DATE 15.11.11
LAT 45 44.6s
LONG 151 44.9e
DTF 1616
ETA 1800 24 NOV 11
WEATHER Wind 330@27 sea 5 swell 280@3m cloud 3/8 baro 2002.3 dropping
SKIPPERS BLOG
A surprise visit was paid this morning by one of our crewmembers Gina
Gourlay who flew out from Cambridge Airport near Hobart Tasmaina in a
chartered flight 180nm to find us in the middle of the southern ocean.
Gina’s plane flew a few circles around us and we made contact on VHF radio
and had a bit of a chat and shared greetings. Gina is very excited to be
joining Gold coast Australia when we arrive in the Gold coast on the 14th
of December, and I was very happy to hear that everybody is well in
Tasmania. The plane stayed just long enough to take a few photos before
it headed back to Cambridge Airport near Hobart. A big thanks to Gina for
making such an effort and giving us a big surprise.
Gina’s visit came as we were sailing down wind with the spinnaker up in
near perfect sailing conditions. Looking at the synoptic situation these
conditions are about to go form perfectly good, to a perfect storm and the
crew have been well briefed on preparations that need to be made before
conditions worsen. The wind has already started to veer to the north and
increase in velocity warning of an approaching weather system where we may
see winds constantly over 40 kts and gusts over 70kts.
Preparations include pre-cooking food for 24 hours of stormy weather,
bending on the trisail and storm jib, ensuring everything below is secure
and in some cases screwing loose hatch covers into position and
re-arranging shelves to ensure there are no missile hazards, and of course
conducting daily checks on rig and steering even more thoroughly than
normal.
I have been in similar situations down here in the Tasman Sea and Bass
Straight before and the worst part is that the warnings given by the
Australian Bureau of Meteorology that wind gusts may be up to 40% higher
than predicted and sea state up to twice the height are often true but
unpredictable. Provided you know that you are fully prepared then
everything will be ok. The Dubois 68’s are incredibly seaworthy boats
and I have all faith that Gold coast Australia will weather the storm with
ease provided we look after her and sail with a conservative sail plan.
It’s the human factor you need to take care of, the last thing you want is
to be hit by a storm such as this with no food to eat or Coffee to drink!