SimonV's Journey to Australia - Page 12

uspirate · #**111** (**permalink**) 05-07-2008

moving right along, even thogh he's a little far west of the 125..still, i'm gonna toast to him!

KeelHaulin · #**112** (**permalink**) 05-07-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by tdw

Isn't local knowledge interesting ? Simon and I pretty much cruise the same waters here in the Land of Aus. His home waters are a bit further south than Sydney but close enough for comparisons sake.

25 knots of breeze is not any big deal to us. Prefer less for sure particularly an old fart like me but you will see this on Sydney Harbour on very many summers afternoons when the nor easterly pipes up, which in summer is nearly every day. Outside the heads there will be plenty of sailing boats out having fun and not overly concerned. So for Simon to head off into 25-30 knots is really no big deal. He might well have preferred 15-20 but I'm sure he wouldn't have been overly concerned about 20-25.

However, when we get 12' swell it is usually a longish well spaced wave pattern. not close. not lumpy. hop on board and surf the sucker down the coast if you have the right bit of kit or make an old girl like Raven lift up her skirts and pretend she's Hobart bound if only for an afternoon.

I'm not being gung-ho macho about this, just making the point that it's as much sea state as wind and if Simon was expecting NSW south coast he might have been in for a bit of a rude shock.

I think you are exactly right about this; the difference between what he expected and what was actually happening is the reason. I just could not understand why he was not more iffy about setting out; with Gale conditions forecast for 3+ days offshore it's good enough reason to wait for most people along the CA coast. I think one reason for the short period waves is that the waves were formed from sustained winds with a long fetch, and "stacked up" (but I'm not sure about that). We've encountered steep semi-breaking waves along the coast off of Pt. Santa Cruz; and I just figured that it was due to the continental shelf and was a shallow water effect. It's good to know that these conditions also exist further offshore under the conditions that Simon was in.

I was wondering why he did not have the vane up when he set out; now I feel bad that I did not remind him to set it up while inside the gate. But maybe you are not supposed to put the vane on until you want to use the Sailomat? Seems like you would want a way to helm the boat without pulling the vane off.

Anyway; I'm very glad to hear that he made it through and is in better sailing weather.

bestfriend · #**113** (**permalink**) 05-08-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by tdw

Isn't local knowledge interesting ? Simon and I pretty much cruise the same waters here in the Land of Aus. His home waters are a bit further south than Sydney but close enough for comparisons sake.

25 knots of breeze is not any big deal to us. Prefer less for sure particularly an old fart like me but you will see this on Sydney Harbour on very many summers afternoons when the nor easterly pipes up, which in summer is nearly every day. Outside the heads there will be plenty of sailing boats out having fun and not overly concerned. So for Simon to head off into 25-30 knots is really no big deal. He might well have preferred 15-20 but I'm sure he wouldn't have been overly concerned about 20-25.

However, when we get 12' swell it is usually a longish well spaced wave pattern. not close. not lumpy. hop on board and surf the sucker down the coast if you have the right bit of kit or make an old girl like Raven lift up her skirts and pretend she's Hobart bound if only for an afternoon.

I'm not being gung-ho macho about this, just making the point that it's as much sea state as wind and if Simon was expecting NSW south coast he might have been in for a bit of a rude shock.

Andrew, same thing for us here. 20-30 knots in the summer is par for the course. Lots of boats out sailing in that. As long as the period is good, going out of the Bay is not bad either. I think what happened is that when the low stalled, the high ran right up the back of it. The result was very confused seas. I was looking at the wave patterns in his area and the directions were all over the place. I think you are spot on.

Denby, I got that email at 5:25 pm.

SD, now I understand why he didn't want to go to Hawaii. Sailing South East out of there against the prevailing winds would be tough.

KeelHaulin · #**114** (**permalink**) 05-08-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by bestfriend

Andrew, same thing for us here. 20-30 knots in the summer is par for the course. Lots of boats out sailing in that.

Right; we sail in 25-35 all the time, but that's inside SF Bay. Inshore sailing in 25-35 when the winds have a short fetch and are light in the AM is something entirely different than offshore, sustained 25-35kt winds and seas. I think that's where many coastal/inland sailors make the mistake of thinking a 25-35 forecast is OK to set out in. When Simon set out the Low was still forming; the weather was clear and the winds were still picking up force outside the gate. The Low did not really rear it's head until Sunday and that put him right in the middle of it.

On Sat when we got in front of the bridge the winds actually settled down a bit (the typical "Slot" wind pattern); and they were probably lighter outside of Pt Bonita east of Pt Reyes; but the forecast was showing building winds further offshore and we decided to call our day a bit short because everyone was tired after tacking in the bay. I can only imagine how tired Simon was and how completely exhausted he must have been after dealing with 3 days of Gale conditions. Have a few frosty beers Simon; you deserve 'em...

gdavids · #**115** (**permalink**) 05-08-2008

On tonight's radio chat Simon reported that conditions were currently about 15 knots and he was sailing due South wing and wing with the genoa poled out. The sea state seemed pretty variable - sometimes 3-4', sometimes a little higher. He is averaging about 6 and a half knots. Skies have been mostly overcast today with occasional rain showers.

The towing generator and solar panels are doing exactly what they need to. The batteries are staying pretty much topped off and he has not had to run the engine at all since leaving.

He was able to get a good 8 hours sleep and his radar alarm alerted him to a fishing vessel about 12 miles off. He seems to be in his groove. No signs of wildlife (whales, dolphins, fish) yet.

Greg Davids
s/v Pura Vida