Wednesday 28 July 2021
200 miles East of Eden
It’s a bit over 200 miles to Eden and Chimere has been making good use of the steady nor wester as she races home to Australia.
Through the night, a flat sea had us doing an effortless 8 knots, a silky ride that was good for sleeping inside and in a way, hypnotic while on watch, under a moonlit sky.
Throughout the morning the waves began to build, along with the wind strength, at times bringing flashbacks from the recent past. But no matter how bumpy and breezy it got, a 20-30 knot wind and its associated sea-state, is a very different proposition to 30-40 knots and more
Earlier today we were discussing when we would move from New Zealand time – 2 hours ahead of Australia – to Eastern Standard Time, largely on the basis that the sun was getting out of bed later and later each morning – “Holland in winter” as Harm observed, and twilights were starting to resemble summer in Sydney. We initially considered forming a Time Zone sub-committee, but if we were to call a meeting, what time should it be held. Maybe two meetings, in the hope that the result of motions held at each would coincide.
In the end, Harm questioned out loud this afternoon … “are the weather forecasts in New Zealand time, or Melbourne time?” … “GMT +10” … I called back. So that settled it, we all converted to Melbourne time … putting all clocks back two hours. So Chimere is now officially on Melbourne time and we get to re-enjoy the last two hours. Not much fun if you were just about to go off watch?!
Apart from clocking up around 150 miles for the day, and putting up with some more rolly weather – no waves in the cockpit though – not a lot else happened onboard today.
In big news, Matt completed the task of replacing two wire connectors on the back of the wind indicator, a project made all the more difficult due to the unpredictable motion of the boat. In the end he lay on his stomach, a long saloon-seat mattress between him and the steel deck and a safety harness around his waist to prevent him sliding away. It was a job well done, and hopefully won’t be tested in quite the same way again.
Speaking of “testing”, the NW wind has just died down to around 15 knots as we await the arrival of a new southwest change. This had been expected and a friend of Harm’s sent a text a couple of hours ago, to say it was going through Bairnsdale at 30 knots at that time. Right now, we can see lightening on the SW horizon, which is no doubt the change, and have prepared the sails accordingly. Consequently, we are going a bit slower – at 4-5 knots – than we’d like.
… that’s where yesterday’s blog stopped … sometime in the late afternoon. Sam and Harm dished up a wonderful dinner, with Sam’s heroic, circus-esque, efforts in the pitching galley worthy of special note … half-naked due to the heat and humidity from the stove
As the norwester became a westerly, we tracked south running parallel to the coast – just 200 miles off. The wind strength increased and with it the sea, but for a time Sam showed us all a thing or two about precision, instrument, hand steering, guided by the red glow of the compass – and the compass itself of course.
The lightening associated with the cold southerly air confronting the warmer northerly air got closer, but then largely passed to our south. But still the seas climbed and before long we began shipping water over the side and into the cockpit.
Eventually, any hope of completing the day’s blog evaporated as a constant vigil was maintained in the cockpit, a lot of the time hand steering to take stress and pressure of the autohelm … or Otto … as in … Otto-helm.
Then around 2:00am, as Matt and I kept watch the wind quickly swung from west to southwest – the sails flapped and we were left needing to bear away further to eliminate the pitching motion which kept us stationary for a time.
At this point we were sailing in a south EAST direction – east? Isn’t New Zealand in that direction?? Been there. It was now time to put in the much-anticipated tack and before long we were heading back to Australia – battling a norwest swell that was now being confronted by a rising souwest swell, with some breaking sea thrown in for good measure.
In short, it was another long, tired night in the cockpit
Smooth seas, fair breeze and like a racehorse heading for home
Rob Latimer
NZ2020 