GOLD COAST QIN-SAN 220600ZMAR12 SKED

LAT 40 31.5N
LONG 164 40.1E
DTF 1970
ETA 01 Apr 12

WEATHER WIND 170@18kts, Sea Mod, Swell confused 1m, Cloud o/c, baro 1038

Gold Coast is now almost at full power and charging towards San Fransisco. Not only are we almost back to full race potential having fixed most of the damage that occurred over the week of storms, but our electronics have also dried out and are all working again – I can now type on the keyboard and press all the keys – its the little luxuries in a long race such as these that can bring so much happiness.

As the wind began to veer and weaken in strength Sean Fuller went up the mast today to make some modifications to our hoisting system, and we were also able to shake the final reef out of the sail giving us a bit of extra speed. The boat is now nicely powered up and we are making some great mileage towards the finish.

With the more mild weather crew are gradually recuperating their strength and extra jobs are being completed as well as a bit of cleaning up front he previous week of storms. There are always improvements or maintenance to do on a racing yacht, and the moment you let your guard down something is sure to break. I have even had some time to begin planning the stopover and next leg.

Today I also got time to go over some old photos and organise them on my computer. Its amazing to reflect back on the last 8 months (including boat preparation) and see how much not only the boat has changed but also the crew (im not sure if i look older or younger.. depends on the day or rather the weather surrounding us). While the boat certainly looks 100% as far as maintenance go’s, the sails are now looking very old and tired compared to when they were crispy fresh. Irrespective of looks, and the floggin that they have had over the past few months, they are still doing their job pushing us along at 10 kts towards Southhampton!

Seas at the moment are unusually flat resulting in some excellent speeds. Being so far out in the ocean with consistent 20-30kts of wind for the last few days you would expect quite a swell and sea to build up, however, sea and swell are under 1m. I presume this is because of our close proximity to the centre of the high pressure system. Either way it is fantastic sailing and makes excellent conditions for novice helmers to have a drive without the danger of being smashed or rounded up by a big wave. As one crew member said GCA is so balanced at the moment you hardly need to touch the helm, and if you had a light auto helm or wind vane you would quite happily set the helm and the crew could all go to bed!