Charles Darbyshire

Day: 54
Lat: 41 43.77′ S
Long: 38 16.42′ E
Inst Speed: 15.9
Wind Dir: 55
Wind Speed: 26.2000
Distance last 24hr: 283.96
Distance to finish: 4424.15

Email from the boat to shore: 

From: OmanTri
To: update
Subject: tuesday morning
Date: 03/03/2009 05:57:56


Well it’s been a bumpy time out here.. perhaps the roughtest of the trip…
down to just the 3 reefed mainsail for a while – most of the night infact,
just to safe guard the boat a little bit from the motion. There has been an
enormous amount of water over the deck, and the folds in the bottom sections
of the mainsail need emptying of water quite often. We try to arrange the
stack to drain to the front, but this is only partially successful, and
every 90 mins or so it requires someone to go and pull at the folds to
remove the water. If there has been a particulally bad wave oveer the boat a
bucket is required first to bail out the water to make it light enough to
move the remainder.Of course whilst you do this job the fire hose continues
and you get back to the shelter of the cuddy totally soaked.

IT was good to be slow for a little while – it gaves us a chance to catch up
with things, sleep, eat etc. and have another good look at the weather.
for the first time this trip being slow will benefit us ( a little) as the
new weather that means we’ll turn North will arrive earlier ( may be as much
as 12 hours) and we can head North. Though we are waitng for the wind to
shift already and it’s taking it’s time… currenrly ENE when is should be
N or more left. The wind also dropped just long enough for Loik and Hooch to
consider, then take the 3rd reef out, about 5 mins later the wind was up
again and the work was wasted energy – we were back to 3rd reef, and 28kts
of wind.

One more day, one more day, is the mantra of the day, as we plug along
couting down the hours until the wind goes light signifiying the shift, and
we’llbe on the way north, where we are promised fairly good conditions for
the first few days Yipee

So life reduces down to a mimumum a little bit when the weather gets like
this – the chatter is reduced, much reduced for the majority, but Hoochie
keeps up the average for us recounting the latest exploits of Euan and
Charlie as they head South on their motorbikes. This is of course a book
that Hoochie hasn’t tried to use as a sponge, and will be able to tell
future gernerations of Hoochies about how he bailed out a boat with a copy
of Papillion.

and so that it Musandam world today – short and sweet. hope the weather is
better where you are.

Weather Router’s advice: 

From: Commanders’ Weather
To: Charles Darbyshire , Musandam ,updateoman
Subject: weather Tue 3-3
Date: 03/03/2009 13:38:20



To: Charles Darbyshire and the crew of
ìMusandamî

From: Commanders Weather Corp

Event: sail around the world

Last Position: 41 25s/40 08e at 1130utc Tue, Mar 3

Prepared: 1300utc Tue, March 3, 2009



SummaryÖAnother 24 hours of rough conditions then things will improve.



1) High pressure near 40s/54e at 12 utc with front approaching from the W ñ
at your latitude now over

to 34e.

2) Your winds at 12 utc are still 040 which is further right than indicated
by 6 utc GFS.

3) Do expect your winds will slowly back into the N next 24 hours but wind
speeds will stay

up at 25-35 kts with some higher gusts possible.

a) Continue eastward with most comfortable heading.

4) Expect the high will continue to shift eastward and the front will get
close by 12 utc Thu but both

systems will be weakening.

5) So your winds will drop off significantly to 10-15 kts as the front limps
thru you around or after 12 utc

Thu.

a) Will be increased chance of a few squally showers.

6) Wind will back thru W to SW-S and then eventually into the SE by 00 utc
Fri.

a) But speeds will remain light and there could be a
scattered squally shower or 2.

7) Do not see any significant increase in wind speeds until near and after
00 utc Sat when new high

pressure following the front builds NE toward your expected position.

8) Wind speeds build to 18-25 kts by 12 utc Sat and continue strong up to
20s before diminishing .

a) Direction will be SE so you will be making good time
northward toward your waypoint

of 450 miles east of Reunion.



RoutingÖHead E next 24 hours then more NE as winds back.

Once into increasing SE winds by the weekend can aim for
your waypoint 450 miles E of

Reunion (21s/63e)



Estimated positions below.



Wind directions are TRUE, wind speed in kts, and time is UTC



Tue, Mar 3

18: 040-020/30-40

WeatherÖPartly to mostly cloudy

SeasÖ12-18 feet



Wed, Mar 4

00: 020-360/25-35

06: 350-010/25-35

12: 350-010/25-35 nr 40 05s/49 50e

18: 340-360/25-35, winds light to the N

WeatherÖPartly to mostly cloudy.

SeasÖ10-15ft



Thu, Mar 5

00: 330-350/22-30

06: 320-340/25-18 – winds diminish

12: 280-240/ 5-15, nr 38s/56e Front passing thru

18: 180-160/ 8-12

WeatherÖPartly to mostly cloudy with a few squally showers possible.

SeasÖ NW-N diminishing to 6-8 feet with an increasing SW swell.



Fri, Mar 6

00: 130-150/ 5-10

06: 120-140/ 8-12

12: 110-130/ 9-13, nr 35s/60e

18: 100-120/ 8-12

Weather…Variable cloudiness , scattered shower or 2 possible

Seas… 6-9 ft



Sat, Mar 7

00: 100-120/10-15

06: 100-120/15-20

12: 110-130/18-25, nr 29 30s/63e

18: 110-130/18-25

WeatherÖPartly cloudy, maybe a brief squally trade shower .

SeasÖ 8-12 ft



Sun, Mar 8

00: 110-130/ 18-25

12: 110-130/ 18-25 nr 23n/ 63e

WeatherÖVariable cloudiness with brief squally trade wind shower.

SeasÖ8-12 ft



Best regards, Tom Mattus


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