GOLD COAST 260600ZMAY12 SKED – PANAMA TO NY

LAT 38 03.57 N
LONG 73 22.62 W
DTF 117 Nm
ETA 0001Z 27 May
SOG 06 Knots
COG 013 degrees

WEATHER Wind 165@10 Sea Slight Swell SE 1.0m, Cloud 2/8 Cl, Baro 1019

The morning was spent rounding Cape Hatteras and experiencing all types of weather, finally it settled down and blew from the SE giving us some nice close reaching conditions. Unfortunately we could not find the Gulf Stream anywhere. After close revision of all available data on the famous current and monitoring sea surface temperatures and comparing our Speed Over Ground (SOG) and speed through the water, it appeared that we had found 1kt counter current rather than the 2-4 kts of Gulf Stream we were expecting.

Finally in the forenoon the tides changed, and we had up to 3kts of current with us and making some fantastic SOG towards New York. At lunch time a large squall passed to the west of us and the wind swung to the north. I tried to work out Visit Finland’s expected position, and hoped that they would not be on the other side of the squall getting 30kts from the south.

The midday sked came, and Visit Finland had out sailed us, making 6nm on us from the previous sked. How they did it amazes me, as they must have been flying giving our speeds over the previous six hours. I look forward to chatting to Olly tomorrow evening and asking him about the currents that they experienced inshore, as they were not forecasted but were obviously stronger than the currents offshore.

Everybody has been workign very hard to keep the boat going as fast as possible. We are still getting more than our quota of sail changes in every day, and the majority of them are going almost perfectly which is a credit to everybody onboard. I will be lookign at giving team Gold Coast Australia an A for sail changes on this leg, though the final examination is yet to come, and we almost have another furious 24 hours of racing before us.

The weather this leg has been quite unpredictable, and it seems that you need to have lady luck on your side. There is 4nm distance finish separating us and Visit Finland, and they are 20nm closer inshore. This race will basically come down to who is the luckiest tonight and ends up on the right side of the squalls that pass through randomly without warning. Obviously its not all about luck, and normally the squalls require a sail change, and this is where the our sail changing skills will be more important than ever, as a bad change could possibly cost us the race.