Its insanely bouncy on board at the moment, excuse me as the keyboard clatters away on its own!
Unlike our mystery mark rounding at the eastern end of the previous gate when we had calm seas and bucolic sunshine, this time it was all action. After days of very shifty conditions after our gybe at 48 south, we had finally settled into relatively stable tight reaching conditions, switching between solent and staysail jibs with reefs to match.
On approach to the western end of the Auzzie security gate we were hard on the wind for the final few miles and this just served heighten the drama of our bear away. We did a tight rounding to look for the inflatable Kangaroo that Campbell had talked about but didn’t see anything of note in the windswept seas. We did a hard turn onto an easterly course and doubled our speed in an instant. You’ll see in the photo of Sam that our sail change from staysail to solent was pretty sporty, particularly when we caught a wave an surfed at 21 kts as the sail was coming down!
Since turning right we’ve been back to having bricks of water thrown at our heads and outdoor fashion has reverted back to the full sailor’s “burkha” with only the eyes showing. On my Gill Ocean Smock I can even close this gap by ducking my head inside my collar, leaving me impervious to the spray but blind in the bargain! Eventually I gave up on driving and passed the helm to Knut and ducked for cover. We’ve since averaged 16kts with surfs to 22 on the back of waves and as the wind builds we’ll have to come up with some clever ways to slow the boat down!
Down below we are at least dry, but life inside is far from calm and restful. Even sitting is a work out as one constantly braces against the wild motion. Some how I don’t think we’ll see the Southern Ocean Ab Master 40 in any infomercials anytime soon. “Do you want to smell bad, eat crap food but get abs to die for? Buy the Southern Ocean Ab Master Express 40 NOW, for only three easy payments of 200,000 euros. Call now and we’ll give you a race around the world for free. Thats right, and the first lucky caller gets sea sick pills on us!
- Sea Trials
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Sea Trials
Welcome to my newly minted Outside TV blog, one dedicated to an unusual element of Outside pursuits. My fellow bloggers here all live exciting lives and bring back fantastic stories from their expeditions up, over and around terra firma. I am going to be taking a different tack, and will be telling you about my pursuit of Cape Horn and a racing circumnavigation of the globe, powered by the wind.
I was born into this gig, as my mother met my father when he was halfway through sailing around the world, a dream that I have subsequently adopted as my own. I spent my first year at sea, shaky first steps not made easier by the rocking of the boat! Later, growing up in New Zealand the blurred face and scratchy voice of Sir Peter Blake battling storms in the Southern Ocean left an indellible mark on me and sent me on a path to where I am now.
About Conrad Colman: Conrad is an ocean racing sailor who hails from the land where they grow 'em best, New Zealand. Having decamped to France via a lot of mountain biking in the American Rockies, he's now racing around the world on a 40 foot yacht with a Spanish sailor who was a stranger just months before. Tune in for a " how to guide" on life at sea, endurance racing, team building in confined spaces and the gory details of a freeze-dried diet taken to the extreme! He can be contacted through his website: www.conradcolman.com.
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