What a differencer a day makes
'Sarf & West mate, Sarf & West'
Pete Bernfeld
Wed 16 Jun 2010 18:59
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24 little houre etc etc
11:33.742S 143:07.135W
Position at 1830 UTC 16/06/10
The first 24 hours run was 117nm & the second
one is shaping up to be about 125nm. Slow, but we're running under reduced sail
for reasons I will give in a moment.
Last night was very pleasant; the maximum gusts
were in the region of 22/23kts as opposed to 30kts on the first night and there
were no squalls, the only thing that spoilt a great sail was a slightly confused
sea [oh, where am I, who am I, where am I going?Why did that dolphin say 'turn
left'? Oh, I'm just slightly confused].
We've decided to make for the atoll called Mahini,
in the NE corner of the Tuamotos group and have about 250nm to go. The slight
problem is that the Tuamotos are all atolls, which means there is a surrounding
reef and a lagoon in the centre where an island used to be, the highest
structure is generally the palm trees and the charts were last updated about
1834! This means you don't get a radar return on the island until you're about
5/6 nm away and they'll probably be in the wrong place anyway (according to the
GPS). The upshot of all this is I don't want to be within 10nm of a charted
position of any particular atoll during darkness which means juggling our speed
to arrive within 10nm of a given position anytime from 0530 onwards. We can't
make enough speed to arrive by 0530 Thu morning, hence the reduced speed
to ensure arrival no earlier than 0530 fri morning [assuming of course that the
wind doesn't disappear entirely between now & then!]. The forecast is for
winds up to 15kts, so provided we average around 5kts (do-able in the forecast
winds) we have time in hand. I also don't want to have to stand-off the atoll
overnight, the currents are unpredictable so you run the risk of not being where
you thought you were when you can finally see anything!
One final wrinkle; the atolls in the main have one
pass i.e. entrance into the lagoon. There can be a strong current flowing ut of
the pass meaning you have to wait for slack water to get in. There is no
reliable method of predicting slack water so it could be you arrive in daylight
and have to hang around for six hours before you can get in anyway, fun
eh?
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