Richard Hewson

Date Wednesday 08 May 2013 Position Cosica Coast

After a night of blast reaching through the islands of Italy, chatting with fishermen and avoiding rocks, Richard Hewson marks the half way point for his 1000nm qualification passage. It is a pitch black night, there is no moon, its blowing about 20kts, and the RG650 is sailing like a rocket ship!

0246 Position 42 29N 10 49E I manage a half hour lay down, setting my faithfull egg timer to wake me up just short of my REM cycle starting so I can remain vigilant when I return to the deck. As soon as I wake up I poke my head up on deck to check our proximity to any hazards, then go back down below to make a strong coffee and Im ready to go again! The wind is swinging North West later so I make hay while the sun shines (even though it is night time, pitch black and cold!) with light weight spinaker and full main – Charging along!
I am finding it hard to get accurate weather information. The Italian weather radio station gives continuous forecasts, but it is in broken English or Italian and very hard to understand. Basically it seems to make no difference to routing as the weather tends to swing 360 deg every few hours! The barometer is rising so no storms forecasted but it may result in light winds later today.
0300 I cut my foot on a split pin that had come untaped. There is blood all over the deck and looks like there has been a murder. The cut does not seem too serious so no need to get out the sutures.
0425 Position 42 34N 10 36E, Wind has backed now sailing TWA of 135 deg, so change to Code 5. I love this sail, it is so versitle and we can get such good speeds with it. I reach along making up some songs/poems about the sail to keep me amused

Code 5 Code 5 how you make me feel alive
flying out at the end of the pole
your funny shape plays a vital role
…
Code 5 love is the truth
come with me to Guadlaupe.

I actually sung about 10 versus of this song and it was pretty funny at the time. What a shame I cant remember them all!

0540 E Eba Lt brg 000 range 1nm. I rounded cape Eba
0630 Sunrise – a beautiful sunrise shining light over the majestic steep cliffs surrounding the Italian Island of Eba which is apparently a prison island! Wind has veered and modirated again so change to LWS
0856 Position 42 42N 10 03E Big wind shift, drop code 5, Solent up
1200 Position 42 51N 009 46E Very hot in midday sun, wind has now dropped off and I struggle to make it out of the Lee of Elba. Time for another coffee. I have the deck speakers out playing some funky house music, defiantly a one man party!
1600 Position 43 01N 009 27E Rounded cape Corsica and Giragilia Island, hoist LWS and alter course to the bay of St Tropez. There is a nice breeze blowing and we are making some good ground again.
Out of the blue my phone rigns, and Timmy informs me of a possible job opportunity and also gives me a run down of the weather situation for the next few days as we sail back to Palma. Light and variable conditions will plague us for the next few days, but then good winds from St Tropez and across the gulf of Leon.
Thursday: LIght westerlies
Friday: Mistral building from NW
Sat: Mistral from NW

Movie Rich and the RG650 approaching Cosica just before the wind dropps out.. note all the gear out to dry including my beloved Sea Rug from Sydney.

2000: We are 5nm clear of Cosica and the wind drops off compleatly. Making no headway and hard to steer. Im starting to shut down due to lack of sleep, no amount of coffee can keep me awake, so I check for any hazards in the area, switch on the lights and set my alarm for 1 hr intervals and go to sleep.
2100 Wake up all clear
2200 Wake up all clear, not a breath of wind so I drop the sails and go back to bed
…