GOLD COAST 170600ZAPR12 SKED – SAN FRANSISCO – PANAMA

LAT 30 14.0N
LONG 119 52.5W
DT CABO FALSO 640nm
DTF 2793nm
ETA 13 May 12
COG 130
SOG 9

WEATHER WIND 336@18kts, Sea Mod, Swell NW 1m, Cloud 2/8 StCl, Baro 1026

Our last race across North Pacific was just like people imagine ocean racing to be like but nobody wants prolonged exposure to, big waves, lots of wind. This race however is how people dream ocean racing could be, blue sky, pleasant winds, dolphins and whales. Today has truly been a magnificent day on the water.

Yesterday evening we gybed away from the rest of the fleet to make some ground to the south with the aim of staying in the belt of wind that is funnelling offshore. Around breakfast time we gybed back towards the shore and it was a nice surprise to see another yacht on the horizon at breakfast and I spoke to Sparky on Derry London Derry who had come in from the offshore group of yachts and was ten miles behind, a tribute to how close the fleet is at this point of time.

After lunch I went up the rig of Gold Coast Australia to check that everything was in order and took the time to sit at the head of the medium weight spinnaker and enjoy life at 30m above the ocean with the birds. Whilst up there I was able to capture some great video on my GoPro and take some cool pictures as well.

The wind eased throughout the day we and Gold Coast Australia changed to our light weight spinnaker and appeared to make some good ground on the rest of the fleet. It was light wind sailing at its best as the crew made the most of the sunshine and nature, enjoying the performance of dolphins swimming past (again some excellent above and below water video footage). At sunset the wind picked back up and we are now sailing along on port gybe towards the rhumb line and the Island of Guadalupe with the rest of the fleet to our north. We now have some fantastic wind which should stay with us throughout the night and hopefully give us some more miles on the rest of the fleet.

Tomorrow morning Gold Coast Australia should be sailing past Guadalupe, hopefully sailing close enough to gain some wind advantage and have a look at the famous island. While the sailing is fantastic, the fleet is still very close making racing very exciting and keeping the pressure on for us to enjoy the sail changes that comes with the lighter winds of this latitude.