Author Archives: Richard Hewson

Gold Coast Australia has made fantastic ground today, having over 20kts of wind from the South rather than the 10kts of predicted wind. As we sail up the picturesque northern Irish coastline the wind has dropped off to fifteen knots and we sail with our medium weight spinnaker still making 7kts against the tide. GoldContinue reading “GOLD COAST SET FOR FIRST PLACE FINISH IN DERRY”

LAT 54 30.6N LONG 010 28.5W DTF 144nm ETA 0500 29 Jun 12 SOG 9kts COG 060 WEATHER Wind 200@2kts, Sea Calm, confused 1/2M, Cloud 8/8 fog, Baro 997 Gold Coast Australia hit light winds this morning in the final stages of the race as we become sandwiched between two low pressure systems and theContinue reading “GOLD COAST 280600ZJUN12 SKED – HALIFAX – DERRY”

LAT 52 02.34 N LONG 14 12.52 W DTF 346 ETA 1200 29 JUN 12 SOG 9.2 COG 038 Gold Coast Australia has passed the southern most tip of Ireland and is now running up the Irish west coast towards Derry-Londonderry in foggy conditions, light following swell and consistent wind. It seems that the teamContinue reading “GOLD COAST 270600ZJUN12 SKED – HALIFAX – DERRY”

LAT 49 46.54 N LONG 18 50.57 W DTF 565 ETA 1600L 29 Jun 12 SOG 8kts COG 045 WEATHER WIND 200@15 SEA SLIGHT SWELL SW 1.5M, CLOUD FOG+RAIN, BARO 1012 Gold Coast Australia slipped into stealth mode yesterday just prior of the point of no return had we decided to take a route throughContinue reading “GOLD COAST 260600ZUNE12 SKED – HALIFAX – DERRY”

LAT 45 16.3N LONG 32 09.7W DTF 1100 ETA 30 JUN 12 SOG 9.5 COG 095 WEATHER WIND 170@18kts, Sea Mod, Swell SE 1m, Sky OBSC Fog, Baro 1008 After much head scratching and deliberation and plotting various scenarios’ Gold Coast Australia is heading east to find more prevailing winds to take us to Derry,Continue reading “GOLD COAST 230600ZJUN12 SKED – HALIFAX – DERRY”

LAT 45 55.8N LONG 35 59.4W DTF 1240 ETA 30 JUN 12 SOG 7.5 COG 075 WEATHER WIND 134@21 SEA MOD, SWELL CONFUSED 1M, SKY 8/8, BARO 1009 Gold Coast Australia remains close hauled sailing to the east in an attempt to get into more southerly winds and work our way north up a windContinue reading “GOLD COAST 220600ZJUN12 SKED – HALIFAX – DERRY”

Gold Coast Australia would like to advise that at 08:04:32 UTC on 21 June 2012 in position 44 55.4N 039 59.9W we passed through the scoring gate. When I first received the sailing instructions I thought that there would be not much chance of us making this gate due to its south easterly position inContinue reading “GOLD COAST AUSTRALIA PASSES SCORING GATE”

LAT 44 42.0N LONG 040 27.2W DTF 1435nm ETA 1200 30 June 2011 SOG 10kts COG 050 WEATHER WIND 135@19kts, Sea Mod, Swell Confused 2m, Sky 5/8 ClSt, Baro 1013 Gold Coast Australia continues to sail comfortably towards the scoring gate with the wind just forward of the beam in relatively moderate seas and theContinue reading “GOLD COAST 210600ZJUN12 SKED – HALIFAX – DERRY”

LAT 43 26.4N LONG 044 47.6W DTF 1637 ETA 1800z 29 Jun 12 SOG 9.2 COG 065 WEATHER Wind 137@17kts, Sea Mod, Swell E 1m, Cloud 2/8, Baro 1020 It has been four seasons in one day for Gold Coast Australia, ranging from hot and sunny with no wind to cold and wet sail changesContinue reading “GOLD COAST 200600ZJUN12 SKED – HALIFAX – DERRY”

LAT 42 25.4N LONG 048 01.3 DTF 1875 ETA 1800 29 Jun 12 SOG 9kts COG 110 WEATHER WIND 045@11kts, Sea Mod, Swell NE 2m, Sky Fog, Baro 1022 Gold Coast Australia has defied the predicted light airs and manages to continue sailing towards the scoring gate at reasonable speeds. It is hard to tellContinue reading “GOLD COAST 190600ZJUN12 SKED – HALIFAX – DERRY”