GOLD COAST 191800ZJUL12 SKED

LAT 52 27.1N
LONG 003 22.9E
DTF 200NM
COG 235
SOG 9kts

WEATHER WIND 300@15kts, Sea Mod, Swell Confused, Sky 8/8, Baro 1011

After a fantastic start Gold Coast Australia lead the fleet from Denhelder in windy conditions. Gold Coast wanted to make the most of the wind as it is due to die out later tonight.

Gold Coast Australia continues to lead the fleet by 1nm as we head towards Dover and then onto our final destination of the 2011/12 Round the World Yacht Race Finish in the Solent.

GOLD COAST 120600ZJUL12 SKED DERRY – DENHELDER

LAT 53 11.4N
LONG 004 08.2E
DTF 22nm
ETA 0800 UTC 12 JULY 2012
SOG 12kts
COG 140

WEATHER WIND 284@24, Sea Rough, Swell W 2m, Sky (blue) 5/8 Cl, Baro 1007

It has been a painfully frustrating 24 hours for Gold Coast Australia playing catch up on Singapore and Visit Finland as we race towards the finish in Denhelder. At the time of writing we are having a fantastic sail with the heavy weight spinnaker flying in 25-30kts of wind surfing down waves as we weave our way through the oil rigs at 12kts and observe the first sunrise we have seen since the start of the race.

The day started becalmed in a wind hole and watching Singapore and Visit Finland disappear over the horizon. Once out of the hole we utilised every recourse to navigate our way through the squalls and calm patches, gaining the occasional glimpse of Visit Finland on AIS always just out of our reach and constantly pulling away.

Late afternoon as we entered Dogger Bank the wind finally began to swing to the west and increase in strength we changed from the light weight to the medium weight spinnaker, caught sight of Visit Finland again and finally began to make up ground. The team have been working very hard, and everybody is exhausted from the constant sail changes and mid watch wake ups as we hoist and lower spinnakers and yankees. Added to this the dreaded “Channels” a condition suffered by seafares on their way home after a big trip where you can not sleep due to the excitement of things to come on land. A few crew I even skipped from watches throughout the day as their level of fatigue was noticed to be too high to concentrate on the task at hand. A few extra hours of sleep and the crew are all throthing at the bit to get to Denhelder as soon as possible, and even at this very late stage of the race (at the time of writing) there is still a chance we can catch one of the leading boats.

Powernaps are the source of my sleep as skipper, as a proper 6 hours sleep is not an option when there are squalls, wind holes, sail changes, oil rigs, shipping and traffic separation schemes to deal with. As instructed the crew are told to wake me up for any of the above reasons in my daily and standing orders. It is amazing how refreshed one can feel after not sleeping for a day and then getting a couple of hours sleep in to boost the sleep bank. Infact if this blog makes no sence to its readers its because I have not had much sleep in the last 72 hours at all.

At the time of writing we have just crossed through all three of the Traffic Separation Schemes outside Denhelder and weaved our way through a number of oil rigs and shipping traffic. We were making some fantastic ground on the leading boats throughout the night, but lost miles gained when a fleet of Seismic Research Vessels cut us off (No offence Pat, but your brethren cost us the race). We were forced to sail around the 4nm exclusion zone that the vessels had in place to get around their towed acoustic arrays, this put an extra 4nm between us and the lead boats, and now we are pushing hard to make it all back up.

All in all it has been a fantastically competitive and challenging race. The team have worked incredibly hard under the brilliant leadership of our two watch leaders Lisa Blair and Annelise Nelson. Tactically we sailed the race very well, and if it were not for the wind hole that we were stuck in for hours as the other yachts sailed past we would have had a fantastic chance of being the first yacht into Denhelder – This is yacht racing, some things you just can not predict. Congratulations should be given to Singapore skipper Ben Bowley and his crew for sailing a fantastic race.

GOLD COAST 100600ZJUL12 SKED DERRY-DENHELDER

LAT 57 37.9N
LONG 000 58.0W
DTF 340nm
ETA 1800 UTC 12 JUL 12
SOG 9.1kts
COG 130

WEATHER WIND 329@16kts, Sea Mod, Swell N 2m, Cloud 8/8, Baro 1008

Gold Coast Australia has sailed incredibly well over the past 24 hours throughout some beautiful but navigationally challenging waters from the north west coast of Scotland, across the top through the turbulent Pentland Furth into the north sea and down the east coast past the oil rigs and their numerous support craft.

Yesterday began with the wind moderating as we tacked our way up the shores of the Isle of Lewis. We had gained some miles on the other yachts over night and we were trying to avoid the tide by staying close to shore. The yachts sailing further off shore gained a good wind shift, and for a while it looked like half the fleet were going to sail over the top of us. Gold Coast was forced to tack offshore into the stronger tide to get into the same wind shift, and once we managed this we were able to lay the Butt of Lewis in first place, gaining some miles as the other yachts got knocked at the last minutes and had to tack around the Butt.

From the Butt of Lewis we made some good miles to Cape Wrath and across the North Coast of Scotland further extending our lead and found ourselves approaching Pentland Furth two hours after the slack water as the tide began to ebb. Gold Coast reached towards the island of Stroma trying to stay in the eddie until the last minute, when we altered course to sail around the north of the island. As soon as we were out of the eddie we were faced with 7kts of tide against us, and making good only 1kt to the east over ground. Once clear of the overalls Gold Coast Australia hoisted our medium weight spinnaker, increasing our speed through the water to 11kts, and our speed over ground to 3kts to the east. We gradually pulled our way clear, and our speed over ground slowly increased to 7kts over the next few hours as we watched with baited breath to see what conditions Singapore and Visit Finland would face.

Gold Coast gradually pulled clear of the strongest tide as we sailed into the north sea and towards Denhelder and discovered the next obstacle and navigational challenge of dodging oil rigs and their support vessels.

The decision we are now faced with is to either follow the present wind to the east and sail clear of the tide or stick west of the rhumb line and follow the east coast of England where there is more tide and where we will be in a better position to gain advantage of the new wind.

I have been monitoring the other vessels tracks, particularly Visit Finland and Singapore to see if they alter course to the west hoping for some hints of local knowledge, but for now they seem to be glued to our track giving me some confidence in my decision to stick to the rhumb line which is the safest option when a one can not make up their mind.

Though there is great temptation to head east, Robin Knox Johnston warned against this Pandora’s box and promises that in previous races he has seen other yachts head east to follow the wind but have found difficulty when trying to return to the west. Robins parting words were he has won all his races around Britain and Ireland by staying to the English coast, which defiantly pulls some weight in our decision process as he has been sailing these waters for more years than any of our crew combined.

GOLD COAST 090600ZJUL12 SKED – DERRY – DENHELDER

LAT 58 28.2N
LONG 006 30.7W
DTW 8Nnm
DTF 542nm
ETA 13 JUL 12
SOG 7.5
COG 080

WEAHTER WIND 030@15 SEA MOD SWELL CONFUSED SKY O/C BARO 1013

It has been a challenging 24 hours for Gold Coast Australia as we battle not only the elements but also the other yachts in the fleet fighting back to regain the lead, and now continue to fight to maintain our lead.

Yesterday we had a fantastic tussle with Singapore, and at one point we were only boat lengths away from them. It was a brilliant opportunity to take some photos and exchange a few waves before we managed to sail beneath them and make some more ground.

Conditions worsened overnight with wind up to 30 kts and a very choppy sea state making helming difficult and rendering over half the crew to bed with sea sickness. At one stage last night we only had two people from one watch remaining on deck, while others were sea sick and another two people below helping the sick people, pumping the bilges and cleaning up the mess left by a radically moving boat.

The resultant short handed crew means that everybody has to dig deep and put in 210% effort, as we are required to wake up the other watch for reefing, tacking and sail changes. As we are sailing along the coast this has resulted in the crew all getting very little sleep, but while we tack only a few miles from the coast to avoid the tide, everybody must pay complete attention to sailing and navigation as to make a mistake could be very costly indeed.

The wind and sea have calmed a little by the morning, and we are now seeing a few more heads on deck. Still weak from the sickness at least it seems everybody is on the road to recovery. Hopefully the crew will be fighting fit before we reach the ultimate challenge of the race when we sail through Pentland Firth and round Dunscaby Light tonight.

DERRY – DENHELDER SKIPPERS BLOG BEN BOWLEY – SINGAPORE

Thrashing our way up the Scottish coast into freezing cold rain, drizzle and yet more rain is about as unpleasant as it sounds! It has certainly reminded us of how much nicer it was going downwind for the latter part of Race 13. We’ve had quite a bout of seasickness and minor incidents; particularly over the last 12 hours.

Yesterday saw us in a tight duel upwind with Gold Coast Australia. Sailing within miles of St. Kilda, an imposing piece of jagged rock masquerading as an island, was quite an experience. The shifty wind blowing over the leeward side made helming quite a challenge. This, combined with a confused sea state gave us several hours of entertainment whilst Gold Coast Australia gradually worked their way up under our leeward hip. From here skipper Richard Hewson was able to take the helm and nip beneath us in a wonderful display of helming prowess. Shortly after this we decided to start reducing sail as the tide had turned and the chop was getting yet steeper.

The rest of the night is but a blur of sail changes, reefs and tacks.With reduced crew some of the guys had to pull almost double shifts to keep us in the right gear and ensure there were sufficient crew on deck to perform efficient tacks. The team did a great job and this morning finds us having only lost out to Visit Finland, not bad at all considering we nearly lost the Yankee 2 over the side and had to heave too for ten minutes!

There have been some winners and losers on the beat between the Isle of Lewis and the banks south of the Flannan islands; tidal eddies being the main benefactor/culprit. As the front five teams in the fleet approach the Butt of Lewis we are compressing together for the next leg of our sprint roundScotland.

This race could be anyone’s at this rate.

GOLD COAST 080600ZJUL12 SKED – DERRY – DENHELDER

LAT 56 39.0N
LONG 008 13.0W
DTW 120
DTF 660
ETA 0600 12 Jul 12
SOG 8kts
COG 335

WEATEHR WIND 027@22kts, Sea Rough, Swell NW 2m, Cloud 8/8 Clst, Baro 1010

After a truly remarkable, emotional and enjoyable send off by the people of Derry-Londonderry Gold Coast Australia proceeded to the start area off Greencastle. People waving flags, yelling and blowing whistles lined the banks and a flotilla of yachts escorted us out to the start line and beyond in a display that would be hard to match by any other stopover. Gold Coast Australia felt heroic and proud to be part of such an amazing event and on behalf of the crew on board and our supporters I would like to thank the people from Derry-Londonderry, and pass on our congratulations to the organisers for putting on such a fantastic event.

Not so fantastic was Gold Coast Australia’s start, as the wind died with under a minute to go reducing our manoeuvrability in the strong ebbing tidal stream along the shore. While trying to slow the boat down, our Yankee 1 backed and could not be recovered, forcing us to tack and make a second approach to the start line, costing us valuable time.

We have been playing catch up ever since and have worked our way up from mid-fleet to second place overnight. The wind in the early evening was quite shifty and variable across the course and we took full advantage of this to move from the southern to the northern side of the course where the wind has been fresher allowing us to lift higher than many of the other yachts in the fleet.

The wind is now blowing from a more consistent direction, though it is gusting up to 30 knots so we are reefed down and flying our Yankee 2, as we punch our way to windward and up the west coast of Scotland to chase down the frontrunners, Singapore.

GOLD COAST STARTS RACE 14 DERRY – DENHELDER

Gold Coast Australia and the fleet of 10 Clipper Yachts have started Race 14 of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.

It was a fantastic and emotional send off by the people of Derry and Londonderry who lined the banks, fired cannons, blew horns and waved flags as we left the dock.

This race is going to be a tough one for me for a number of reasons. The main challenge Gold Coast will face is that this race is a coastal race in an area that I am not familiar with. Though we have done a lot of research, the lack of local knowledge of the area which is very tidal and has many mountains, bays, coves and islands that will effect the local winds.

The main obstacle of this race is Pentland Firth which is renown for having up to 12 kts of tidal stream. Everything I have read about the firth recommends not going there. Depending on our timing to the area we may opt to sail around it, however this will give following boats a massive advantage. No doubt the yacht in this race that gets through the firth and into the norh sea first will be the winner.

Richard Hewson

GOLD COAST AUSTTRALIA WINS HALIFAX TO DERRY LONDONDERRY RACE.

After three hundred and twenty two hours of racing across the Atlantic from Halifax to Derry Londonderry Gold Coast Australia crossed the finish line between Dunagree Point Light and Fairway Mark Foyle at 02:37 UTC on 29th June 2012 to win race 13 of the Clipper Round The World Yacht Race.

It has been a fantastic effort by all the crew who worked incredibly hard for this victory. Today was one of our busiest days as the winds were variable between 5 and 25 kts, as a result we made no less than 15 sail changes today alone. The wind was very kind to us however as we received far more than the predicted wind strength.

Only 20nm from the finish line Gold Coast Australia hooked a lobster pot on our keel, and this took us about 40 minutes to try to get it off. I was almost prepared to dive in and cut the line as the wind was beginning to drop off and we did not want to be stuck there all night as Singapore was making some fantastic miles on us.

Congratulations must go out to the rest of the fleet who had a far tougher race than us when they got stuck on the western side of Tropical Storm Chris and no doubt had to work very hard throughout the race. Our tactical decision to pass to the eastern side of Chris was a fantastic move and most certainly won us the race.

Our welcome into Derry Londonderry has been fantastic with no less than eight boats who cam out to greet us so early in the morning. It was a brilliant reception and as we crossed the line the Coast Guard sounded the horn and gave us a magnificent display of welcome.

Richard Hewson
Gold Coast Australia