Race report 5: Europa consolidates her lead
Europa (Netherlands) has come through the stormy conditions to be nearly thirty miles ahead of her nearest rival Sprit of New Zealand (New Zealand) and remains first on corrected time (handicap).
Tecla (Netherlands) is a further 12 miles behind, but is the vessel sailing the fastest in the fleet at the moment – and as the conditions are getting lighter, Tecla is beginning to close to close the gap.
The weather forecast is indicating 48 hours of light to moderate south westerly winds before a high pressure develops off Cape Reinga which could mean further changes in placings as the light and variable winds open up opportunities for the captains and navigators in the final stages of the race.
The latest top three placings on corrected time are:
1st Europa
2nd Tecla
3rd Spirit of New Zealand
Mick Millis, Communications Officer aboard Young Endeavour (Australia) reports, äóìThe front has cleared but it has turned very cold, 13C here. The wind is SSW 18 knots and we are doing 7.5 knots with every piece of canvas up. The fleet seem to be happy. We’ve got 300 to 350 miles to go to Cape Reinga, so the early birds could start finishing Friday evening.äó
Captains log from Picton Castle (Canada)
Monday 14 Oct 2013: Winds in the Tasman Sea
We’ve heard stories of Picton Castle being a tough sea-going sailing ship, but now we know first-hand and have our own stories to tell.
After sailing from Sydney Harbour in the company of 15 other ships, six of us are continuing on to New Zealand as part of the Tall Ships Regatta. A race from Sydney to Opua? Aboard Picton Castle? We didn’t have any grand expectations of racing. We aren’t really a fast ship. The Captain says towing an almost six foot prop does not add to our speed under sail in spite of the ship’s medium clipper lines. Still as our slogan goes, “We may be slow, but we get around!”
It was good fun to see other sailing ships on the horizon that first day out. But by the next morning they were out of sight. Our first couple days at sea we had fairly light winds and were sailing along at a whopping 1-2 knots. Of course with our new trainees on board there were more than just a couple of green faces clutching the leeward rail. Then just when the seasickness was subsiding, the Captain musters us for a talk on the weather to come. Expecting 30-35kts of wind overnight and maybe more. Wow! Hold on to your hats folks!
There are things to do to prepare us and the ship for a gale. Double gasket some of the lighter sails to make sure they stay stowed, close all the hatches and make sure they are dogged down good and tight, close the water tight doors in case any big waves come busting over the rail, lash the things in your bunk and sleeping areas to make sure things don’t tumble around, and most importantly, get some sleep while you can. When the seas get lumpy it can be hard to get a good night’s sleep. The swells don’t just toss around our belongings, they toss us around in our bunks too!
The wind and swells started picking up in the late afternoon, making simple things like eating and cleaning up after dinner take much longer and much more effort than normal. But we aren’t in a rush. Slow and steady does it.
We don’t just walk with our legs, we use our hands too in case our feet slip. We rig up man ropes across the main deck and the quarter deck to hold on to and clip into if necessary
