2030hrs 02 Dec 2005 UTC 45’40”S 118’43”E Ref 610
Head and laptop under anti-condensation placcy bag – wrinkled fingers over the keyboard, wrists braced on the fiddle till the flesh grooves, knees both hard up under the nav table, Berri just cracked off a pooptillionth and we’re just managing to hold a course a touch north of east (T) – variation back to 15W. Bizarre – here’s the illusion – 2 old deros in the bus shelter on the studio floor with an ever growing heap of mouldering Doctorial cans, some now blowing and clanking around the floor with the dead leaves from the broken window – pretending to be 600 miles south of the western end of the Nullarbor and working out from first principles what’s happening around them – Buys-Ballot’s law states that in the S Hemisph. if you Look into the wind, the Low is on your Left at 90 degrees and all that stuff. In fact, they have a big computer screen in the studio – just like all y’all, and can pull up the latest images, isobaric charts and high resolution wind maps and forecasts to help create the fudge.
I get 3 wx faxes per day (would be 4 but I really cant miss that much sleep so I drop one of them) each of which is about 7 hours old by the time I see it. I also get a good series of text gale warnings and forecasts about three times /day via Satcom EGC (sorry, can’t translate that)and by combining the faxes with the text we can sort of work out what’s going to happen. The wx faxes are actual (but 7 hours old) 1200 same day ditto, and +36 (-7) & 48 (-7) hours. Really complex situation now with low over WA, high over Tas, low to E and big series of lows hooning in from the west and we’re smack at the confluence getting – I think – the NE flow off the back of the high combining with the flow into the WA low. Baro down to 998 which is ominous but I think we’re far enough north to avoid the worst of what’s out west and we’re trying to claw our way very slowly even further north. But you know heaps more about it all then I do. We just soldier on – but I do think that it will push us towards the corner.
Mike H – lovely to hear from u – was wondering how you were. Do call from Freo – always a bed in Sydney if you need one. Charles, g’day again, Caro – toiling along behind a dog with chocolate seems outre’ even for you! BobF – tks for lovely note and delighted re Vera B. Could we use it in the book please? Spot on re Marathon milestones! Malcom – tks – will be nice to have.
The logs ramblings can be cryptic, so we have added: