Dec 06, 2005 – 0900hrs UTC

0900hrs 06 Dec 2005 UTC 44’43”S 129’16”E Ref 625

DB: DMGDistance Made Good; More here 128, gps 134, dtg 765 margin 637 (Dave W corrected my maths – at first I didn’t believe him but I left off 90 miles between 30/11 and 1/12 thanks Dave!) day 108, 21 to start 12 to TI.

For those of you who might be mystified by this margin stuff – when I first started calculating it on Nov 14, we had to get around Tasman Island by Dec 18 at the latest to get to Sydney in time for the start. This has not changed but the circumstances are clearer.

I calculated then that at 120 miles/day we could do it with about 4 days to spare or about 480 miles. Since then I have added or subtracted the difference between each day’s run and 120 miles to/from 480 and we now have 637 miles or 5 days and about 7 hours in hand. In other words, we could park for 5 days out here somewhere if the wind drops and as long as we can do 120 miles every other day, we can still make the TI target. Alternatively, we will have a day or two to spare to go into Hobart to clear Customs and resupply with diesel, food and water and certain essential medicinal compounds.

Things are looking promising, but – very big but – the TI target assumes that we can then get to Sydney in 6 days starting with a resupply of diesel and so be able to motor against a potential 3 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 . adverse current flowing down the N.S.W. coast. If we slow down out here and are really late at SE CapeThe southernmost point of the main island of Tasmania, just before TI and do not have time to go north into Hobart (which would add about a day to the trip) then we would have to head straight for Sydney on or after Dec 18th to make it in time and sail all the way there (with some severe restrictions on use of diesel, electrical power and drinking water)- almost impossible to do in six days in this boat – because Customs will not allow us to clear Customs and resupply outside the Port of Entry, which is Hobart.

We’d have to be desperate to try it and it would depend on there being a strong southerly blowing on Dec 18th and for the next few days to get us up the Tasmanian coast and across Bass Strait quickly. Very much end of road last resort stuff and unlikely to be necessary or successful. Anyway, this gig is by no means in the bag yet – if I may mix yet another metaphor.

Unlike a putrid collection of damp unwashed and very used clothes which has been growing and festering with a whole new colony of bag 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. in big heavy duty plastic garbage bags since Falmouth. They are blue tinted because of the blue light that reaches them through the bags. The feral booties and baggies will soon need to disembark else it’s the dreaded laundromat thresher for them. I’ve grown rather fond of them and will do my best to sool them off onto someone’s compost heap or the like before Damocles arrives. I will report on their new home in due course. Or not!