08/03/2022 Day 15
Latitude 52 43.65S
Longitude 157 04.716E
Baro 1018
Airtemp 8 degrees Celsius
Time 2300 UTC+11 Sydney time.
Hi All,
Well last night was storm night so I really didn't manage much sleep and so this morning on the back end of the storm when the winds had dropped back to a normal range of 25 knots I dragged myself out of bed to take the boat out of hove to at 6am. I had managed to be in bed since around 1.30am but sleep was hard to come by with alarms and the occasional slap from a wave. The storm itself wasn't actually all that bad in comparison to other storms I have sailed through, but the swell was really messy, and this made for an uncomfortable night as we pitched and rolled all different directions. I was so tired by the time I went to bed that I was actually able to sleep through some of it.
When I went on deck it was to find actual blue skies and sunshine. The winds were averaging around 18-22 knots and I was still sailing with the storm jib and the 4th reef in the mainsail, so I was debating about shaking the reefs out. While I knew I needed to shake out the 4th reef to the third reef I wasn’t sure about shaking out to the 2nd reef. This basically would mean I have half the mainsail up. I was almost expecting that the conditions would continue to lighten as the morning went on but as I watched the instruments, I noticed a few gusts at 37 knots and decided to hold at reef 3 for a few more hours.
I have to say I am so thankful that I made that decision because after I shook out the reef and finished on deck I went below and not 10 minutes later I was slammed by a squall (localised mini storm) and we were getting winds at 47 knots. If I had of shaken out to the second reef, I would have had far too much sail up. As it was, with the third reef in we were just holding in the winds. I could hear it was bucketing down with rain on deck and with the temperatures being so cold I really didn't want to have to go on deck and change the sails.
20 minutes later and we were back to blue skies and 20 knots of wind. I poked my head out on deck and was surprised to see that there was a little collection of hail in the cockpit. Really small hail balls but burr it just reminded me of how chilly it is out here. I really needed some more sleep so now that the squall had passed, I tried to get another few hours in and managed a small amount. I got up at lunch time feeling far better than yesterday and took stock of the conditions.
I had noticed that we had be getting regular severe squalls that were driving the winds up to the 40-45 knot mark and with the stronger winds, came a large and confused sea. The original swell direction was a westerly swell but with the winds the night before blowing in from the North, this generated a messy sea state from the North sitting on top of the 5-meter large swell from the West. That combination makes for a wild ride on Climate Action Now. We have been broaching or getting knocked down by the waves at least every 30 minutes throughout the day, so you must be quite careful moving around the boat and doing basic things like using the toilet can become quite challenging.
Just before sunset I wanted to go on deck and get a quick pic on my phone for the blog tonight as its International Women’s Day. So happy International Women’s Day everyone. I stood in the cabin debating about if I could bother putting on my Musto Salopettes for a 3-minute visit on deck and ended up regretting the decision not to. I ended up going out on deck in my base layers and Dubarry boots and lifejacket as I was only going to be a minute.
I sheltered under the cuddy from the wind and sea spray I was waiting for a little lull where I could pop my head out and snap this pic when we were side swiped by a big 5-meter wave that threw us on our side and half drowned Climate Action Now. I managed to miss the fall out of water from the initial impact, but the cockpit was half flooded.
In tonight’s video update you can see the clip of this wave hitting us and just before it strikes you hear me faintly saying 'should have worn my foulies (foul weather gear)' and then the impact occurs. Well, all that water had to go somewhere and when Climate Action Now rolled back to starboard it went right under me and then down into my boot. I now have a lovely, soaked bum and left wet foot to thank for my laziness...
I also now have salty underwear and I am not carrying enough layers to change just yet so I will need to sleep in the wet layers to dry them and wear them for a few more days. What fun.
Dinner tonight was a new one and it was a Mexican chili freeze dried meal with avocado and everything, went down a treat and now I am finally ready for a good night’s sleep……hopefully.
As always I would like to take a moment to thank todays degree sponsors so thank you to:
154 East - Concept Labs - thanks to Naomi and the team for your support.
155 East - Thanks to Dick and Pip Smith for all your amazing support.
156 East - d'Albora Marinas - Nelson Bay, Port Stephens NSW for always supporting my projects and for being so focused on delivering an eco friendly marina.
Good night all
SPONSORS
TECHNICAL PARTNERS
