Day 2 - Cape Leeuwin lives up to expectation

As we approached Cape Leeuwin passing Fremantle out of sight over the
horizon to our left the winds have started to increase as forecast. A low
pressure system passing to the south of the Cape promises to bring with it
a series of cold fronts, stormy cumulous clouds and strong gusts.
At one point in the night all hands were needed to drop the Yankee 2
in readiness for the increasing winds. A line of four seemingly puny
adventures lined up to tackle the wilderness we call the foredeck. In
unison we crouched on our knees, heads bowed low against the endless
onslaught of wave after wave breaking over the bow. Away from my usual
comfort zone behind the wheel or at the nav station I led the way forward,
only to return once the sail was securely lashed to the deck.
But with the new day the Cape has lived up to expectation and already I
have notched up one surf at 18.6knots. And I lost my 50kt virginity as the
gust reach gale force, occasionally up to 40kts and on one occasion
topping out briefly at 50kts. Now heading south esat towartd the first
scoring gate almost 700nm away and onward to a gate south of Tasmania.

Clipper Race 5 Day 1

After an all too short stopover for Singapore in Geraldton, the race is
underway again. This time to Tauranga NZ. The people of Geraldton gave
us a good send off, lining the beaches and waving us off. The fleet
entertained them by racing to windward for a mile, before returning to
gybe around a mark almost on the beach. Once out of the harbour we turned
south, bound for Cape Leeuwin 339nm away. Champagne Sailing with a fresh
15kt-20kt breeze - ideal for the leggers to start finding our sea legs
again. Even the night sky was kind to us with a bright moon.

Orion is upside down and the winds circulate the wrong way!

My home for the 3 weeks

The navigation station on the Clipper yacht Singapore - my home for the next three weeks. Skipper Ben has asked me to take the lead on the navigation. We have 2 PCs onboard - one dedicated to navigation & routing, the other used for media & comms. Our route will take us south from Geraldton, past Perth to a virtual mark 10nm off Cape Leeuwin. Winds are likely to vary throughout the day as the sea breeze blows onshore in afternoon and land breeze offshore at night. Then it's left as we aim to follow a great circle route to the south of NZ South Island. En Route we have an optional scoring gate in the Great Australian Bight, a mandatory non-scoring gate south of Tasmania and an Ocean sprint between Tas & NZ. Then up the East coast of NZ, around the tip and into Tauranga on the North Coast, taking care to avoid submerged containers from the ship beached at Tauranga.
Total distance 3,800nm.

The fleet in Geraldton

As the sun sets on Geraldton, all yachts are now in port. Prize giving is a brief distraction as tomorrow crews return to the task of preparing for the next race which start on Sunday.

Sightseeing in Geraldton

Home for the past few days has been the supermarket in Geraldton. With the weather pattern holding up Singapore those of us ashore have been busy filling trolleys and checking prices.

Bananas at £5 per kilo with the harvest affected by the Queensland floods may be an extreme example but the exchange rate makes everything seem expensive. Especially a pint of lager at $10 AUD, almost £7!

Calm before the storm?

Ten berths lie vacant in the harbour at Geraldton. But somewhere over the horizon beyond the setting sun, the fleet close in, due to arrive over the next 2 or 3 days. Once in port, I'm sure there will be frenzy of activity. Victuals to restock, sails to repair.....
For now I'll just sit back and enjoy a cool quiet beer in the sunset.

Assegai steaks

Stocking up on my red meat - 400g steaks served on a skewer, garlic or piri piri butter dripping onto the chips. Delicious. A lovely night out in Perth with my Nephews.

The flights with Singapore airlines all went smoothly. The A380 is a huge plane - seems strange looking down at the 747s! Even the loo was more spacious than the bathroom of my first studio flat.