12.31S 139.42W
Mojo 2
Andrew Partington
Thu 11 Aug 2011 02:30
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10th August 2011
For the first time in the three months or so I have
been writing this blog I have the services of a secretary/typist today instead
of the two finger typing I normally use. For this reason I might be a bit
"wordy", but bear with me.
If we had continued on our original course to the
Marquesas we would have sailed into Nuka-Hiva this morning at around 9am Mojo2
time. In total it would have been a twenty-one day crossing from Galapagos
sailed entirely at the second reef in the mainsail. Not a bad effort given our
cautious approach and conservative sail setting.
We, however, continue to sail on our course to
Tahiti and are currently 388nm from our waypoint after sailing another 129nm
yesterday.
It is amazing the contrast from one day to
the next as our overnight sail was in tremendous conditions. We did have a
couple of squalls come over us after midnight but they lacked any real punch in
terms of either wind or rain. Not a pirate ship to be seen anywhere near the
squalls. Otherwise, it was an uneventful night sailing for extended periods with
the moon which is approaching full. Right up
until the squalls we had been sailing with the gennaker in a constant 12-13
knots of wind.
All day today we have had beautiful constant
south-east tradewinds blowing at between 15-16 knots.
I have been asked some questions by people about
the reason this route was chosen back to Australia as opposed to going
around Africa and thought I would give an explanation for anyone interested. The
boat was built in France and delivered to me in April 2011. The cost of shipping
the boat back to Australia was, in my opinion, pretty high so I decided that I
would act as my own delivery skipper. The route around the Cape of Good Hope and
then across the Indian Ocean to Western Australia takes you well down towards
the roaring forties where it is not uncommon to encounter gale force winds.
Despite this route being shorter than the one I chose I was not prepared to put
myself, crew and boat through a voyage in this direction. As it was I chose to
take the longer route which takes you across the Atlantic, through the Caribbean
Sea and eventually across the South Pacific via Panama. The choice was made
relatively easy because for the vast majority of this journey we would be
sailing in the tradewinds belt. For those who are unfamiliar with these winds
they occur all around the world in the region just above and just below the
equator. The winds blow all year in a north-east direction in the northern
hemisphere and in a south-east direction in the southern hemisphere. The
tradewinds blow at around 15 knots for the vast majority of the time and it is
extremely rare at the time that I chose to make this passage for gales to be
encountered. By choosing this route 80 percent of the journey would be completed
in following winds. When we crossed the Atlantic it was at the very end of the
safe season to do a crossing as the end of May marks the beginning of the
hurricane season in the northern hemisphere. In the research I undertook I found
that there had only be one May hurricane in the past one hundred years and from
memory it developed on the 29th May and several decades ago. Now that we are in
the southern hemisphere and in the steady flow of south-east tradewinds we have
moved to a time of the year where cyclones do not develop. By the way, cyclones,
hurricanes and typhoons are all the same type of storm. They are named
differently purely because of the locations they develop and of course they
rotate in different directions depending on which region.
We are still both fit and well, but growing a
little weary of the constant steering and the overnight watches. I'm sure,
however it is going to be a very satisfying feeling when we eventually drop
anchor in Papeete. It is now 5.15pm. I am steering, Jane's typing (and doing a
really good job), the sun is heading towards the horizon, and we are just
thinking about having a cold cocktail and dinner, and then await another
long night.
Andrew Partington
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