LAT 39 50.5N
LONG 131 05.1W
DTR 420
ETA 1900(-8) 30 Mar 12

WEATHER WIND 209@30kts, Sea Rough, Swell WSW 3m, Sky O/c, Baro 1008

Gold Coast Australia has had yet another brilliant days run as we make the final sprint towards the Golden Gate Bridge and Oakland California.

As the wind shifted further to the south west Gold Coast has been power reaching along getting some fantastic surfs and averaging 11kts of boat speed, with about 1.5kts of current to give them a boost along towards the American coast.

Wind is predicted to slightly moderate this evening, and we were amazed to see the wind drop below 30kts at one point. The wind has been consistently above 30kts for the last few weeks, and when it finally drops off a bit it feels like we are sailing in a mill pond. Hopefully the more moderate wind will allow us to make some more ground to the south later tonight so we can make best use of the predicted SE currents in the area, and increase our speed over ground and time taken to reach the finish line.

With only two days of racing to go crew are focused on the finish and talk often sways in the direction of what the crew will do when we hit terra firma. High on the priority list will be warm showers, a change of clothes, and a dry bed to sleep in.

For now only 400nm to the finish, and Gold Coast Australia is sending it!

To Race Committee

Please be advised that Gold Coast Australia has passed the eastern ocean sprint gate at 08:53:55z in position 40 25.8N 136 00.0W thereby completing the ocean sprint in 25h 53min 42sec

I am very proud of my team and their efforts. This is a fantastic run by Gold Coast Australia, averaging over 11kts for the entire duration of the sprint. I believe that this time will be hard to beat and wish other yachts fair winds and the best of luck for the sprint.

Richard Hewson
Gold Coast Australia

LAT 40 47.0N
LONG 136 37.0E
DTF 690
ETA 0600z 31 Mar 12

WEATHER WIND 270@30, Sea 1m, Swell W5m, Cloud 4/8 Cl Cb, Baro 1005 rising.

Gold Coast Australia is having a fantastic down hill ride in the Ocean Sprint and towards Oakland California. Winds have finally begun to ease off from 40-55kts down to a mild 30kts. Seas are also gradually settling down however are still quite confused and random.

As the barometer began to rise this afternoon, the wind began to back and ease as promised by the forecast and Gold Coast Australia was finally able to shake out a reef and put in a gybe to make our final approach to the Golden Gate Bridge that marks the finish line (though it is still 700nm away).

Shaking the reef out using our improvised mast track system went according to plan and the mainsail is setting as it should, though looking a little more tired than it did at the start of this race thanks to the relentless winds and weather condition.

The sea and swell remain very confused making life below difficult and life in the galley an experience in itself. In these conditions it seems a helping hand is always required to get involved as demonstrated today while preparing lunch the boat lurched and rolled over excessively, throwing the rice from the rice cooker into the lockers while also managing to spray chef Babs Yendell from head to toe. Assistant chef Gina Gourlay also got a pasting by the tomato puray as it flew across the galley. Thankfully some of the contents were still able to be scraped up and eaten for a very tasty lunch.

Amazingly the sun came out today and we also had more blue sky than we have seen since China. Last night, and also tonight we can actually see the stars and the moon that make up the universe around us, giving us some comfort that we are approaching the end of an incredible set of weather systems and an incredible race.

While our priority at the moment is to sail towards the finish as fast as possible, Gold Coast is racing towards the eastern end of the ocean sprint, averaging about 11kts and making some fantastic time. Looking at the weather for the yachts astern of us the conditions favour us so hopefully we will get the bonus point as we continue our race to Oakland.

To Race Committee

Gold Coast Australia would like to announce that at 07:00:13 in position 40 52.5N 142 00.0W we commenced the Ocean Sprint.

Photographic evidence is available on request.

Richard Hewson
Gold Coast Australia

LAT 40 52.7N
LONG 142 20.1w
DTF 950
ETA 0600 31 Mar 12

WEATHER WIND 250@40-55kts, Sea Rough 2m, Swell 6m, Cloud O/c, Baro 1000

Gold Coast Australia continues to charge down wind with mainsail and polled out Y3 headsail in some strong but variable winds and large sea and swell.

At times the wind will abate to 25 kts and it feels like we are in a big lull and there is no wind at all. It would be easy to mistake such a lull as the weather completely abating and it is very tempting to hoist a spinnaker, however, with a barometer falling 1mb/hr for the last day, we know that it is just the calm before another storm and utilise the time of lighter winds to check sails and fix any repairs (such as broken hanks) as required before the next session on wind.

The wind this entire race has been relentless and it seems that it is always blowing over 30kts from one direction or another in the North Pacific. Thankfully at the moment the wind is behind us, but the conditions are still harsh, ruggered and strangely beautiful.

With a large low moving to the north of us the swell has picked up to about 6m, and on top of this the wind creates a sea of about 2m. Occasionally a set of waves will come through that can only be described as massive, and if you are unlucky enough for one of these waves to break over the boat the situation can get quite messy. One such wave broke over the boat today without warning. A huge crest of foamy water covered the deck as the boat broached and was knocked over. Thankfully there was no damage to the boat, and only a few bumps and bruises suffered by crew members who were briefly suspended in mid air as they fell from one side of the boat to the other.

One of the problems with such a long race as this one is managing stores and provisions. We are lucky enough to have a well organised provisioning teams, and our head man Nick Woodward keeps a close eye on our daily usage down to every roll of toilet paper. It may sound extraordinary but it is better to be warned in the first week to slow down on toilet paper consumption than have a rather embarrassing ending to the race. While our food and toilet supplies are still plentiful, once store that we are quickly running out of is hanks. On the entire fleet Yankee headsails are hanked (as opposed to running up a track as some racing yachts do). The benefit of this is the sails are a lot more durable, the disadvantage is that if the sail flogs or backs the hanks can break. We are now down to our last 3 hanks, hopefully they will last us the rest of the way to Oakland.

For now, wind has picked up as we approach speed gate giving us very windy conditions that should give us a good time for the ocean sprint, now im rushing back on deck as the wind is picking up a lot…

LAT 40 32.0N
LONG 147 52.5W
DTF 1197
ETA 0200 31 MAR 12

WEATHER WIND 280@30-45kts, Sea Rough 2m, Swell W 5m, Sky O/C, Cl, Baro 1012

The day started with a secondary front bringing more wind than the first and a change of direction to the west. It also bought with it a myriad of problems that would take Team Gold Coast Australia most of the morning to sort out.

As the wind shifted we set up to pole out the Y2 using our repaired “small pole”, however, unknown to us at the time the pole track had been damaged earlier in the race when we had a round up prior to Japan. This resulted in us being unable to hoist the pole to its usual height. Annelise Nelson headed up the mast with screw driver and hammer to straighten things out, and by sunrise we were almost ready to pole out the headsail. As the wind continued to veer it also increased in intensity. Not only was the wind increasing but the swell and sea were rising as fast as the barometer was dropping. After putting in a quick gybe, Gold Coast had its second problem for the morning – reefing the mainsail.

While we had experimented with our new systems putting reefs in and shaking reefs out while the wind was moderate, we had not yet trialled the system in over 30kts of wind. Sean Fuller went up the mast to try to resolve the issue but was unsuccessful, and consequently we were unable to keep some of the cars in the track in the desired fashion. We were able to reef by utilising our emergency drop systems and a complicated array of lines that go up the back of the mast to support the luff of the sail and this seems to be working well.

After a plethora of sail changes from Y2 to storm jib and back to Y3, Gold Coast Australia ran with the wind throughout the day with a polled out Y3 making good speeds towards Oakland California. Running repairs are made on the sails after each drop after hanks are broken due to the high winds and stresses on the sails. With the wind gusting up to 45kts in the late afternoon, and the sea becoming quite ferocious we have now packed the pole away as we decided to stick with the safer option that minimises the risk of any damage to the boat or sails thought the night. This sail configuration may allow the boats behind to sail slightly faster and make some miles on us through the night however in these conditions and especially at this stage of the race, I would rather play the conservative option. As the wind continues to veer we are able to still maintain course with good speed and at this rate we are predicted to sail under the Golden Gate Bridge before the end of the month!

Richard Hewson

LAT 40 53.8N
LONG 153 20.0W
DTR 1448
ETA 0600 31 Mar 12

WEATHER WIND 219@33, Sea Rough, Swell SW 4m, Cloud O/C, Baro 1026

Gold Coast has been making some fantastic milage over the past 24 hours as we charge towards the Golden Gate Bridge and Oakland. This afternoon saw a cold change in the weather and some drizzle, as the wind started to veer to the east and increase up to 40kts making for some exciting sled riding down waves.

An interesting part of sailing in the North pacific is the amount of flotsam and jetsam to be found drifting past. Very early this morning as we surfed down the waves in the dark Gold Coast Australia collided with an unknown object making a large banging sound down below. The hull was checked for damage and there is none noticible, however to be sure we monitorred bildge levels every hour until midday to be certain. It will be interesting to inspect the hull on arrival in Oakland and see if the unknown object caused any damage. There are rumours of massive pacific grave yards where so much of the worlds ocean garbage is naturally collected in a big whirl pool. While we have not yet seen the infamous whirl pool, disued nets, fishing floats, polystyrene, water bottles and even debris apparently from the fatal Japanese Tsunami can be seen drifing in collective amounts and stand out in bleak contrast to the occasional black footed albatross, sei whales and various species of dolphin that demonstrate the beauty and life of our winds swept environment.

The Sei Whales in particular have been paying us many visits, and one surfaced only 20m from the boat this morning giving us a fantastic show of its massive sleek body. Numerous other whales have also been demonstrating their beauty, however no more have come this close.

LAT 40 32.0N
LONG 159 06.7W
DTF 1720
ETA 0600z 31 Mar 2012

WEATHER WIND 191@17kts, Sea Mod, Swell Confused 2m, Cloud O/C CSt, Baro 1038.1

The weather continues to moderate, and the boat continues to dry out as we sail east towards the finish at the Golden Gate Bridge and the stopover in Oakland.

We are now reaching away under full power and making 10kts towards the finish. The crew are sailing the boat very well and trimming away for peak performance. It is getting to the stage now that as skipper I have very little to do allowing me to catch up on jobs that have been put aside in the rougher weather and also allowing me some time to relax!

While thoughts onboard drift towards Oakland and the finish we must still focus 100% on sailing well. As I said to the crew during happy hour today, all the yachts in the fleet are still relatively close, and all it takes is one little slip up of concentration and our race could be over. If however we sail well, at this speed we should be arriving in Oakland in 7 days time for a weekend arrival and another yellow pennant which would be very special and hopefully attract a vast number of spectator boats to welcome us in.

LAT 40 31.5N
LONG 164 40.1E
DTF 1970
ETA 01 Apr 12

WEATHER WIND 170@18kts, Sea Mod, Swell confused 1m, Cloud o/c, baro 1038

Gold Coast is now almost at full power and charging towards San Fransisco. Not only are we almost back to full race potential having fixed most of the damage that occurred over the week of storms, but our electronics have also dried out and are all working again – I can now type on the keyboard and press all the keys – its the little luxuries in a long race such as these that can bring so much happiness.

As the wind began to veer and weaken in strength Sean Fuller went up the mast today to make some modifications to our hoisting system, and we were also able to shake the final reef out of the sail giving us a bit of extra speed. The boat is now nicely powered up and we are making some great mileage towards the finish.

With the more mild weather crew are gradually recuperating their strength and extra jobs are being completed as well as a bit of cleaning up front he previous week of storms. There are always improvements or maintenance to do on a racing yacht, and the moment you let your guard down something is sure to break. I have even had some time to begin planning the stopover and next leg.

Today I also got time to go over some old photos and organise them on my computer. Its amazing to reflect back on the last 8 months (including boat preparation) and see how much not only the boat has changed but also the crew (im not sure if i look older or younger.. depends on the day or rather the weather surrounding us). While the boat certainly looks 100% as far as maintenance go’s, the sails are now looking very old and tired compared to when they were crispy fresh. Irrespective of looks, and the floggin that they have had over the past few months, they are still doing their job pushing us along at 10 kts towards Southhampton!

Seas at the moment are unusually flat resulting in some excellent speeds. Being so far out in the ocean with consistent 20-30kts of wind for the last few days you would expect quite a swell and sea to build up, however, sea and swell are under 1m. I presume this is because of our close proximity to the centre of the high pressure system. Either way it is fantastic sailing and makes excellent conditions for novice helmers to have a drive without the danger of being smashed or rounded up by a big wave. As one crew member said GCA is so balanced at the moment you hardly need to touch the helm, and if you had a light auto helm or wind vane you would quite happily set the helm and the crew could all go to bed!

LAT 39 48.5N
LONG 175 04.8E
DTF 2470
ETA 4 Apr 12

WEATHER WIND 150@20kts, SEA MOD 1M, SWELL SE 2M, CLOUD 5/8 Cl, BARO 1042

Gold Coast Australia has had a long but profitable day today in moderate winds, almost blue sky, and almost manageable temperatures.

It was all hands on deck this morning at first light as we were finally able to drop the trisail and attempt a mainsail hoist for the first time in over five days. With a more complicated system that allows for safety backups, the main was hoisted before it was lowered again to prove the system and give the crew some practice in the ligher airs. The lowering and re-hoist also enabled us to discuss and improve the system and new tools and techniques have already been developed to assist in the process.

It is fantastic to have the mainsail flying again and to be almost at full power again (we are still sailing a little conservatively with something up our sleeve). Once again the boat feels like a real race boat rather than plodding along under trisail.

Not only is the boat feeling better but the blue sky and more moderate wind has everybody singing and happy again and all the troubles seem to have almost dissaperaed. Injured crew members are also feeing up and are able to get around down below and in some cases assist in light duties. The crew still appear quite exhausted from the past week of strong winds and cold conditions and efforts are being made to try to give people more rest when possible, especially after today’s early start and the changing over of watch routines at the half way point.

Over the past few days we have seen an interesting measure of flotsam and jetsam and we wonder if we are sailing near one of the renound north pacific grave yards where so much of the worlds ocean garbage is naturally collected in a big whirl pool. We have seen some strange objects, much of which can only be described as a collection of odds and ends.

The ocean wild life gave us a special treat today with a family of Black footed Albatross who we disturbed in the water and took off as we approached. It is unusual to see Albatross with more than one young, but this mother or father appeared to be training three in the skills and science of ocean flight.