Opua Outbound Day 5

Hi everyone,

At noon today we were at 33 40S 164 15E steering 240M, sailing under no main and storm staysail at 5 knots.  The wind was 22G30 from the E.  Our noon to noon distances were 127nm by the log and 128nm over the ground.   Overall we'd logged 585nm and 599nm respectively.  Our distance to go was 659nm.  Almost half way and only a Sydney-Hobart to go!

Big seas at dawn

Yesterday afternoon the wind was ESE 20G25.  Zen Again was loving it.  Overnight winds gradually increased and waves reached about 3.5m.  At 0400 a rain squall came through with 30G35.  Zen Again and Kazi the WindPilot managed well but it was becoming a white knuckle ride.  The boat was surfing at over 8 knots frequently.

The squall only lasted 30 minutes but it reminded me of the trap of 'pressonitis' - pushing onward too hard for too long.  So at 0900 we doused the mainsail.  That reduced the stress level and improved the ride, at the cost of only 0.5knots speed.  Dousing the main was easy with our Tides Marine SailTrack.

Skies cleared this morning after a cloudy night.  All's well aboard!

Trust all's well where you are.

Opua Outbound Day 4

Hi everyone,

At noon today we were at 33 12S 166 40E steering 250M, sailing under double-reefed main and storm staysail at 5.5 knots.  The wind was 20G25 from the ESE.  Our noon to noon distances were 130nm by the log and 135nm over the ground.   Overall we'd logged 458nm and 470nm respectively.  Our distance to go was 753nm.

Sailing West

Yesterday afternoon continued with 20G30 E winds and an unpleasant sea state.  Southerly swell persisted, battling the large E seas.  It reminded us of the Indian Ocean.  Frequent side-swiping with water cascading into the cockpit.  We stayed below with occasional quick looks around for traffic.

Speaking of traffic we've seen only three other vessels.  All were large cargo ships and all passed while we were still close to New Zealand.  It's pretty lonely out here!  Zen Again is loving the conditions.  She has been surging at up to 10 knots on some waves.  Kazi the WindPilot vane gear is doing a fantastic job.

Dawn Today

The boisterous conditions continued overnight.  We were again semi-pooped by a breaking wave.  This time Nicki was doing a quick look around and she 'took a dousing' to keep water out of the cabin.  The kettle stayed put this time since we'd unlocked the cooker gimbals after yesterday's incident.

Conditions are starting to moderate this morning.  We'll see if that continues.  We're going to extend further W before gybing to stay out of 30G35 winds forecast to the NW.

Trust all's well where you are!

Opua Outbound Day 3

Hi everyone,

At noon today we were at 32 56S 169 16E steering 240M, sailing under double-reefed main and storm staysail at 6 knots.  The wind was 21G28 from the E.  Our noon to noon distances were 127nm by the log and 130nm over the ground.   Overall we'd logged 328nm and 335nm respectively.  Our distance to go was 875nm.

Dawn today

Yesterday afternoon we continued NNW in gradually increasing wind.  At 2030 in the evening we gybed to the W.  Overnight the wind continued to increase.  At 0600 we furled the last of the yankee and set the storm staysail.

Storm staysail and trisail-sized main

We're now charging W, often surging to over 7 knots in 3m swell/seas.  The cockpit was dry until I took my phone on deck to take the above photo.  We were then side-swiped by a big wave which half filled the cockpit.  A little spray got below and the kettle ejected itself from the cooktop.  The navstation copped a few drops of water, mostly on the computer keyboard but hopefully everything's OK.

These strong winds are predicted to continue for some time - several days.

Trust all's well where you are!