d'Albora's Action Project: AUS 360 Blog Update
Presented by Pivotel
Afternoon all,
Well myself and Climate Action Now have been trucking along well. Last night after I completed the blog the winds decided to build to a nice Southerly 20 knots so I opted for safety and didnt end up hoisting the code Zero (this is my largest sail). I was also thinking of the distance yet to cover and while I want to set the new speed record I am also very conscious that I need to complete the whole of the trip to establish any record.
In the end I was rather happy with the decision as there was a huge amount of shipping passing me last night and the winds required for me to gybe often through out the night. Again it was a night filled with little sleep due to the amount of traffic. For some reason I must have landed myself directly in the shipping lane for south bound traffic as every 30 minuets there was another container ship heading directly towards me. With them coming right at me and a closing CPA (closest point of approach) of less than half a nautical mile I was needed ondeck taking bearings to double check that what the electronic equipment on-board was say was true. I am pleased to say that the B and G electronics stood up to the test and was delivering very accurate information on the AIS shipping movements.
Just as I thought that I would be in the clear another ship would arrive on the display and I would need to be awake again for another 40 min until it passed. It wasnt until after 3 am that their was a bit of a break between ships and I was finally able to get some 20 minuet naps in. I was up again at 8 am to wake up a little ahead of a radio interview and then I needed to gybe the boat off the land. The winds this morning were still trending Southerly but had eased to about 10 knots True so I was only managing to make around 3-5 knots of boat speed. I sailed past Cresent Heads and waved to my friends that live their and then was supprised with some wildlife. THere was birds fishing everywhere, some dolphins hunting and in the distance I could see whales breaching so it was a lovely morning.
It wasnt until lunchtime that the next section of weather arrived and the winds backed to the SE and filled in to 20 knots again. I still have the full mainsail up and the largest head sail my Jib 1 so with the increased winds I was able to manage 8-10 knots of boat speed for a few hours which was great as it was all in the right direction as well.
I am now sailing in 15-20 knots SE and am just about to pass coff harbour, I am happy with the time I am making given the weather and would love it if this Southerly would stay around for a few days and help me out. Tonight should be nice with steady winds and I am able to lay course however I do believe that the winds are due to ease again come morning. Till then.
Thanks to the following Sponsors for all their continued support: d’Albora Marinas, Pivotel B&G, Australian Geographic, Zhik , Park Fuels, Karver, 3M, White Bay 6 Marine Park, and Great Circle Life Raft
