this morning after three hours of hard labour
and a little bit of cursing I managed to get the new stern gland on. The process of replacing the stern gland is normally
undertaken while the boat is out of the water and there were a few problems that we had to nut out prior to starting the
exercise including how not to loose the propeller and shaft altogether how prevent masses of water entering the hull, how to
get the water out, and what to do if it all go’s horribly wrong. The process involves disconnecting the propeller shaft
from the gear box and sliding it back, then using a puller to remove the spindle that attaches the shaft to the gear box.
This required a special tool to pull the spindle off and thankfully it was in a box passed over from another yacht in the
fleet Singapore shortly after race start. The spindle had not been removed for a long time, and the nuts took a bit of
heat, WD40 and elbow grease to crack. Finally, with the bilge pumps running flat out to remove the water that was flooding
in, the spindle was off, and we were able to remove the old cracked stern gland off. With a bit of messing about the new
stern gland was on and with a bit more elbow grease and a little more cursing I managed to get the shaft re-attached to the gear box and the stern glands secured in place without sinking the boat.

Other maintenance that has been undertaken is making spectra loops which are used as sacrificial loops on our sheets and
braces and which we change out every two days of running under spinnaker to prevent chafe and snapping sheets, guys and
spinnaker poles. Clipper yachts use the same sails and have limited sheets, braces and halyards to use while we sail
45000nm around the world, so consequently we use a lot more protection and sacrificial loops than your normal racing yacht
to enable us to maintain our equipment. It is imperative that this equipment is well maintained or it will most likely give way in the worst moment possible.

As we sail into the warmer waters of the tropics my mid day “happy hour” brief warned crew about the dangers of sunburn,
heat stroke and dehydration. While conditions on deck are at the moment quite pleasant due to the gentle 10kts of westerly
wind, conditions below are getting exceedingly hot. These conditions are not helped by cooking bread in the oven and
running the engine to generate electricity (as our unbreakable ONEN generator is still not working despite being taken apart
twice by two different service agents!) Showers are also required to maintain hygiene for the 16 crew onboard and our water
maker is basically running flat out to cope with the water required for drinking, cooking and showers.

As the Sydney to Hobart yachts sail towards Hobart, we have decided to compete in our own 640nm challenge. Our start line
was at 20*40’S at 1200 EST and our finish will be at 10*00’S and our conditions, while being slightly warmer than the yachts
heading south will be reasonably similar though reversed. While the S2H yachts bashed their way down the NSW coast into a
southerly wind, they will experience some nice down wind running conditions on their way down the east coast. For us, our
“race”started with the down wind running, and it is expected that we will cop the headwinds from the tail end of ex-Tropical
Cyclone Grant towards the finish of our “race”. It will be interesting to see how we are placed, though in real life if a
clipper 68 with our heavy southern ocean going hull, alloy rig and panel cut dacron sails were to compete in a Sydney to
Hobart it would not perform too well against lighter displacement yachts, carbon masts and 3DL sails.

Wildlife at the moment consists of one boobie bird that continually tries to attack our windex, and as much as I love wild
life, I am about to get out my sling shot and see if I can discourage the boobie from making any further attacks. Other
than the windex attacking boobie, and the crew attacking gannet who made a return last night, wild life has been
concerningly bland for this area without a dolphin, fish or shark in sight. I only hope we are just not looking hard enough, but I fear that over fishing in the south pacific may be to blame.

On a happier note, we remain in the lead and in a good position to receive the new wind from the west first, so hopefully
will continue to extend this lead over the coming days to reach the Coral Sea scoring gate first and gain 3 points, but more
importantly, be the first yacht into the NE trades and commence our sprint to Singapore.

LAT 20 48.8S
LONG 153 03.5E
DTF 4150
ETA 0600z 28 Jan 11
COG 000 SOG 12

SKIPPERS BLOG

WIND 207@20kts Sea Moderate S 1m Swell S 3m Cloud 1/9 Baro 1003.3 rising

As the rest of the Australian offshore fleet lines up for the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race and are expecting 25kts from the
SE, Goldcoast Australia could not have more perfect sailing conditions at the moment as we sail on a broad reach in bright sunshine past the Great Barrier Reef.

Christmas was a fantastic day aboard Gold Coast, and today, in Boxing day tradition we are eating the mounds of leftovers
and getting rid of Christmas wrappings. The cheer of Christmas however still remains, and today will be a far better day to
celebrate the festive season as the sun is out and the winds are fine and we are surrounded by wildlife, particularity a few gannet birds

One particular Gannet bird has been following us now for over 14hours, we have named him pecker as he gave one of our watch
leaders Analyse Nelson an unusual Christmas gift. I believe the Gannet thought Analyse was sitting under some mistletoe
while she was bending over feeding the windward yankee sheet through the block, the Pecker the Gannet flew past and gave her
a quick peck on the bottom much to the rest of the crews amusement. Pecker also tried to steal another crew members Terry
Martin’s hat, and was later found in trouble as he tried to steal the first spreader off the mast without much luck.

Our leaking stern gland continues to give us problems and whilst the repairs are holding we are still taking on an
unacceptable amount of water, resulting in bilge duty being reduced to 1 hours to pump out the excess water. Once we are in
the doldrums of the ITCZ we have made plans to remove the shaft and replace the leaking rubber gland underway.

Now off for some leftovers and to try and tune the AM radio into ABC Australia to listen to the start of the Sydney to
Hobart Yacht race, where one of my sisters Gina will be busy lining up for the start.

Happy Boxing Day!

Just a picture from Christmas.. yes we were wearing santa hats!