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1-29. Running Along 45°S
Track
Logs ( 30 )
By Alex on November 13, 2005, at 0345 UTC
Topic(s): Cooking 0345hrs 13 Nov 2005 UTC 42’57”S 057’43”E Ref 546
We’ve been trying to claw our way south to 45 but it’s not so easy – in a 40 kt westerly with a big breaking beam sea, about 140M is about all that we can manage, especially with just a storm jibA very small jib, usually made from bright orange material, used in storm conditions.. Times they are a’changin’ I hope. The wind has died a bit – 30 ish, and the baro is rising and at first light we went out into the cold and put up the main with 3 reefs and we’re back in the tramline making about 165 for a GC track of 171 – at about 7 kts. WOOOHOOOa primitive, exultant, gibbon-like call given out by an old geezerDictionaries define a geezer as an old person, generally an eccentric old man. Its origin likely in the word masquerader (colloquially, guiser) from Middle English gysar. Go figure, as the Americans say.; many variations as listed, in order of emphasis:
Woohoo
Woooohooo
WOOOHOOO
WOOOHOOO!
WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOa primitive, exultant, gibbon-like call given out by an old geezerDictionaries define a geezer as an old person, generally an eccentric old man. Its origin likely in the word masquerader (colloquially, guiser) from Middle English gysar. Go figure, as the Americans say.; many variations as listed, in order of emphasis:
Woohoo
Woooohooo
WOOOHOOO
WOOOHOOO!
WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!!. If only…. If we get down the next 120 miles to 45, we’ll turn east and run along the latitude.
You won’t want to know about this but… (That’s not a bad theme for a few updates – might think about it) I was making my daily cup of soup using our stock of Majestic dried soup that they packaged specially for us and I rummaged around for the dried minced garlic that I often use to keep the Vampires at bay. Boat rolling, pitching, gyrating, strapped to the galley, I poured a pinch of garlic from the ziplock bag into my mug – except the boat rolled and it ended up as about a tablespoon. Too good to waste, so I made the soup anyway and have now processed it to the fractionating tower stage, so the gases are escaping through the vent. Hooooooley dooooley it’s fruity around here! Pity we can’t use the stuff to cookBritish explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the Royal Navy. He made 3 voyages to the Pacific Ocean, during which he achieved the first recorded European contact with the eastern coastline of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands, and the first recorded circumnavigation of New Zealand. More on wikipedia. with! Titan UranusAdvice in times of maritime stress. Derived from the name of a ship known to Berrimilla. or pucker the freckle for social reasons is nicer than the usual.
IzzAlex's sister, what’s wrong with Quordlepleen, Xantrexxantrex battery monitor and ZarquonThe Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - the prophet who arrived too late to predict the end of the world.? Angela – IsabellaAlex's sister has told me about your contribution to the communications system – Thank you!!
From Martin S.
Have just read your latest log entry – poor Pete, having a cold clammy HWB to contend with! Not a happy camper at all in that bus shelterExplanation here, I am sure.
Remember Juri? The poor lad is still out there, trying to get to Cape Town. He had a bad fall a while back, and has apparently slipped a disc in his back, which is very painful, and not allowing him to be too mobile. I received the update below from Jack just now :
Inmarsat reports the position of Juri S52YS/MM at 16:01 UTC today as 33-43-42 S and 07-2-39 E, course 095T(2Kt). The winds appear to be Southerly 10 Kt. Jack, AA3GZ.
We are keeping all fingers and toes crossed re Berri staying in the westerlys and hammering down the parallels with noiceAlexism for quite a lot of things which taste good or are going especially well amounts (no more hurricanes!) of the windy stuff, and steady seas from behind.
Good luck, and go for it! A Donf!
Martin – thanks for update on Juri – poor lad – we’re deep in sympathy – hard to believe he’s going so slowly unless you’ve actually been there and then it is understandable. Pse send him our best wishes if you can. Once he arrives, all will be trivial in retrospect. Looking forward to meeting the new Wizard – I have made arrangements to have all his magic and spells restored but he will have to kiss a few feralsInteresting biological colonies that grow and fester in seaboots. There are left foot ferals and right foot ferals and occasionally they get to cross breed and create fierce hybrids. instead of a frog.
Thick, beetling overcast, water T 12.5, can’t really tell that it’s 60cm higher out there than usual. Punching along, occasionally overpowered in the gustsShort increases in wind speed – or people who signed the Gust Book. with the rainsqualls but not stressed. Can almost reach out and grab the other end of the string to start tying the knot-- Speed: definition of speed at sea. One knot is one nautical mile per hour. The nautical mile is about 1.15 % longer than the "statute" mile used on land. A knot is about half a metre per second.
-- A knot is also the result of winding a rope around itself or another rope to make a join or a loop .
in Storm Bay.
By Alex on November 13, 2005, at 0830 UTC
0830hrs 13 Nov 2005 UTC 43’16”S 058’25”E Ref 547
All y’all – the equation in stark reality. As I’m sure that any of you who can count will have realised already, it looks like this: Distance to go toSE Capealong the GC track is 3667 miles – or 30 days at 120 miles/day. This is the absolute minimum time that it is reasonable to expect to be able to do it in. Add another day for meanderings off the GC track, so 31 days. That takes us to Dec 14th. The absolute latest we can leaveStormBaywith a boat full of diesel and Dr CoopersCoopers Sparkling Ale: - according to Alex: “brewed in the bottle, so a bit of sludge comes with it - best beer on the planet - beats a Pan Galactic Gargleblaster hands down”. Also a home brew from a Cooper’s Kit, perfected by onboard master-brewer Pete. See Pete’s interesting equation and make the start is Dec 18th, so we have a margin of 4 days or 480 miles. Every day over 120 miles goes on, every day under comes off.
Another way to look at it is that we have 35 days to passTasmanIslandgoing north which looks more like 105 miles/day.
It’s going to be a close run thing. We need a lot of luck, all 4 PPrudence, Patience, Persistence and Perseverance’s in full measure and some help from our friends in Taswegia. On which, Josh threatened to bring the mighty Quetzalcoatl down to wave to us – that would be nice, Josh, if you can get out of the office. We’re looking at Dec 14- 15, I reckon.
Malcolm or John, as long as we’re still in the game, if you could rustle up a diver to come down with any welcoming party, to do a quick and dirty barnacle scrape and earth plate polish, we’d be grateful. The old soapdish is looking pretty grubby.
By Alex on November 13, 2005, at 0900 UTC
0900hrs 13 Nov 2005 UTC 43’17”S 058’27”E Ref 548
DB: DMGDistance Made Good; More here
130, GPS 147, DTG 3664, margin starts now at 480. Day 85, 44 to go. Still in the game! We’re back amongst the warehousesWaves the size of warehouses – big, rolling in from the SW off the low to the south, presumably. Not too steep so far. Storm JibA very small jib, usually made from bright orange material, used in storm conditions. and 3 reefs and we’ve decided that we have to take the punt and start pushing beyond the comfort zone. So tat’s what we’re doing. It’s ok most of the time but every now and again we get a gust with a rainsquall that induces a bit of pucker. We’re averaging better than 6 knots and trying to keep that margin open. Can’t send this for another 2 hours at least so will update later. Now 4330 5852 13/1200 DTG 3642 and the GPS has just clicked over 10,000 miles since Falmouth. It’s been off for a bit so we’ve done at least that. Scarce G&TGin and Tonic to celebrate in an hour or so.
By Alex on November 13, 2005, at 1430 UTC
1430hrs 13 Nov 2005 UTC 43’39”S 059’11”E Ref 549
fortune may favour the brave but not necessarily the foolish. We’ve just taken the main off – no trisailA tiny storm sail that is set on the mast instead of the mainsail. Full explanation here yet but maybe later. Back from the sublime @ 7’s and 8’s to 5’s and 6’s.
By Alex on November 14, 2005, at 0145 UTC
0145hrs 14 Nov 2005 UTC 44’12”S 060’13”E Ref 550
clunking along -big seas – we will make the big decision @ 45 s. malcom, wd be nice to talk to dufresne but don’t have frequency for them and they are unlikely to be listening on hfHigh Frequency – usually refers to HF radio which is long range digital radio that Berrimilla used to send all but a few of the logs on both circumnavigations. The radio was connected via a Pactor 3 digital modem to Alex’s laptop and used the Sailmail software application called Airmail to send emails and pull in emails, weather and GRIB files. Airmail also supports Iridium satellite telephone messaging and Alex used this as backup when the HF radio died approaching England. anyway.
condensation likely to be huge problem – everything wringing wet, cascades down every wall – hope it doesn’t kill the radio.
By Alex on November 14, 2005, at 0315 UTC
0315hrs 14 Nov 2005 UTC 44’15”S 060’24”E Ref 551
lumpy, wet, windy + ‘orrible but making good speed n the right direction. wxShort for ‘weather’ info great, steve, thanks – so far guesstimation on the button.
From Malcom R.
John and I have been conferring about your pit stop in Tassie and have a couple of suggestions for you to consider. First one is that instead of Recherche, you come into Adventure Bay on Bruny Is. Much closer to Hobart (for us), no further out of your way than Recherche, shop and other resources on site, and a jetty that you might be able to come in to for loading.
Second option (prompted by your need for a scrub) was to come to RYCTRoyal Yacht Club of Tasmania, clear customs and quarantine, scrub your collective bums and head off with all formalities taken care of, ready for the S/H start. John has offered car and accom if you want to stay a night (or two).
Obviously the final decision will depend on how things are looking closer to your arrival. Bottom line is – we’ll be there – wherever and whenever ‘there’ is!
also malcom. doing it by headbang for the mo – torn between wanting ease + comfort and good speed. going for speed.
From Martin S.
By way of contrast to my previous note, have a look at the Volvo website after 1 day at sea of intense racing, and be prepared to be amazed / horrified / whatever – 40 knots of wind, in Biscay, at the end of day 1, and this is happening already?
I hate to think what these boats will be like in the southern ocean……. by comparison, 40 odd knots is an afternoon stroll in the park for the Berrimillas – and look at what they have encountered in the past – 80+ knots and a few knockdowns with the mast head in the water….. lets hope they dont have any catastrophic Volvo race losses.
The Lowdown is at http://www.volvooceanrace.org/index.aspx
Quite amazing. Think of over-sized 60′ dinghies with keels designed to swing, surfing at up to 30 knots at times, and wiping out occasionally……
Fair winds, and happy Volvo (and Berri!) surfing,
martin, tks for info, do hope donna ok – she sent us a note before leaving. don’t know her boat but down here no place for bathtub toys. hi katherineAlex’s daughter + stephen, good to hear from you: tks for wisdom stuff, chris. work to do + this v difficult so will try to send. have just cracked 100 for 24 hrs and still 6 hrs to go. wooohoooa primitive, exultant, gibbon-like call given out by an old geezerDictionaries define a geezer as an old person, generally an eccentric old man. Its origin likely in the word masquerader (colloquially, guiser) from Middle English gysar. Go figure, as the Americans say.; many variations as listed, in order of emphasis:
Woohoo
Woooohooo
WOOOHOOO
WOOOHOOO!
WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOa primitive, exultant, gibbon-like call given out by an old geezerDictionaries define a geezer as an old person, generally an eccentric old man. Its origin likely in the word masquerader (colloquially, guiser) from Middle English gysar. Go figure, as the Americans say.; many variations as listed, in order of emphasis:
Woohoo
Woooohooo
WOOOHOOO
WOOOHOOO!
WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!!
By Alex on November 14, 2005, at 0420 UTC
0420hrs 14 Nov 2005 UTC 44’18”S 060’33”E Ref 552
unable send – wind has eased mini pooptillionthA very little bit; see also MinipooptillionthA very, very, little bit, and definitely smaller than a pooptillionth, which is even smaller. and traces of sunlight. sea all glistening towering power with rushing crests blue-white like icing but with lurking menace. have just spent half hour completely dismantling my bunk to get at supply of vegie tins under it. down to last 2 bags – about 30 tins. bunk soaking wet – mattress almost in running water – bag relatively dry, protected from dripping condensation by searug on top. not using bivvy bag – bunk in new format with spectraSpectra™ : - a highly modified polyethylene fibre with many applications such as ropes and sails cocoon too uncomfortable without having to contend with slimline bivvy so risking all on searug.
From Annie T.
Could you please send me either Malcolm Robinsons email address, or phone number, so that I can contact him re. any help needed by him in assisting the intrepid Berrimilla Boys, down here in Hobart. We have yacht with HFHigh Frequency – usually refers to HF radio which is long range digital radio that Berrimilla used to send all but a few of the logs on both circumnavigations. The radio was connected via a Pactor 3 digital modem to Alex’s laptop and used the Sailmail software application called Airmail to send emails and pull in emails, weather and GRIB files. Airmail also supports Iridium satellite telephone messaging and Alex used this as backup when the HF radio died approaching England. radio and access to TasCoast Radio (better equipment ) if useful.
annie t – tks for tas cst radio info – are times in eastern standard or daylight saving time? please contact malcolm robinson re any help needed etc – i think he is coordinating meeting and turn around arrangements. cd you pse check whether derek @ pentac still doing long range skeds @ 0600 + 2100 utc on ch 8, 12 + 16. if so, shld get him soon. ta.
v hard not to sit here just watching the boatlengths clicking off on the gps. very much last few k of marathon – pain, metre by metre by metre. can sense the finish line but not yet smell it or hear the noise. 3553 to go on gc track, about 150 more when we run along 45s.
By Alex on November 14, 2005, at 0900 UTC
0900hrs 14 Nov 2005 UTC 44’29”S 061’09”E Ref 553
now day 86, 43 to the start, 29 to se capeThe southernmost point of the main island of Tasmania. dmgDistance Made Good; More here
136, gps 145, new margin 496.
baro falling, wind rising again – will probably gybeGybe - A sailing term for turning the boat so that the stern passes through the wind. Potentially dangerous if not controlled because the wind can fill an uncontrolled mainsail from the wrong side and crash it across the boat, possibly causing damage to the rig and anyone getting in the way. towards east after writing this. twin polingAn explanation from Malcolm: It is quite normal for a yacht to 'pole out' its jib (the foresail) on the opposite side of the boat to the mainsail when running downwind - this is called goosewinging'. A spinnaker pole is attached to the mast at one end and the back corner (clew) of the jib at the other. That holds the jib at the right angle so that it catches the wind. On Berri they've found that they can often get good performance and a comfortable ride by taking the mainsail right down and setting a second jib poled out on the opposite side to the first. downwind too tricky in these very steep sided seas – will have to wear the compromise, as usual. still, it wouldn’t be a proper exam if the examinerShe who asks awkward questions of the crew and tests them with difficult tasks. didn’t ask proper questions, would it?
By Alex on November 14, 2005, at 1200 UTC
1200hrs 14 Nov 2005 UTC 44’32”S 061’29”E Ref 554
still no send – spoke to steve on satphone – nice to hear friendly voice out there. back in huge breakers again, 50 ish kts from wsw, bare poledExplanation here running with wind on stbd qtr. variation about 50 deg. tracking roughly east t @up to 7.5kts. scary stuff all over again. such a fragile little eggshell we live in – they don’t make bus shelters like they used to. glass of red in an hour – clench till then.
By Alex on November 14, 2005, at 1546 UTC
1546hrs 14 Nov 2005 UTC 44’31”S 061’52”E Ref 555
just spent a sweaty and fruitless half hour in the uproar setting the old storm jibA very small jib, usually made from bright orange material, used in storm conditions. on the inner forestay to give kevvoStainless steel self steering device, built by Kevin Fleming, used on Berrimilla and countless others something to work with. huge breakers, 50 ish, too much so took it all off again and did bare pole gybeGybe - A sailing term for turning the boat so that the stern passes through the wind. Potentially dangerous if not controlled because the wind can fill an uncontrolled mainsail from the wrong side and crash it across the boat, possibly causing damage to the rig and anyone getting in the way. to get us a bit north out of here. once again, we’re deep in a massive compromise and hating it.
condensation dripping down my neck – yuk. only 29 days of this to go – will we ever see taswegia?? might just sail past in the murk, we’re enjoying ourselves so much – do a moitessierMoitessier, Bernard: single-handed circumnavigator famous for abandoning 1969 Golden Globe Challenge, for very interesting idealistic reasons, when victory was in sight.
prob only one tyx per day from here round about 1500 – 1700 utc – if this goes. not via sailmailafrica- last chance satcom.
By Alex on November 15, 2005, at 0915 UTC
0915hrs 15 Nov 2005 UTC 44’52”S 063’33”E Ref 556
4452 6333 15/0915 dmgDistance Made Good; More here
100, gps 118, margin 496 – 20 = 476. day 88, 42 to start.
some stats – in the last 12 hours, we’ve done 6 sail changes, wind range from 15 – 55 knots, the baro has fallen 8mb in 24 hrs now at 1004 – the lowest i can remember. wind packing in from the north -35 and rising. waves building fast. apart from the baro drop, not unusual. now in the front of a low? looks like the fan is revolving anyway. and waiting – and waiting – nowt else to do – too tense to read, nothing on the sw radio during the day, cant connect to sailmailSailmail is the system that Berrimilla uses for email communication. It is a non-profit association of yacht owners operating a network of private coast stations in the maritime Mobile Radio Service., will satcom this if it can reach the satellite. a week today, rorcRoyal Ocean Racing Club, located in London awards – go caro. we listen for derek’s long range skedShort for schedule. A pre-arranged (scheduled) time and frequency for radio contact often co-ordinated by a shore station, such as Penta Comstat, which is monitoring location and safety of boats in their area. Failure to respond to one or more sked can be a sign of trouble but still don’t know whether we have the time right. we’re in desperation mode – drinking tonic with lemon in it and pretending it’s gin.
By Alex on November 16, 2005, at 0150 UTC
0150hrs 16 Nov 2005 UTC 45’08”S 065’10”E Ref 557
4508 6510 16/0150 t 10.7, it was nasty but not as bad as baro drop predicted. back on the rails on east, rhumb lineSee wikipedia (Wikipedia). See also Great CircleSee here (Wikipedia). track. have just consulted re phenomenon of daylight at midnight utc – perhaps a day or so early but we needed to celebrate something. must be getting south – a pair of bigger, beautifully matched albatrosses were with us yesterday – dark grey on top of wings with white patches close to shoulders. lovely to watch them in loose formation – sometimes close in to stern, looking at us.
By Alex on November 16, 2005, at 0630 UTC
0630hrs 16 Nov 2005 UTC 45’04”S 065’39”E Ref 558
4504 6539 16/0630. becalmed, bemused, benign, marooned upon the balham line – or something like that -i’m sure peter sellers fans will correct me. what a pain. but i do think we have the nice knot-- Speed: definition of speed at sea. One knot is one nautical mile per hour. The nautical mile is about 1.15 % longer than the "statute" mile used on land. A knot is about half a metre per second.
-- A knot is also the result of winding a rope around itself or another rope to make a join or a loop .
of current sent to us by csiroCommonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in hobart – thanks guys and come and find us and claim a beer or two.
16/1000
db: dmgDistance Made Good; More here
87, gps 112, margin 476-33=443 day 88, 41 to start. margin beginning to slip away – becalmed still, no sign of wind. gales preferable. pse tell caro we’ll be listening, wxShort for ‘weather’ permitting.
By Alex on November 16, 2005, at 1750 UTC
1750hrs 16 Nov 2005 UTC 44’53”S 066’20”E Ref 560
unable collect sailmailSailmail is the system that Berrimilla uses for email communication. It is a non-profit association of yacht owners operating a network of private coast stations in the maritime Mobile Radio Service. msg. still almost no wind. spbf.
By Alex on November 16, 2005, at 2315 UTC
Topic(s): Cooking 2315hrs 16 Nov 2005 UTC 44’51”S 066’40”E Ref 561
4451 6640 16/2315 not happy. still no worthwhile wind – we’ve spent the last 12 hours or so hand steering, tweaking, generally doing our best to keep up the illusion that the old bus shelterExplanation here is still on the move. easy with merlinMerlin calculator – just feed in a few random numbers, tell him to pretend we are about a day further along the track, press the def button and your uncle bob appears with a set of coordinates to send to steve who updates the track and feeds this waffle to the website.
in fact, hand steering in the cold and damp and very uncomfortably lumpy sea in the depths of a very black dripping night underlines just how shatteringly, totally dependent we are on kevvoStainless steel self steering device, built by Kevin Fleming, used on Berrimilla and countless others.
From Marcus H., UK
Just to let you know that I am still with you every step/metre of the way. The berrimilla sandwiches are going well with comments like “”a bit unusual but really good””. Having read that you had Beef Stroganoff with mushy peas recently(chef Stroganoff would turn in his grave) it gave me an idea, what about a cookBritish explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the Royal Navy. He made 3 voyages to the Pacific Ocean, during which he achieved the first recorded European contact with the eastern coastline of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands, and the first recorded circumnavigation of New Zealand. More on wikipedia. book of your more unusual dishes perhaps even some mistakes that you thought were delicious, for the boating community.
I wish you luck with the plan and the wind, I feel you are going to make it to the start line. Maybe a little more garlic without restraint might help.
if kevvoStainless steel self steering device, built by Kevin Fleming, used on Berrimilla and countless others karks, what you will have out here, marcus, is old fart soup. bigtime. there’s the old oz joke about cooking a galah (oz grey parrot, gerzillionsAn awful lot of something: usually stars of them in flocks everywhere). boil galah with fetid socks, three month thermals and a housebrick for two days. throw away galah and other remnants and eat the housebrick with tabasco. ever tried eating a bus shelterExplanation here? onya kevvoStainless steel self steering device, built by Kevin Fleming, used on Berrimilla and countless others. he’s in charge, just, as i write, else couldn’t talk to yez-all. not his fault that he has difficulty in minimal wind and heavy sea – when the boat gets hurled sideways by big swell, sideways movement creates wind over kevo’s vane, ergo kievvo makes adjustment, but usually the wrong way – real wind from the other side.
dmgDistance Made Good; More here
since 0900 – 14 hours – has been 23 miles. desperation setting in again.
20 minutes later – windshift to sw – hard to interpret – perhaps front of high moving across – so where did the low go? anyway, dropped this message, went up into the cold damp bleak predawn – lovely silvery sky behind clouds to the east, some stars including the cross – silhouettes of wheeling birds – was wearing last pair of warm dry gloves – tacked boat, handling wet sheets – now have cold wet gloves. poo.
By Alex on November 17, 2005, at 0430 UTC
0430hrs 17 Nov 2005 UTC 44’53”S 067’19”E Ref 562
4453 6719 17/0430 sw wind at last and we are making about 6.5 vmgVelocity made good – loosely, speed in the right direction. along the gc track. we will be well short of miles for the day, but, inexorably, boatlength by boatlength we are putting this ocean behind us. we are 236 miles nnw of kerguelen, where the ait t was 1 degree a few days ago. feels like that here now and we are both feeling the cold. i have started to wear my finisterre fleece for the first time since down by cape horn – it has made a good pillow up till now. nice gear – a bit bulky to wear under party gearFull wet weather gear but great out on its own and looks after me well.
malcolm, could you please add 4 ltrs of metho and a couple of slabs of dark chocolate to the list. i think we are going to be right on the button for both those. i have rationed us to 2 squares of tesco’s best choc each day and we are now conscious of the need to conserve metho. i have 1 of wendy’s chocs per day left – i think pete has been a bit less conservative – thanks wendy and you were right about the tissues – i kept them in a ziplock and theyve been my stand-bys all the way.
the watermaker has slowed down – at best, it pushes out 4.5 ltr/hr – now it’s down to less than 3 – probably needs flushing through but will get us to se c. we are running the engine daily for about an hour – not enough sun for the panel to keep uth sydney boonies with peeing dogs and dolloping pigeons and the occasional vogon for company? can’t see it meself. someone asked us which actor we’d like to play each of us if they ever made a film – that’s really a loaded question isn’t it? – but ‘they’ couldn’t ever make a film without making us both bronzy and cool and marketable in the demographic. real reality doesn’t grab the goolies in the backblocks and boardrooms of the viewing world – the dreadfully manipulated ‘reality’ of reality tv is all the go and old farts just don’t cut the mustard. i wonder which of us would get voted off first. i’m the oldest, so statistically the most likely.
see you at 0700 steve.. i’ve given up trying sailmailSailmail is the system that Berrimilla uses for email communication. It is a non-profit association of yacht owners operating a network of private coast stations in the maritime Mobile Radio Service. – will wait till closer to oz and try firefly.
By Alex on November 17, 2005, at 0750 UTC
0750hrs 17 Nov 2005 UTC 45’02”S 067’49”E Ref 563
we are in sunshine – perhaps for 10 minutes – the old farts are loving it and the feralsInteresting biological colonies that grow and fester in seaboots. There are left foot ferals and right foot ferals and occasionally they get to cross breed and create fierce hybrids. have gone into hiding. feels as if the air t is about 5, same as water which is 5.4 so probably not in current. vmgVelocity made good – loosely, speed in the right direction. over 6, o doing k anyway – poled out #1 and full main – haven’t seen that for a while either. small break for the persistent, perhaps. lots of seaweed clumps – not long kelpTypes of brown algae, which hold on to the rocky sea bottom with root-like structures. Floats in huge mats close to land and potentially capable of fouling a propeller or a rudder. More here (Wikipedia) like near falklands but shorter, with ‘bubble’ fronds. also a lot of short spiky pieces, about 25cm, floating vertically with just the tip of the spike above the surface. seeds perhaps? sunshine gone again.
hi l, j + h – kevvoStainless steel self steering device, built by Kevin Fleming, used on Berrimilla and countless others sends his best wishes and says he’s glad all those albatrosses have gone off to kerguelen for a rest – his arms were getting quite tired from all that tweaking.
we’re making water with the solar panel carrying most of the load – now drawing 2.2 apms with watermaker, satcom and pc running – normally at least 7.
From Paul D.
While you are sitting in the Southern Ocean sitting out being becalmed, think about repairing the Ampair Gen. Does not appear hard to dismantle, looking at the parts drawing on the web site, just be careful of the permanent magnet rotor being out of the magnetic shunt for too long (1hr max). It appears the front bearing is the same as the rear. I will check with Quirks at Botany tomorrow about field repairs.
Spoke to some Amateur Radio buffs about HFHigh Frequency – usually refers to HF radio which is long range digital radio that Berrimilla used to send all but a few of the logs on both circumnavigations. The radio was connected via a Pactor 3 digital modem to Alex’s laptop and used the Sailmail software application called Airmail to send emails and pull in emails, weather and GRIB files. Airmail also supports Iridium satellite telephone messaging and Alex used this as backup when the HF radio died approaching England. propagationIn the logs, this refers to the radiation of signal energy and is customarily qualified by the words abysmal, ratshit or lousy and they recon its bad for another 6 months, rated at “”0″”. Could still have a aerial or feeder problem. What does the SWR meter indicate?
We are still tossing up the cause of the USB port problem with the Laptop at the ABC. Suspect excessive power drain on the USB while driving the modem, or the RF energy is getting back into the Laptop logic circuits swamping the data.
Try rotating the laptop 90deg to aerial or some shielding around it.
We discuss your problems at the pub after ringing and you do have some armchair critics out there. Web hits are about 500 per day.
Check for new log entries morning noon and night. Can now follow the weather charts on the web site.
The large brownish birds could be immature albos or Great Southern Skewers. These are nasty birds that chase other birds and pull at their tail feathers to make them disgorge food. Nasty types built like a flying brick or large gull.
paul – tks for advice – ampair definitely too hard – appears the face plater screwed in, needs jig, heat etc, anyway, don’t have spare bearings. bearings front and rear are the same – we are in touch with ampair engineer. re laptop – above about 10 megs, the usb multi-serial port device closes down immediately i try to transmit. if i then get recovery in wrong order, blue srreen of death follows but i now know how to avoid this – trial and error works. i have checked the earth connection and have rolled about a foot of roofing lead tightly around the usb cable – no go. have asked for some clip-on ferrites when we get to tassie but think it may need more than that – perhaps earth plate polish under boat?
By Alex on November 17, 2005, at 1015 UTC
1015hrs 17 Nov 2005 UTC 44’03”S 068’11”E Ref 564
db: dmgDistance Made Good; More here
94, gps 102, margin 443-26=417 – gradually slipping away but still in front and retrievable. day 89 and we have 31 days to get past tasman island and 40 to the start line. gc distance to se capeThe southernmost point of the main island of Tasmania is 3250 so still just over 100 miles a day will do it but we also need time to stop, clear customs, (if possible down at adventure bay else waste a day going up to ryctRoyal Yacht Club of Tasmania) refuel etc. very very tight but we’ll get there barring any really nasty surprises from the examinerShe who asks awkward questions of the crew and tests them with difficult tasks.. for instance, looks as if there’s another soft high behind us so more light winds. we are, i hope, only temporarily out of any current (tks malcom) but making progress @ 6+ vmgVelocity made good – loosely, speed in the right direction. directly east along 45 s. fingers, eyebrows toes and all else crossed, freckle puckered and all will be well. and we’re not a bit superstitious.
By Alex on November 18, 2005, at 0430 UTC
0430hrs 18 Nov 2005 UTC 44’52”S 071’20”E Ref 565
[Ed: Message received 20/11/05 0335hrs! – and I don’t think we’ve received the “previous update” that Alex refers to]
i have been trying for hours to send the previous update via satcom – i had seven goes at it, each to strvre, mal and the website addresses. each time, for every address, the system told me that the address was ‘incorrect or unreachable’. the message goes via the land earth station in perth to my isp, telstraThe Telstra Corporation is an Australian Telecommunications Company dominant in the area of land lines, mobile phones and Broadband, amongst other services/xanticA service provider for EasymailSoftware application for use with SatCom C devices., and i assume that incorrect or unreachable’ means that telstraThe Telstra Corporation is an Australian Telecommunications Company dominant in the area of land lines, mobile phones and Broadband, amongst other services/xanticA service provider for EasymailSoftware application for use with SatCom C devices.’s systems are down or too busy to cope or just too inefficient to reach the internet. i don’t know how their billing system works but i bet they just count the bytes transmitted from this mobile station and bill me for all of them. we shall see when i get back – not happy, given the cost of the equipment and the data charges.
so i don’t know if it ever arrived or whether this one will either. very frustrating. there are lots of excuses for sailmailSailmail is the system that Berrimilla uses for email communication. It is a non-profit association of yacht owners operating a network of private coast stations in the maritime Mobile Radio Service., mostly, i fear, to do with the systems in this boat, but not for t/x as far as i am concerned. – the messages are reaching the les or i wouldn’t get the response, so the boat gear is working.
By Stephen on November 18, 2005, at 0715 UTC
Satellite email problems have prevented any log updates from getting through. We know the boys are ok because one of their complaints has made it. More news as it comes to hand.
By Alex on November 18, 2005, at 0900 UTC
0900hrs 18 Nov 2005 UTC 44’54”S 072’00”E Ref 566
4454 7200 18/0900
db: dmgDistance Made Good; More here
144 gps 176 margin 417+24=441 day 90 v(just consulted with the doctorGuinness – rare occasion these restricted days.)30 to tasman island, 39 to the start line. distance to go to sec 3111 by gc track.
we should pass within 50 miles of french research vessel marion dufresne in next few hours. trying to contact them vhfVery High Frequency radio. Short range radio equipment for voice and other applications such as AISAutomatic Identification System. An automatic tracking system used on ships and by vessel traffic services (VTS) for identifying and locating vessels.. dscDigital Selective Calling. DSC radios have the facility to alert another vessel or rescue centre directly..
By Alex on November 18, 2005, at 1000 UTC
Topic(s): Bus shelter, Life aboard
[Ed: Email problems have caused several messages from Berri to not arrive here at mission control. This is one of them. After much swearing and retrying they were able to resend it successfully – finally received 21 Nov!]
Imagine, if you will, that you are inside this little plastic soapdish with the lid firmly closed. You can see out, but it’s mostly sky or white rushing water and no sense of perspective or continuity of movement. You are acutely aware that it is moving, fast and with some violence. You can sense that it is mostly roll, but there is some pitch and a lot of yaw. As the waves are catching up with the boat, it is in effect going up them backwards, pitching forward and rolling on the forward face, yawing and slewing at the top, sometimes under tons of breaking water, and pitching backwards and rolling as it slides down the back of the receding wave. Occasionally, you can see the effect of these breaking waves through the window – a wide swath of foamy water sometimes a hundred or more metres long – just like the lace wedding dress trains worn by royal brides – sloping steeply down the back from the head, sharply curving at water level and sweeping back, widening and getting more transparent the further it goes back. Lovely to look at, less so to be part of!
You are braced against the nav table, legs splayed out in front at about 45 degrees and away from you at the same angle. Both hands are behind you as you struggle to get the damp neoprene cuff of your party jacket over your wristwatch. The boat rolls away from you – you slightly bend your knees – it rolls further, accompanied by rushing crashing noises – you frantically try to extricate your hands from behind your back – the boat rolls further – now at about 75 degrees and you fall forward, desperately trying to bend into kneeling position as you go to soften the crunch. That’s the easy one. Now transfer yourself to the toilet, hands once again full, bowl charged, as it were, ankles locked together by lowered pants. Hoooley doooley – gives a whole new meaning to toilet training!
By Alex on November 18, 2005, at 1100 UTC
Topic(s): Life aboard
1100hrs 18 Nov 2005 UTC
just spoke mcastle – dufresne very close – have tried to satphoine them but not answering – got their number from ile amsterdam.
further to toilet training – if you are offended by bodily functions, read no further.
in order to reduce the potential difficulties associated with the toilet situation i wrote about in my last, it is possible to minimise the ‘charge’ in the bowl by using the extraction method. takes practice and delicacy but it is possible to position the freckle exactly above the bowl outlet and go gently about one’s business. as one feels an emergence, tiny adjustments may be necessary to get the correct line and then one should commence slowly pumping out the bowl. one will feel the gently tug of the pump transmitted vertically to the freckle and nethers and – lo and behold – the emerging object is gone before one even knows it was there. a disaster in the making averted by skill and practice.
By Alex on November 19, 2005, at 0030 UTC
0030hrs 19 Nov 2005 UTC 44’55”S 074’09”E Ref 567
and we’ve passed heard island – legally well clear of the marine park that surrounds it – so it could be said that we are more or less back in australian territorial waters. wooohoooa primitive, exultant, gibbon-like call given out by an old geezerDictionaries define a geezer as an old person, generally an eccentric old man. Its origin likely in the word masquerader (colloquially, guiser) from Middle English gysar. Go figure, as the Americans say.; many variations as listed, in order of emphasis:
Woohoo
Woooohooo
WOOOHOOO
WOOOHOOO!
WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOa primitive, exultant, gibbon-like call given out by an old geezerDictionaries define a geezer as an old person, generally an eccentric old man. Its origin likely in the word masquerader (colloquially, guiser) from Middle English gysar. Go figure, as the Americans say.; many variations as listed, in order of emphasis:
Woohoo
Woooohooo
WOOOHOOO
WOOOHOOO!
WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!!. but not yet half way across the indian ocean with the work yet to be done. at 2300 utc on nov 22 we will get a phone call from caroline at the rorcRoyal Ocean Racing Club, located in London awards dinner to tell us about it and we intend to have the most effective consultationA regular engagement with alcohol. One might say this whole epic is a Consultation with a bit of a sail round it. See also Conservation Mode; Linear and Parallel Methods of Consultation we can muster to go with it – we’ll be past heard, well under 3000 to go, and we’ll have an award to look forward to. steve will collect it for us and bring it back. it’s all happening.
and we’re still very much in the game – we ought to make the required average run today and as long as things stay in the normal groove, we will be on the start line in 38 days. keeping busy doing all the little maintenance jobs – the next major will be dismantling one of the kiteSailors’ slang for a spinnaker winches which has seized and trying to get it going again. needs a quiet day, preferably with some sun – it’s really cold down here. we would like all y’all to do whatever is necessary to placate poseidon so that he gives us a nice southerly once we get to tasman island. malcom, we’ll be in touch for the best route from there.
roger@ cycCruising Yacht Club of Australia – if all goes according to plan, we’ll have a couple of days to turn the boat around. would be enormously helpful if we could get a vehicle into the car park or the rushcutter park. no big fixes needed as far as we know, may need some safety gear, will have to take kevvoStainless steel self steering device, built by Kevin Fleming, used on Berrimilla and countless others off the back and do a huge unload and hosing out of feral colonies and other undesirables. we will not have time for a lift to clean the bottom so could you please ask sven or another diver to stand by – not a big job, just a barnacle scrape around the rudder and under the keel and a polishing job on the radio earth. paperwork should be in order, irc cert has been renewed, insurance has been extended by fastnetFastnet Race: 608 mile biennial race from Cowes, UK, Isle of Wight, to the Fastnet Rock off Southern Ireland, finishing in Plymouth. Berrimilla took part in 2005 and 2009. marine – richard, if you are reading this, would you please send confirmation to berri@berrimilla.com and mal can forward to roger at cycCruising Yacht Club of Australia. we still have a legible no. 71 on the side from the last s2hSydney-Hobart Race: often described as the most gruelling ocean race in the world, this annual race starts on 26th December from Sydney Harbour and ends in Hobart. The course is 628 nautical miles. and it would be nice to keep that if possible. also tattered remains of fastnetFastnet Race: 608 mile biennial race from Cowes, UK, Isle of Wight, to the Fastnet Rock off Southern Ireland, finishing in Plymouth. Berrimilla took part in 2005 and 2009. rolexRenowned makers of timepieces and sponsors of many sporting events including Sydney-Hobart and FastnetFastnet Race: 608 mile biennial race from Cowes, UK, Isle of Wight, to the Fastnet Rock off Southern Ireland, finishing in Plymouth. Berrimilla took part in 2005 and 2009. Races stick!
er.
By Alex on November 19, 2005, at 0900 UTC
0900hrs 19 Nov 2005 UTC 45’08”S 075’27”E Ref 568
db: dmgDistance Made Good; More here
138, gps 153, margin 441+18=459, day 91, 38 to the start, 28 to ti. 2973 to sec.
another day of good running – not as wild as yesterday but we’re covering the ground and i think we have a smidgin of current too. water t = 8.7 and we’re heading slightly north to get back into the more favourable stream – thanks malcom. from here, we would have to be a bit unlucky not to make it, i think, we have about 4 days still in hand and every good day makes this a better buffer. it will still be tight, whatever happens. we must have missed the french r/vRendezvous marion dufresne by only a few miles yesterday. i tried to call them on the satphone but they were switched off. didn’t see them on sobSoftware on Board, from Digitboat – navigation software used by Alex for both circumnavigations. and no response to an individual dscDigital Selective Calling. DSC radios have the facility to alert another vessel or rescue centre directly. call on vhfVery High Frequency radio. Short range radio equipment for voice and other applications such as AISAutomatic Identification System. An automatic tracking system used on ships and by vessel traffic services (VTS) for identifying and locating vessels.., so we were’nt in vhfVery High Frequency radio. Short range radio equipment for voice and other applications such as AISAutomatic Identification System. An automatic tracking system used on ships and by vessel traffic services (VTS) for identifying and locating vessels.. range, at least when i thought we should be.
fenwickA friend and clearly a colourful character, sorry to hear you missed the barbecue – couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. did anyone buy the shirt? and did you get my rather sheepish renewal of the s2hSydney-Hobart Race: often described as the most gruelling ocean race in the world, this annual race starts on 26th December from Sydney Harbour and ends in Hobart. The course is 628 nautical miles. invitation? you won’t have to do a single sail change…
we’re just counting off the milestones to keep the mind from wandering. the next one should be half way across the indian ocean at 85e, perhaps at around the same time as the rorcRoyal Ocean Racing Club, located in London awards night. then we are eagerly awaiting the first sound of derek barnard’s particularly gravel-like voice on a long range skedShort for schedule. A pre-arranged (scheduled) time and frequency for radio contact often co-ordinated by a shore station, such as Penta Comstat, which is monitoring location and safety of boats in their area. Failure to respond to one or more sked can be a sign of trouble from pentacomstat. that will be a special day. i’m already getting wxShort for ‘weather’ faxes from vmw (the ox bureau of met. broadcast station at wiluna) but they only go as far west as 90 deg so no use for a bit yet bit weary.
By Alex on November 20, 2005, at 0550 UTC
Topic(s): Birds, Bread making
0550hrs 20 Nov 2005 UTC 44’52”S 078’37”E Ref 569
I don’t know whether it’s worth writing these because I still dont know what is getting through on Satcom. Not easy writing into a black hole. We are almost in range of NSWNew South Wales. State in the East of Australia. New South Wales' capital city is Sydney. sailmailSailmail is the system that Berrimilla uses for email communication. It is a non-profit association of yacht owners operating a network of private coast stations in the maritime Mobile Radio Service. and I’m hoping that we will get better connections there and can do without Satcom and the hassle and expense.
BUT – we are only 1800 miles from the nearest bit of Western Australia, we’re past Ile Amsterdam and have 2857 to SE CapeThe southernmost point of the main island of Tasmania on the GC track and only about 60 more by rhumb. Both very weary – it’s cold and we’ve been working the boat as hard as we possibly can. Still have a bit of current it seems. At this speed, its about 21 days to SEC, but that’s a break that I’m sure the ExaminerShe who asks awkward questions of the crew and tests them with difficult tasks. will do her best to deny us. Tiddly pom! We had a ConsultationA regular engagement with alcohol. One might say this whole epic is a Consultation with a bit of a sail round it. See also Conservation Mode; Linear and Parallel Methods of Consultation this morning after a big sail change – no more for a couple of days – we really are doing it hard! I’ve just made bread – Marcus, one for you – just make the dough from a 500gm Tesco pack, dont bother with all the psychological stuff about letting it rise and rest and patting it on the head – add some garlic or whatever else takes your fancy, heat the oil till it smokes, on a floured board, press a small ball of dough into a pancake as thin as possible and small saucer size and toss it on the oil till it bubbles on top, turn it over for a few moments, take it out and – if you’re me – eat it while you make the next ten or so. Just like naan and takes 20 minutes, minimum cleanup if you’re careful and keeps for a couple of days. (Apologies if this is a repeat – I have a feeling it is, but without power etc, I can’t review the previous stuff).
I’ve been watching the little grey birds that I think are petrels – lovely subtle markings on top of their wings but the real stunner is that they have a tinge of blue over their backs – only visible as they turn away – perhaps a trick of the light but consistent. Only birds, feralsInteresting biological colonies that grow and fester in seaboots. There are left foot ferals and right foot ferals and occasionally they get to cross breed and create fierce hybrids., a couple of ratbag humans, parasitic barnaclesExplanation here (Wikipedia) and green slime out here – not a dolphin, not a whale, no mermaids, teddy bears or 3 toed sloths anywhere to be seen. Last ship was near Cape Town, before that, Cape Verdes. A big, lonely empty place to be, natural splendour to excess and vast, enigmatic, blank indifference to our little enterprise. And I’m going to miss it terribly when next I’m on a busy polluted street. Tiny patches of sunlight, moon quite low and mostly hidden but when it come through a gap – wow! Because the overcast is so solid and dark, the moon has a radiance and lustre that you don’t often experience – TurnerTurner, John Mallord William (1775 - 1851); one of the founders of English watercolour painting renowned for his studies of sea and sky in every weather would have loved it.
By Alex on November 20, 2005, at 1000 UTC
1000hrs 20 Nov 2005 UTC 44’56”S 079’03”E Ref 570
db: dmgDistance Made Good; More here
134, gps 160, margin 459+14=473, day 92, 37 to start, 28 to tasman island. looking a pooptilionth better every day we can keep that margin healthy.
no word from xanticA service provider for EasymailSoftware application for use with SatCom C devices., emails still not getting through to anyone except,it seems, xanticA service provider for EasymailSoftware application for use with SatCom C devices. so our basic backup life support system is decidedly iffy. i’ll try and send this and later, try to get through to sailmailSailmail is the system that Berrimilla uses for email communication. It is a non-profit association of yacht owners operating a network of private coast stations in the maritime Mobile Radio Service. nswNew South Wales. State in the East of Australia. New South Wales' capital city is Sydney.. will ask xanticA service provider for EasymailSoftware application for use with SatCom C devices. to forward this to malcolm so you all get some news anyway. won’t waste my time and battery power writing any more.
By Alex on November 20, 2005, at 2230 UTC
2230hrs 20 Nov 2005 UTC 45’03”S 080’57”E Ref 571
But the ends have met – the knot-- Speed: definition of speed at sea. One knot is one nautical mile per hour. The nautical mile is about 1.15 % longer than the "statute" mile used on land. A knot is about half a metre per second.
-- A knot is also the result of winding a rope around itself or another rope to make a join or a loop .
isn’t tied yet by a long chalk but we’re talking to sailmailSailmail is the system that Berrimilla uses for email communication. It is a non-profit association of yacht owners operating a network of private coast stations in the maritime Mobile Radio Service. nswNew South Wales. State in the East of Australia. New South Wales' capital city is Sydney. and we are getting the Australian weather broadcasts from VMW Wiluna loud and clear. Perth Radio voice still out of range. SE CapeThe southernmost point of the main island of Tasmania, here we come! Deliberately short till we get back to effective comms.
By Alex on November 21, 2005, at 1005 UTC
1005hrs 21 Nov 2005 UTC 45’09”S 082’36”E Ref 572
DB: DMGDistance Made Good; More here
138 GPS 155, margin 473+18=491 Wooohoooa primitive, exultant, gibbon-like call given out by an old geezerDictionaries define a geezer as an old person, generally an eccentric old man. Its origin likely in the word masquerader (colloquially, guiser) from Middle English gysar. Go figure, as the Americans say.; many variations as listed, in order of emphasis:
Woohoo
Woooohooo
WOOOHOOO
WOOOHOOO!
WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOa primitive, exultant, gibbon-like call given out by an old geezerDictionaries define a geezer as an old person, generally an eccentric old man. Its origin likely in the word masquerader (colloquially, guiser) from Middle English gysar. Go figure, as the Americans say.; many variations as listed, in order of emphasis:
Woohoo
Woooohooo
WOOOHOOO
WOOOHOOO!
WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!!! In credit for a change. Day 93, 36 to startline, 27 to TI, 2701 to SE CapeThe southernmost point of the main island of Tasmania.
I promised ArletteClearly worth going all the way to the Falklands for!, our host in Port Stanley – she who crumbles cookies so well – G’day kiddo!! – as she gave me a haircut, that there would not be another one until after the Hobart Race. So far, so good, but I’m beginning to look a bit like one of those draggly dishmops – Kris, you’d disapprove!
Baby, it’s cooold outside.
By Alex on November 21, 2005, at 2030 UTC
2030hrs 21 Nov 2005 UTC 45’19”S 083’59”E Ref 573
just had big messy sail change followed by small rum – one of life’s little rerwards.
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The logs ramblings can be cryptic, so we have added: