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Latest News Day 20 - Passage to Auckland
Latest News Day 20 - Passage to Auckland | Day 20 - Passage to Auckland |
| Monday, 21 May 2007 | |||||||||||
�"How frustrating it has all been. At the beginning of May l was all set to take on the Blue Ocean Wireless Round the World Challenge, in an attempt to break Ellen MacArthur�'s solo record. Now, because of the major breakages that happened so quickly into the challenge, I have been forced to head for New Zealand instead. If the breakages had happened when l was still West of New Zealand l would have had the choice of turning round and going back to my Tasmanian starting point of Hobart, or sailing with the wind to Wellington, much easier than l'am now forced to do now. Because l tried so hard to rectify the breakages, l sailed around a 1000 miles to the East of New Zealand before l decided it would be futile to keep going on, wondering if the repairs l had done would hold out until l crossed the finishing line back in Hobart. It would not have been fun, if the forestay fitting gave way while riding really heavy weather, maybe rounding Cape Horn. There is no way that I could run the risk of losing the rig, in the middle of nowhere, and I had to make the decision to head for port to make repairs. It has been a real struggle to get back to Auckland. For those who are not aware of the implications in doing this, the weather, the kind of boat l am sailing and the care l have to instill in myself to protect Doha'�s damaged rig, all have a bearing on the time it is taking. The dominant winds in this part of the world come from the W - SW � NW, which, as I sail NW back to New Zealand, are right in my face. Because of the problem l have with the forestay, l cannot beat to windward as hard as l would like to because this could undue the repairs l have carried out to keep the 50mm dia. forestay pin holding up the rig, in place. Lee Bruce, my weather router, has given me a continuous flow of advice and information and from being over 1000 miles from Auckland, l am now around 800 miles away - as the crow flies. I have purposely sailed North because it takes me away from the heavier wind conditions that sweep around the �Roaring Forty� and �Screaming Fifty� latitudes. I can tell you, l have sailed in all the oceans around the world but, have never been so frustrated, trying to sail against the prevailing winds, coping first with gale force winds and now extremely light conditions, Once l get to Auckland, l will clean up the boat, look at the damaged equipment that has got to be repaired or replaced, and because Auckland is one of the great yachting centres in the world, be able to get people with the right experience to help rectify things. l am also looking forward to a night'�s sleep in a hotel bed, together with some good food and a drink or two to warm the heart. The good news is, l have had no problems with the boat itself. She is a true wonder, taking everything that is chucked at her. It's the equipment that has been the problem, which at least, narrows the logistics to getting everything fixed, before l sail back to Hobart. I am also very thankful for all the support l have received from the Bellerive Yacht Club in Hobart. When Doha is ready to sail, a crew made up of club members have volunteered to fly across to Auckland and help sail the boat back to base. Right now, l have 4 or 5 knots of wind, pushing me along at around 4 kts towards Auckland. I am going to cook a terrific curry, and then use the opportunity that these light airs provide to get some well-deserved sleep. The main thought in my mind at the moment is to rectify the problems, get the boat back into top condition and get back on track to make another attempt at this record later in the year.�" Lee Bruce has advised Tony: "�Light air will be the rule for next 2-3 days. Wind mostly less than 8kt, even flirting with calm at times if we don't get you off this latitude. Based on the long-range wind forecast, it is best to work southwestward whenever possible in the light wind.�" |
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