LAT 15 13.32N
LONG 101 30.28W
DTF 1366
ETA 13 MAY 12
COG 130
SOG 7

WEATHER WIND 302@8, SEA Slight, Swell W 1m, Cloud 1/8, Baro 1010

Gold Coast Australia sailed with good wind throughout the nigh and into the morning making good speed down the Mexican coast. Unfortunately our speed was not as good as the yachts closer inshore and they made a few miles on us over night.

As the sun rose into ANZAC day we paid our thoughts and Wayne Read conducted a short service as we hoisted the Australian Ensign and lowered it to half mast and observed two minutes silence.

Light winds plagued us for the majority of the morning but as the wind shifted further to the west it began to increase again, and in the afternoon we had to change to our medium weight spinnaker which we held until just after sunset.

LAT 17 00.0N
LONG 103 43.7W
DTF 1503nm
ETA 10 May 12
COG 115
SOG 5kts

Today is ANZAC Day. A day where we remember all the Australian and New Zealand Sailors, Soldiers and Airmen who fought gallantly and have devoted their lives for the freedom of our country – Australia – LEST WE FORGET

The day began with a beautiful sunrise as Gold Coast Australia coasted along under light weight spinnaker after a pleasant, yet sometimes frustrating night of jumping from wind patch to wind patch. Dolphins joined us for the sunrise making an almost unbeatable start to the day.

Throughout the morning the wind began to veer, and before lunchtime the spinnaker was down and the Y1 and Staysail were flying as we tried to make ground to windward in light winds. While the winds were light, they were still more than we were expecting, so considered an added bonus.

At 18:07:10 Gold Coast Australia commenced the ocean “sprint” as we basically drifted across the 17 degree 30 min latitude in somewhat glassy conditions. The position of the crossing was 17 30.0N, 104 31.8W. As we did not exactly have the best wind or speed at the commencement of the sprint we delayed notifying the race committee for the maximum time of 3 hours in case we found ourselves sailing back over the 70 30N on the other tack and would be able to re-start the sprint. Unfortunately the weather did not dictate such a manoeuvre so the start to our sprint was rather uneventful.

The wind continued to move throughout the afternoon as we played the shifts down the course, until early afternoon when we were able to re-hoist the light weight spinnaker.

Gold Coast Australia continues to battle it out with the front runners and stayed in the lead for most of the day. Thought the majority of the day we have remained in the lead, however De Large Landen are making some fantastic ground further to the North East closer into the shore, and in the afternoon sked they had overtaken us.

It will be interesting to see what wind fills in tomorrow, as conditions on the course are rather unpredictable. DLL is looking very strong to our North, while Welcome to Yorkshire threatens us from the west. At the moment we are trying to cover both flanks and race some more conservative tactics but if DLL continues to make ground on us over night we may have to review our game plan.

LEST WE FORGET

Richard Hewson

LAT 17 47.1N
LONG 104 56.0W
DTF 1580
ETA 13 May 12
COG 200
SOG 2

WEATHER WIND L&V 000-090 1-4kts, Sea Calm, Swell n/a, Cloud 2/8, Baro 1012

An amazing day in and around Gold Coast Australia today with more wildlife than Australia Zoo. Whilst for the majority of the day we sat becalmed in the pacific ocean off the Mexican coast, in between puffs of wind we were entertained by mother nature who put on a spectacular show.

Three turtle species were identified today, including one rare leather back turtle and another turtle with a brown boobie hitching on its shell.

The most spectacular of all shows was put on by two different pods of what we believe to be Pygmy Killer Whales. The first pod swam to the boat and surrounded us, jumping, breaching and playing. They were quite inquisitive of Gold Coast Australia and swam with us for over an hour. As we cheered for an encore, another pod approached that was even bigger than the first and really put on a show for us. I got some fantastic GoPro video and still footage of these beautiful creatures and felt honoured to have witnessed such a performance.

Later in the day as the wind picked up from the NW, our spinnaker filled and we started to make some good ground. To top it off another breed of whales breached in the distance but we were unable to identify it apart from it being white in colour, and quite small and stout.

The air surrounding Gold Coast Australia was also filled with our friends of the feathered variety, including a couple of different species of boobies and one small land bird who landed on our deck and then made himself quite at home helping with sail hoists and then heading below for a full tour before resting in the ghetto on a bunk.

The wind carried us ESE at reasonable speed until the early evening until the wind died out completely. Gold Coast Australia was left to drift in a mill pond until only just recently when we began to experienced what appears to be a light land breeze from the cooling land in the east, bringing with it some sea mist. With so little wind in the area over the next few days it dosn’t really matter where the wind comes from or how it is generated, all is appreciated as Gold Coast Australia defends its current position leading the fleet.

LAT 18 42.0N
LONG 106 20.0W
DTF 1779
ETA 13 May 12
COG 105
SOG 3.5

WEATHER WIND 285-320@2-6kts, Sea Calm, Swell NW 1/2m, S 1m, Cloud 3/8 Cist, Baro 1013

As I type the familiar slap slap of the mainsail as another bit of swell rocks the boat spilling all the precious wind out of the sails. We have been basically becalmed since sunrise, doing our best to utilise every scratch of wind that comes our way. Alas, thanks to a slight counter current for part of the day we only made 20nm between sunrise and sunset.

The assessment I made last night from the information available set us on the best route possible towards the new wind on the coast, and last night we set ourselves a challenge to be close to the coast in the late afternoon. Unfortunately as the wind gets lighter tit is harder to predict, and consequently less accurate. The predicted wind was not there .

Our gybe angles are quite large and we have two choices at the present time, head east at 2-3kts or head south at 2-3kts. At the moment we maintain our easterly course to cover the fleet and try to close the coast.

As the wind has reduced the temperatures have soured. On watch crew members feet burn as they walk over the sun beaten decks that are so hot you could cook an egg on them. It is important to slip slop slap and drink lots of water. Down below, the stripped out racing interiors become ovens. Fans installed at the start of the race are doing their best to move the air, trying to cool the interior down enough for the off watch to sleep.

The winds seem to light to even help the birds fly and just before sunset two boobies took to nesting at the top of our mast, one right next to our windex, the other on the Raymarine wand. Why do birds always pick the most expensive and fragile equipment when they want to rest? I have a perfectly good radar dome which would be far more comfortable for them, but they obviously like the height of the mast, and I don’t blame them, as at the moment it is as a stable platform as any with fantastic views.

We have now lost all AIS and radar signal on the other yachts (the atmospherics or repeater signal seem to have worn off) so we are on our own, making the most of every precious breath of wind and sailing to win.

LAT 19 23.852 N
LONG 108 16.167 W
DTF 1878
ETA 13 APR 12
COG 113 degrees
SOG 6.6Kn

WEATHER Wind 310@10kts, Sea Slight, Swell NW 1/2m, Cloud 2/8, Baro 1008

Some bizarre and unexplained natural and un-natural occurrences are happening around Gold Coast Australia over the past few days. AIS and VHF signals appear to travel over 100nm, far further than we have ever seen before. There are positives to this as we can talk to and monitor the fleet up to 100nm away, but on a negative it results in lots of useless information being heard on the radio.

The possible eruption of a volcano in Mexico may possibly cause more strange disturbances over the next few days, and who knows what a cloud of ash could do to the predicted weather systems and possible sea breezes that will hopefully take us down the coast when the gradient pressure diminishes. Only time will tell what the effect of the Volcano will have Team Gold Coast Australia send our thoughts to those living near the volcano and hope they are safe and that the disruptions it may cause them in the future are minimal.

The winds in the area are a little unpredictable at the moment, as today we expectantly experienced winds from a westerly direction which gave us a fantastic course throughout the day. The wind was meant to veer throughout the afternoon yet only swung towards the north before midnight. It will be interesting to see what the grib files show for the next few days. The wind on the course also appears very patchy, and some of the yachts behind us are having a fantastic ride making up some good miles on us. At the point of writing Gold Coast Australia retains a good cover on the fleet but as we head further south the wind will become even more variable making it extremely important to work hard and sail smart to stay ahead of the pack.

Richard Hewson

LAT 21.44.493N
LONG 109.57.518W
DTF 2047nm
ETA 24 Apr 2012
COG 110
SOG 7.7nm

WEATHER WIND 315@10kts, Sea Slight, Swell NW 1m, Cloud 1/8, Baro 1016

Gold Coast Australia’s position has continued to improve as we search for optimum wind on a very light course. By midday the sea breeze that we were hoping for showed little signs of forming and so Gold Coast Australia gybed offshore to cover the fleet and put us in a good position to maximise wind over the coming days. Our unfortunate situation at the moment however is the yachts behind us have more wind and unless we can reach the better pressure to the south east first our lead will continue to decrease. It is interesting to see that the fleet is all still reasonably close even after numerous different tactical strategies have come into play.

Sailing in these light conditions requires immense concentration to ensure optimum trim and a stable spinnaker and the crew are doing a fantastic job sailing the boat and keeping entertained.

Many people wonder what we eat while at sea. As we sail down the Mexican coast, burrito’s are the best option, and tonight they have made a fantastic change to our otherwise delightful menu.

With the lighter winds crew are kept amused spotting the copious amounts of wildlife in the ahead. Today we saw a large pod of whales on their migration north, our first sea-lions lazing in the sun as well as countless dolphins chasing fish.

LAT 23 38.3N
LONG 112 21.3W
DTF 2257nm
ETA 13 May 12
COG 170
SOG 8.8

WEATHER WIND 337@12-14kts, Sea Slight, Swell NW 1m, Cloud 2/8 Cl, Baro 1017

As I write I am overcoming a some type of mild sickness that struck me this afternoon. Weather is it was exhaustion, too much sun or something that I ate but a brief stint in my bunk to sweat it off seems to have worked wonders, and I am now feeling 80% again.

After a bold move yesterday so sail closer to the shore than any other yacht in the fleet resulted in our position (in relation to Cabo Falso) being last by 70nm – though in actual fact distance to finish is less than the other boats. The crew worked well today and sailed the boat very well in the light conditions trying to increase our situation on the leader board. By midday we were back to 4th place and only 20nm behind – Though Im not sure if there is a problem with the tracking system or not.

Today we maintained our position as most easterly yacht in the fleet and will no doubt get some terrestrial wind tomorrow throughout the day. The wild life close to the Mexican coast is amazing and today we have seen numerous groups of dolphin, a turtle, a pod of whales, flying fish, squid and schools of large palaguic fish. All of these beautiful animals have provided hours of entertainment for us today.

As we approached the scoring gate it appeared to be already full with De Large Landen, Qingdao and Welcome to Yorkshire all about to cross the gate. A vote was made on-board to dis-regard the gate and sail our own course looking at the bigger picture and the final result and it will be interesting to view the results over the next few days to see if our inshore tactics pay off.

LAT 26 11.5N
LONG 113 54.4
DTW 270
DTF 2422
ETA 13 May 12
COG 150
SOG 10

WEATHER WIND 315@15-20kts, Sea Slight, Swell NW 1m, Cloud 2/8 StCl, Baro 1017

Gold Coast Australia began the day with good wind from the NW that gradually eased through out the day. The tactical decision was made to head closer into the coast in search of wind and as we sailed higher angles to the rest of the fleet we were making good speed to the east. Gold Coast Australia passed 13nm astern of De Lage Landen around midday and continued to the east while DLL sailed to the south towards the scoring gate.

The fleet is still very tight, with only 40nm separating first and last position, and nearly everybody in VHF range. This is possibly the closest race of the series so far and everybody is sailing extremely well in the beautiful sailing conditions.

While the wind has not backed as I was hoping it to, we now have good winds to take us down the coast and hopefully the fruits of our tactics will ripen over the next few days.

LAT 27 52.2N
LONG 117 15.9W
DT CABO FALSO 444nm
DTF 2596nm
ETA 13 May 2012
COG 130
SOG 8.0

WEATHER WIND 335@18kts, Sea Mod, Swell NW 1.5m, Cloud 1/8, Baro 1018

Gold Coast Australia sailed well throughout the night opting to sail to the western side of Guadalupe. The decision was made to take the western side after the wind picked up after sunset last night and the boat felt a bit too loaded up steering the angles required to pass the island to the south.

At sunrise Guadalupe loomed in the sea mist and cloud, and as the day warmed up we got a good look at the rugged mountainous island as we sailed 15nm along its western coast. After we passed south of the island a tactical error was made thinking we were out of the lee of the island. As a result the wind dropped from the 18kts that the rest of the fleet was sailing in to 10kts. To add to the error the wind backed leaving us no choice but to sail to the east. The rest of the afternoon was spend trying to sail out of the lee of the island, loosing many miles to the other leading yachts. Finally at sunset the wind picked back up and veered to its predicted direction and we are sailing well trying to make up lost ground.

At the moment the fleet is very close and we can see five other yachts in our vicinity giving us good motivation to sail well throughout the night as we set ourselves up for the next light wind phase of the race.

Richard Hewson

Check out the next issue of Australian Sailing for the real deal!