LAT 20 03.5N
LONG 073 56.0W
DT Scoring Gate 5nm
DTF 1202nm
ETA 27 May 2012
SOG 7kts
COG 030
WEATHER WIND 126@10kts, Sea Slt, Swell NE 1m, Sky 4/8 Cl, Baro 1007
Gold Coast Australia is nearing the scoring gate after a hard and frustrating day of sailing that combined a complete rage of weather and sailing tactics.
The day began as we sailed past Jamaica in reasonable but quite shifty conditions with variable wind. I came on deck to find the other yachts in our vicinity sailing better angles and speeds and set about conducting some trimming lessons in the middle of the night. We managed to bring our boat speed back up to scratch and were sailing brilliantly. I was briefing the crew about how important it would be to keep an eye on the sky and clouds over the next few days sailing through the tropics when one of the crew members pointed out a massive black cloud ahead of us. There was no way around the cloud, our only option was to sail on and hope.
Fifteen minutes later the wind shifted and we received our first few spots of rain. The wind then shifted again, picked up for a few minutes before dropping out completely as the skys opened up with a torrential down pour. What followed was an incredibly variable and shifty night. One minute we would be sailing close hauled in 3kts of wind from the north, then next the we would be blasting along in 24kts of wind from the south. All this time the rain came in buckets.
As the sun rose for a new day the wind began to steady, and we began making some good ground on De Lage Landen and Singapore who had evidently sailed around the squalls and had by now increased their lead.
Gold Coast Australia rounded the southern tip of Haiti we kept a wide berth to avoid a wind shadow from the 2000ft mountain range and hardened up on the wind keeping about 25nm from the shore. Our position was looking fantastic when suddenly the wind dropped out altogether. Fearing we were in the lee of the mountains there was some concern as the yachts to the north of us sailed on. Thankfully these yachts soon parked up as well, and before noon almost the entire fleet was lined up as if on a new start line, drifting in 0kts of wind.
The wind picked up later in the afternoon, and Gold Coast Australia were quick to respond and managed to take full advantage of it amongst three other yachts and worked our way from the rest of the fleet sailing to the Windward Passage.
Early in the evening the wind began to shift again, and the fleet was quick to respond tacking to the north. Gold Coast Australia held on to port tack and sailed deeper into the knocking shift before tacking to the north and making some good gains on the rest of the fleet.
Only miles before the gate our mast head tri-colour nav light blew and Lisa Blair set up to head up the rig to change the bulb. Not an easy task on a dark night as we sail to windward against the swell that swept into the Windward Passage.
Gold Coast will be working hard to be the first boat to the scoring gate to win 3 bonus points before moving in to the next phase of the race where we will be sailing past the Bahamas’s, the Bermuda triangle and then hopefully victory onto New York – Then you can stop your winging Uncle Dave!