DATE 16.10.11

LAT 44 51.5S

LONG 058 57.3E

DTR 2750

ETA 1200 28 OCT 11

WIND 314 314@18 SEA 4 SWELL 3M@270 5sec period Cloud 7/8 Cumulus baro 1032

vis good

SKIPPERS BLOG

Winds have continue to moderate as Gold Coast Australia sails East towards

Geraldton. The winds at the moment are quite shifty, with 30 degree wind

shifts and a wind range from 14 to 20kts hinting of an approaching low

pressure system. A close eye is being kept on the barometer and clouds as

we expect the first front later today.

While it was calm, Halloween was celebrated by the Gold Coast team last

night over dinner. With balloons, streamers and lollies courtesy of Derry

London Derry, our Halloween story composed by Tim Burgess was read out over

the radio by Tim burgess, Annalise Nelson and Richard Hewson playing

various roles of characters in the gripping story.

Today is Sunday and I have handed the boat over to the crew. Given the

approaching weather it will be a good test to see how much they have

learnt and what to look out for. Whilst I have declared that I am going

to keep quiet today unless absolutely necessary I will be keeping a close

eye on the weather and ensure timely decisions are made.

Date 15.09.11

LAT 31 55.6S

LONG 031 00.8W

DTR 2502

SKIPPERS BLOG

For the last 24 hours Gold Coast Australia has been going like a freight train. Our southerly position provides us with more

wind at a broader angle allowing us to ease away from the wind in the gusts and maintain an average speed of over 10kts.

South of the fleet our only company consists of seabirds and the occasional pod of dolphin, though this morning we had our

first human encounter since we lost sight of Singapore when a fishing boat appeared on the radar. We passed the fishing

boat within a few miles and I am sure they were wondering what crazy people we are out sailing in the middle of nowhere as

we surfed down the waves with water flying everywhere.

The wind has been blowing from the South West averaging about 30kts and gusting to about 38 which unfortunalty is too windy

for our heavy weight spinnaker. Yesterday we saw 50kts over the deck when a squall hit us. It was the first big squall

most of the people on board had seen, with water being lifted of the tops of waves. Gold Coast Australia handled it well as

we simply bore away and sailed with the wind until the gust had passed, reaching consistent speeds of 15kts which provided

some very exhilarating sailing.

The crew on Gold Coast Australia are hoping our southerly position will give us a large advantage over the rest of the fleet.

Already we have been excited to see our position climb up the leader board as we slowly pick the other boats up one by one.

When the wind begins to back to the south we should really reap the rewards as we can maintain a high speed reach towards

Capetown while the other yachts will have to sail at higher and slower angles into the wind.

Happy days on Gold Coast Australia, its bloody good to be alive! BT

date 15.10.11

LAT 44 52.9E

LONG 55 05.0E

DTR 2947

ETA 1200 28 Oct 11

WEATHER WIND 285@20kts Sea 4 Swell 250@3m Period 5s Cloud 5/8 stratus

cumulus Sea temp 8.2 outside temp 11.4

SKIPPPERS BLOG

At 05h39m46s UTC Gold Coast Australia passed through the scoring gate at

position 44 52.79S 055 00.0E. This is a massive victory for Gold Coast

Australia after battling with the elements for the last few days and then

having to run north to reach the scoring gate without a spinnaker in very

moderate winds and large seas with the rest of the fleet catching us at a

rate too close for comfort.

Gold Coast Australia is now back our great circle route track heading east

towards Australia and moral is high this morning, as we have not only

reached the scoring gate first, but also because temperatures have soared

to a balmy 11 degrees C which is more than twice as hot as the temperature

we have been experiencing for the last few days.

Once again we are sailing in perfect southern ocean sailing conditions

with a moderate wind behind us. These conditions are not expected to last

long and a careful eye is being kept on the glass watching the barometric

pressure and also on the approaching clouds as the next cold front

approaches us from the west. I am expecting this front to be quite windy

so we will be once again battening down the hatches and holding on whist

we fly east towards Australia. BT

DATE 15.11.11

LAT 45 44.6s

LONG 151 44.9e

DTF 1616

ETA 1800 24 NOV 11

WEATHER Wind 330@27 sea 5 swell 280@3m cloud 3/8 baro 2002.3 dropping

SKIPPERS BLOG

A surprise visit was paid this morning by one of our crewmembers Gina

Gourlay who flew out from Cambridge Airport near Hobart Tasmaina in a

chartered flight 180nm to find us in the middle of the southern ocean.

Gina’s plane flew a few circles around us and we made contact on VHF radio

and had a bit of a chat and shared greetings. Gina is very excited to be

joining Gold coast Australia when we arrive in the Gold coast on the 14th

of December, and I was very happy to hear that everybody is well in

Tasmania. The plane stayed just long enough to take a few photos before

it headed back to Cambridge Airport near Hobart. A big thanks to Gina for

making such an effort and giving us a big surprise.

Gina’s visit came as we were sailing down wind with the spinnaker up in

near perfect sailing conditions. Looking at the synoptic situation these

conditions are about to go form perfectly good, to a perfect storm and the

crew have been well briefed on preparations that need to be made before

conditions worsen. The wind has already started to veer to the north and

increase in velocity warning of an approaching weather system where we may

see winds constantly over 40 kts and gusts over 70kts.

Preparations include pre-cooking food for 24 hours of stormy weather,

bending on the trisail and storm jib, ensuring everything below is secure

and in some cases screwing loose hatch covers into position and

re-arranging shelves to ensure there are no missile hazards, and of course

conducting daily checks on rig and steering even more thoroughly than

normal.

I have been in similar situations down here in the Tasman Sea and Bass

Straight before and the worst part is that the warnings given by the

Australian Bureau of Meteorology that wind gusts may be up to 40% higher

than predicted and sea state up to twice the height are often true but

unpredictable. Provided you know that you are fully prepared then

everything will be ok. The Dubois 68’s are incredibly seaworthy boats

and I have all faith that Gold coast Australia will weather the storm with

ease provided we look after her and sail with a conservative sail plan.

It’s the human factor you need to take care of, the last thing you want is

to be hit by a storm such as this with no food to eat or Coffee to drink!

Date 15.08.11

LAT 24 22
LONG 21 41W
DTR 3098

SKIPPERS BLOG

An interesting night for Gold Coast as we delved into stealth mode in an
attempt to break away from our competitors. Unfortunately for Gold Coast
the plan was foiled as winds were not as predicted and Gold Coast was left
trying to sail fast in very little wind.

I have been down sick now for a nearly a day, so can not be on deck as
often as I would have liked, but I have been very impressed with the crews
performance sailing the boat without my advice. In a way quite a good
test bed to know if something happens to me in the future the crew can sail
fast and win the race and get me into port as soon as possible.

I am slowly on the mend and I guess if I were sailing solo at the moment I
would have easily pushed through the sickness, however, while there are
crew onboard why push the odds.

For now, lightweight spinnaker is up and we are heading towards more wind
somewhere in the world, however dreading the doldrums and the winds there
do not seem to be as good as they were a few days ago, particually out to
the East.

LAT 25 35S
LONG 028 12W
DTR 3200

SKIPPERS BLOG

04OO Thismorning I was called on deck to make some tactical decisions and
throw in a gybe, I decided to break into my emergency “(IN CASE OF
EMERGENCY BREAK GLASS)” coffee.,.. BAD MOVE

Ive been feeling sick ever since with gastro, and even threw up a few
times…

The good news is that after nearly a day in bed sweating it off in the
tropical heat (inside temp of boat at moment 35 deg) I Think im nearly
over it.

The other good news is that earlier today we gybed back to the west as we
had lost wind where we were and came accross Singapore and Yorkshire and
we were still in the lead. Now we have gybed back and heading towards the
gate and the wind has once more picked up to what I would have expect in
this area.

back to bed to sleep off this sickness, good reminder not to introduce
strange things into diets whilst at sea no matter how tempting the
branding looks. BT

LAT 20 27.7
LONG 25 32.3
DTR 2759
14.09.11

SKIPPERS BLOG

Since breaking free of the doldrums yesterday Goldcoast Australia has had
her spinnaker up and has been flying downwind on a east south easterly
course on the great circle route to Capetown at speeds of between 10 and
20 knots.

My home is at 42 degrees south, and the further we head south the more I
feel closer to home and in my element. Though we are not in the southern
ocean, the remoteness, beauty and energy of this environment is
incredible. Yesterday we had what seemed like a pod of pilot whales or
false killer whales surrounding the boat. One dived just under the bow
and I had to yell for everybody to hold on as I thought we were going to
hit it. The birdlife is also incredible and we have had our bird book out
to identify each species as they fly around us demonstrating their
freedom.

Our heavy weight spinnaker was giving us all a fantastic ride for the
majority of the last 24 hours and as the crew become more relaxed with the
speed and control of the spinnaker as we surf down waves it becomes even
more fun. The enjoyment I get by sharing this experience is fantastic as
my crew line up and nudge each other out of the way to get to the helm
first to feed their addiction of surfing at high speed. Meanwhile there
are whoops of delight from around the boat as we surf at speeds in the mid
teens. While there are still few of the crew are a little unsure about
this new strange environment, I am sure they will get used to it in time.

There are times in Ocean Racing when things do not go as they should, and
last night we experienced one of those moments when our spinnaker pole
snapped in half sheering of the spinnaker pole end clean off in the
process. The crew handled the situation very well and we dropped the
heavy weight spinnaker intact, hoisted the No2 Yankee as a replacement and
re-woolded the heavy weight spinnaker in preparation for the next hoist at
dawn if the conditions are suitable. We are now making best use of the
No2 Yankee and sailing a more southerly course to take us into more
pressure as we drag race our nearest rivals Singapore who are putting up a
fantastic fight – as we know every dog loves a good fight eh Duke?

Happy days of feeling free, life could not be better!

Hello all, http://www.hewsonracing.com will be under maintenance today as I will be adding old blogs. As I am in China I may not be able to arrange these blogs in order, but at least they are on the net for you to read.

Enjoy.

Rich

Richard Hewson
Skipper Clipper Ventures

LAT 45 24.5
LONG 050 45.0
DTR 3133NM
ETA 1200H 28 OCT 11

WIND 217@20KTS, CLOUD 8/8 CUMULOSTRATUS 100M SEA STATE 5 SWELL 250@3M

SKIPPERS BLOG
Life on Goldcoast Australia is a little less extreme now the winds have abated and we are heading north. Whilst conditions
remain a chilly 7deg outside during the day and below 5 degrees at night, the wind has reduced and the ocean is no longer
boiling with white caps.

This morning we passed 34nm to the north of lde aux Cochons and later today we will pass to the north of Iles Crozet en
route to the southern tip of the scoring gate. This is the closest Goldcoast Australia will be to land for almost half a
month before we land in Geraldton.

Yesterday while I was up the mast checking the rigging and cutting down reminisce of our tragedy from the previous day I
took a few minutes to observe the fantastic beauty of the surrounding ocean. It is possibly one of the most amazing
feelings in the world perched above the Albatross and Petrel. Perched up a mast with the boiling white seas of the southern
ocean below I took in the amazing expanse of beauty that surrounds us for thousands of miles, in a land where in the past
only sealers and whalers dared to travel, now home to research stations and wildlife sanctuaries giving me some hope that
slowly the direction of the world is changing for the better as humans realise the need to learn from our environment rather
than destroy it.

All happy on Goldcoast Australia dispite the cold moral is high. Happy days! Can life get any better than this!BT

LAT 20 27.7
LONG 25 32.3
DTR 2759

SKIPPERS BLOG

Since breaking free of the doldrums yesterday Goldcoast Australia has had
her spinnaker up and has been flying downwind on a east south easterly
course on the great circle route to Capetown at speeds of between 10 and
20 knots.

My home is at 42 degrees south, and the further we head south the more I
feel closer to home and in my element. Though we are not in the southern
ocean, the remoteness, beauty and energy of this environment is
incredible. Yesterday we had what seemed like a pod of pilot whales or
false killer whales surrounding the boat. One dived just under the bow
and I had to yell for everybody to hold on as I thought we were going to
hit it. The birdlife is also incredible and we have had our bird book out
to identify each species as they fly around us demonstrating their
freedom.

Our heavy weight spinnaker was giving us all a fantastic ride for the
majority of the last 24 hours and as the crew become more relaxed with the
speed and control of the spinnaker as we surf down waves it becomes even
more fun. The enjoyment I get by sharing this experience is fantastic as
my crew line up and nudge each other out of the way to get to the helm
first to feed their addiction of surfing at high speed. Meanwhile there
are whoops of delight from around the boat as we surf at speeds in the mid
teens. While there are still few of the crew are a little unsure about
this new strange environment, I am sure they will get used to it in time.

There are times in Ocean Racing when things do not go as they should, and
last night we experienced one of those moments when our spinnaker pole
snapped in half sheering of the spinnaker pole end clean off in the
process. The crew handled the situation very well and we dropped the
heavy weight spinnaker intact, hoisted the No2 Yankee as a replacement and
re-woolded the heavy weight spinnaker in preparation for the next hoist at
dawn if the conditions are suitable. We are now making best use of the
No2 Yankee and sailing a more southerly course to take us into more
pressure as we drag race our nearest rivals Singapore who are putting up a
fantastic fight – as we know every dog loves a good fight eh Duke?

Happy days of feeling free, life could not be better!