LAT 32 34.0s
LONG 114 40.2e
DTF 3640nm
ETA 0600 25 Nov 11

WEATHER Wind 290@27kts gusting to 31 and oscilating 20 degrees. Sea 5
Swell 280@3m and 200@2m Barro 1009.8 Cloud 5/8 Cl isolated showers

Goldcoast Australia is off to another magnificent start to Race 5. It was
a very exciting start to the race as Goldcoast and New York jossled for
the pin end of the line. New York sailed well to tack ahead of us and be
first to the top mark. By the thrid mark Goldcoast managed to win back
first position in the fleet and we have remained in first place as we make
our way down the west coast of Australia towards Cape Leeuwin.

Forecasted winds and currents are looking very good for this leg and it is
predicted that we well arrive in earlier than expected. It is hoped that
this leg in the Southern ocean will not be as cold as the last leg and we
will have some good down wind and surfing action for the majority of the
race.

At the moment we are chargin down the coast with winds on our beam and
since escaping the lee of the reefs that run up the West Coast of
Australia north of Rotnest Island we have seen a substantial increase in
sea state and swell making for some very exciting sailing and big waves.
Just as I was writing this blog the yacht smashed through a massive wave
and I poked my head up the companion way to see the cockpit full of water.

With the increase in sea and swell conditions we have now altered our
route slightly to give Cape Leeuwin a wider berth by trying to stay
outside the 200m coutour. Once around Leeuwin with the swell and wind
behind us we can expect some exciting running and surfing conditions all
the way to Tasmania.

LAT 32 34.0s
LONG 114 40.2e
DTF 3640nm
ETA 0600 25 Nov 11

WEATHER Wind 290@27kts gusting to 31 and oscilating 20 degrees. Sea 5
Swell 280@3m and 200@2m Barro 1009.8 Cloud 5/8 Cl isolated showers

Goldcoast Australia is off to another magnificent start to Race 5. It was
a very exciting start to the race as Goldcoast and New York jossled for
the pin end of the line. New York sailed well to tack ahead of us and be
first to the top mark. By the thrid mark Goldcoast managed to win back
first position in the fleet and we have remained in first place as we make
our way down the west coast of Australia towards Cape Leeuwin.

Forecasted winds and currents are looking very good for this leg and it is
predicted that we well arrive in earlier than expected. It is hoped that
this leg in the Southern ocean will not be as cold as the last leg and we
will have some good down wind and surfing action for the majority of the
race.

At the moment we are chargin down the coast with winds on our beam and
since escaping the lee of the reefs that run up the West Coast of
Australia north of Rotnest Island we have seen a substantial increase in
sea state and swell making for some very exciting sailing and big waves.
Just as I was writing this blog the yacht smashed through a massive wave
and I poked my head up the companion way to see the cockpit full of water.

With the increase in sea and swell conditions we have now altered our
route slightly to give Cape Leeuwin a wider berth by trying to stay
outside the 200m coutour. Once around Leeuwin with the swell and wind
behind us we can expect some exciting running and surfing conditions all
the way to Tasmania.

LAT 32 34.0s
LONG 114 40.2e
DTF 3640nm
ETA 0600 25 Nov 11

WEATHER Wind 290@27kts gusting to 31 and oscilating 20 degrees. Sea 5
Swell 280@3m and 200@2m Barro 1009.8 Cloud 5/8 Cl isolated showers

Goldcoast Australia is off to another magnificent start to Race 5. It was
a very exciting start to the race as Goldcoast and New York jossled for
the pin end of the line. New York sailed well to tack ahead of us and be
first to the top mark. By the thrid mark Goldcoast managed to win back
first position in the fleet and we have remained in first place as we make
our way down the west coast of Australia towards Cape Leeuwin.

Forecasted winds and currents are looking very good for this leg and it is
predicted that we well arrive in earlier than expected. It is hoped that
this leg in the Southern ocean will not be as cold as the last leg and we
will have some good down wind and surfing action for the majority of the
race.

At the moment we are chargin down the coast with winds on our beam and
since escaping the lee of the reefs that run up the West Coast of
Australia north of Rotnest Island we have seen a substantial increase in
sea state and swell making for some very exciting sailing and big waves.
Just as I was writing this blog the yacht smashed through a massive wave
and I poked my head up the companion way to see the cockpit full of water.

With the increase in sea and swell conditions we have now altered our
route slightly to give Cape Leeuwin a wider berth by trying to stay
outside the 200m coutour. Once around Leeuwin with the swell and wind
behind us we can expect some exciting running and surfing conditions all
the way to Tasmania.

lat 35 52.4
long 021 01 68e
dtr 4604

SKIPPERS BLOG

It has been an eventfull 24 hours for Goldcoast Australia as we rounded
Cape of Good Hope and resumed our course to Australia. A High pressure
system that seems to be following us from Rio is blocking our path from
the westerly winds in the southern ocean and acted like a trap for us as
we had no choice but to sail right into it rather than risk the big waves
and currents on the Agulhas bank.

While the boat seems rather busy now with 18 crew onboard sometimes on
deck it seems rather barren and I must question where all the people are,
Still to run a yacht there are many things to do and people are always
busy just keeping the boat running.

Yesterday we spent much of the day drifting around making little ground
towards our destination as we tusseled for first place with Quindaou and
Geralton only to watch the pack in the middle of the fleet close the gap.
Overnight we had a fantastic light weight spinnaker run overnight towards
the east making good speed and we thought we would have made substantial
grounds on the other leading boats only to find that they have also had
good winds and have caught up. For this we must work harder.

LAT 40 21.1N
LONG 10 14.6W
DTR 555
ETR 09 1800Z AUG 11

From very wet and windy, to sunny and moderate trade winds sailing. The
sun is defiantly shining on GoldCoast Australia today! The morning
started with wet blustery conditions creating challenging experiences for
crew. A chafed Yankee sheet resulted in one of the crew Lisa Blair having
to climb out to the clew of the sail to attach another sheet – A rockstar
manoeuvre worthy of a photo!

As the wind veered to the north and eased, the Goldcoast Australia hoisted
the heavy spinnaker and took off downwind. Then something magical
happened, the sun came out! Something most of the crew have not seen
since leaving the UK (or was that since leaving Australia?). It was happy
hour on deck at lunch time, and the crew ate their lunch and discussed the
previous nights sail and what needed to be done to get Goldcoast Australia
shipshape again. Before too long, the damp cushions and wet weather gear
were drying on deck, and the boat looked more like a Chinese laundry than
a racing yacht.

Now pleasantly sailing down the Portuguese coast, could do with a bit more
wind, but you have to be careful what you wish for! No sign of other
Clipper yachts.. I wonder where they all are now, I guess we will find out
in this evenings sked. BT

LAT 35 27.0S
LONG 018 24.8E
DTR 4767
ETA 1200 28 Oct 11

SKIPPERS BLOG

Goldcoast Australia crossed the line in first position in a fantastic
start for the fourth race of the Clipper Round the World Race. After
crossing the line Goldcoast was the first one to tack towards the
breakwater to make ground to the south prior to the first mark enabling
the team to set up the spinnaker for the next leg. Goldcoast rounded the
top mark in first place and immediately hoisted the Medium weight
Goldcoast Australia spinnaker, leading the fleet around the bay.

We realised there was more wind to the north of the course and did not
want to get stuck under the lee of Table Mountain as we did in the finish.
Unfortunately we underestimated the effect of the lee and became becalmed
under Robin Island. As the rest of the fleet closed in on use we realised
we would have to work hard to get into the wind only a hundred meters
away. Finally as Finland was only a hundred metres astern of us we got a
small puff that moved us into the wind ahead.

Goldcoast Australia held their spinnaker until we were far enough out of
the lee of Table mountain to no longer be affected and then changed to the
Yankee 1 and Staysail. By the time of the 1800z sked, Goldcoast had one
reef and a Yankee 2 and was powering down the coast to the east of
Geraldton Quindaou and DLL, leaving the rest of the fleet becalmed in
their wakes.

Goldcoast has now rounded the infamous Cape of Good Hope and is sailing
south along the edge of the Agulhas bank towards the roaring 40’s westerly
winds and the team is settling in to onboard life once again. A few
people have seemed to have lost their sea legs during our stay in capetown
resulting in more seasick people than we expected. We also experienced
some moderately rough conditions last night which is not the easiest
conditions to settle into on the first night.

Whilst Team Goldcoast Australia expect lighter winds towards the end of
the day it will not be long before we have some fantastic strong westerly
winds and big waves to propel us towards Australia.BT

Lat 41 50.0N
Long 009 45.6W
DTR Finish 642nm
ETA Finish 09 1200Z AUG 11

Wet, windy, sqqually, rainy and drizzely conditions, it seems the only
place that the sun is shining at the moment is on Goldcoast Australia!

The game of cat and mouse last night with finland and Newyork was a lot of
fun, and right now the cat is licking the blood off its paws, after on
praying on both its vicims for hopefully the last time. This is the third
time on this race to Madeira that Goldcoast Australia has taken the lead,
and our team are hoping that it will be the last. We are determined to
push hard and stay out in front this time, however, with 640 nm still to
run to the finish, we definatly can not take our finger off the pulse.

Goldcoast worked hard throughout the night, dodging ships through major
shiping lanes, and competing against strong gusty winds, amongst unplesant
drizzely and foggy conditions. Dispite the conditions, I just asked the
crew how moral was.. the answer was somewhere between 4 and 8 out of 10..
(ignoring one answer of “im not talking to you rich.. its not very good
out there”) not bad considering the long blustery night, and given only a
few days ago, at this time of day, all the crew would have been snuggled
up in their queen sized beds cosy and warm.. but now.. eveybody is having
an amazing experiance… an experiance that could be described as just
like the brochure! (I have just been asked what brocure i was looking at..
ha ha).

Goldcoast will work hard to stay in front, and looks fowared to the wind
veering around to the north, which will allow us to hoist the spinaker and
sail down to Maderia in style. BT

Lat 43 10.8N
Long 009 16.8W
DTR Finish 726nm
ETA Finish 10 0001Z AUG 11

After a light morning, drifting helplessly watching the following yachts
catch
up and the leading yachts break away,
Goldcoast Australia finally got the wind they wanted, and it was all hands
on
deck to change sails and get the boat back
into the correct gear to catch the leading yachts. Over the past 6 hours,
Goldcoast Australia has halved the distance
between them and the leading yachts, and now once again, the game of cat
and
mouse between Finland, New York and Goldcoast
resumes – Goldcoast being the cat!

Goldcoast Australia is currently tacking around Cabo Villano and about to
round
Cape Finistere. The wind has the boats
beating upwind and is forecasted to increase over the next few hours and
back
around towards the east. Once around Cape
Finistere, Goldcoast will tack around and start making their way down the
Portugese coast towards Maderia. The wind is
expected to contine backing to the north and there will be some exciting
running conditions ahead for the crew.

After a day relaxing in the sun, with little to do because of the light
winds
but dry out, relax and catch up on some mutch
needed sleep, ther crew are now charged, moral is high, and friday night
at the
disco of the ocean is about to commence. Go
Goldcoast!! BT

Dear Race Committee

Gold Coast Australia would like to advise the race committee that Team Gold Coast crossed the Qingdao finish line at 01:43:37z
in position 35 54.0N 120 55.4E

After such a demanding race that ended so tragically for two of our crew members I am immensely proud of Team Gold Coast for fighting our way back to the podium to take third place. This is one of our most memorable victories.

Richard Hewson

LAT 33 25.0N
LONG 122 39.3E
DTF 172
ETA 1200 (Local) 22 Feb 2012

WEATHER WIND 097@19kts, Sea Moderate, Swell Confused, Cloud O/C and Foggy with rain, Vis Poor, Baro 1020.4

Under the cover of fog and the camouflage of thousands of Chinese fishing vessels blocking our AIS Gold Coast Australia has
achieved the unimaginable and regained the 40nm needed to overtake Singapore to put us in the running for a podium position.

Yesterday afternoon I was surprised to hear the VHF radio crackle into life as Singapore was trying to call Geraldton. I
got on the radio and had when Ben Bowley the skipper of Singapore heard we were on the war path you could hear the concern
in his voice (either that or he was very tired after being awake for the past week dealing with the pleater of fishing
boats). Shortly after the wind veered another 20 degrees allowing us to hoist our spinnaker for the reach towards the East
China Sea Virtual Mark number 2 (ECS2). It was at this point of time, knowing we now had excellent speed compared to the leading boats we decided to enter into stealth mode and make a silent approach.

We approached ECS2 in the pitch black of night the sea was illuminated by thousands of fishing boats looking like the city
of Vagus. Lights filled the horizon as far as the eye could see, and the radar was basically painted yellow and grey from
all the contacts that were shown on it. Amongst the most densely populated area our virtual mark showed up in the middle of
it all as a skull and cross bones. As the wind backed we changed out the spinnaker for our Y1 to get some more height and manoeuvrability as we commenced our slalom course towards the mark.

As we reached ECS2 the density of fishing boats now occupied the entire 360 degrees of the radar screen out to 24nm. Each
fishing vessel only a few hundred of metres apart it is amazing that any fish could survive such and onslaught. Rounding
the mark we re-hoisted our heavy weight spinnaker and then weaved our way through a series of lights and boats in a situation that can only be described as un-real!

The next morning the density of fishing boats had diminished leaving us with only the pitch black of dawn and the odd rogue
merchant ship to deal with. As the sun rose so did the AIS picture of Singapore from the clutter of thousands of other AIS signals on our radar.

As the wind backed again, the spinnaker went below and the Y1 re-hoisted. To our amazement we were now sailing through a
sea that was yellow – the Yellow Sea. Who would have thought that a sea could be the colour of its name, though not
surprising considering all of the densely populated countries that surround it. With the Y1 up and the traffic density low
it was time for me to finally get some sleep, in preparation for another busy night and the final sprint to the finish in Qingdao.

Provided that we don’t get stuck in a wind hole tonight Gold Coast Australia should be finishing on the podium for Race 8 of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race at midday tomorrow.