FROM 1-12. 26°S-Nose Brazil &1st circumnavigation

Apr 28, 2005 - 0000hrs UTC

0000hrs 28 Apr 2005 UTC Map Ref 187

On numbers, continued from the last one, I overlooked the fact that Hobart is nearly 4 degrees west of Sydney, at 147 degrees E, so we had already sailed more than 180 degrees – half way round by longitude – when we crossed 33 W and whenever we cross the equator, we are half way around in fact. Woohoo. Lower case still.

And I’ve just pulled in another grib file and iff (= if and only if) it is accurate, we’re outta here and on our bikes. We are now just the right side of the pattern and the grib predicts a big veer (clockwise change in wind direction, bringing it further behind us so making it easier to go north) tomorrow and the next day, with an increase in strength. Can’t help feeling that the Examiner hasn’t yet relented, so looking for the hidden meaning. All y’all, cross fingers, toes and eyelashes pliz.

The guest book is up, according to your suggestions – please stick your monikers therein for us. Big thanks. And thanks Malcolm for getting it together.

[ed: Gust Book is here]

Another of your suggestions – from many of you -is that we should turn this into some sort of book. I’m a bit tentative, but perhaps you could think about how to do it and give us some ideas. The material available is

- these logs, mostly Alex, the raw immediacy stuff, pain, fear, elation and the up front descriptions for your breakfast tables,(really, my diary of the trip – don’t have the emotional energy to hand write one as well)

- Pete’s handwritten journal – I haven’t read it, but I suspect it’s much more introspective, analytical and generally thoughtful and has details about sail changes, wind, food etc. – perfect foil for my stuff, with a bit of luck

- The archive of weather maps, grib files (if we can reproduce them) weather faxes from west of the Horn and the global track charts all from the website

- the full GPS track data from SoftwareonBoard which we could perhaps turn into an interactive CD or just reproduce the track in very large scale for the interesting bits, like the knockdowns and storms

- your emails, or as many of them as you might allow us to print. They would fill in the background for a lot of the updates

- some photos and video – not, unfortunately, of the really bad stuff or the more interesting bits like really hairy sail changes on a heaving rolling pitching foredeck with the spreader lights and the orange storm jib adding a lairy glow to the sheets of water passing by – no opportunity to record and not really what either of us wanted to do in the storms anyway. Sad, but there it is.

- and I have a recording of our first conversation with Leroy Chiao, which we will ask him for permission to use.

I’m just waiting for the moon to rise – tonight we’re heading directly for the point where the Pole star will rise in a week or so – Great Bear across the sky to the north, Cross behind us and Orion low in the west. More magic, especially as it’s very dark still and the stars are vivid and go deeep into the universe and time.

Hi Vivian – great to hear from you – glad you liked the description. You would be looking at the Great Bear from the right side!

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