From: OmanTri
To: update
Subject: Pushing Hard to stay ahead of light wind
Date: 01/02/2009 04:58:55


we have a competitor out here on our race course. A high pressure area of
light winds is moving in behind us from the west and catching us – we have
been pushing hard through the dark hours and since dawn to stay ahead of
this area. Pushing along at 24kts of boatspeed in quite a dramatic sea is
very hard work on the guys steering, and very wet for both him and his wing
man – riding the traveller – our method of taking the foot off the
accelorator. Once we moved off the Gennaker and Genoa the game was on.
Below decks things that were not stowed in their rough weather location were
relocated automatically. The bow throws off a wave that causes green water
across the emergency escape hatches, when this happens you know the fight is
on between the high pressure of the water and the seals around the hatches,
mostly the seals hold up well – but any small weakness results in a small
amount of water getting though before the wave reduces and the pressure is
let of. It obvious when this happens as in the front cabin next to the
generator the daylight changes to a green murk for a second or two as the
view changes from looking at the red and green logos on the bows of the
outer hulls to the green glow of the ocean. On deck that same wave carries
on upwards and gets diverted slightly by the hull chines ( like a small step
in the hull) before continuing upwards and curling round the deck and heads
aft to land on either the helmsman in his seat or the guy stood next to the
traveller winch. Usually by this time both of them are bent double taking
the wave to the back of the head and their back rather than from the front
where inevitablly water will find it’s way down the front of the wet
weather gear. After the wave has given the guys a good talking to it
continues down to clatter onto the cockpit floor where it sweeps clean all
evidence of living before returning from where it came – out through the
cockpit drains and back into the ocean. It a process that repeats itself
over and over again.

Back to our competitor we are fighinging to keep to the E of this area of
light winds that is travelling at around 25ks ( like us) and although we
have a head start it’s relentless, we can check who’s winning and who’s
loosing by looking at the regular satellite picture that we recieve onboard,
and also by looking at the barometer – if the barometeer raises – the High
Pressue wins – if it is flat we are holding it off! It’s a very motivating
measure. Also motivating is knowing that we can perhaps reach the cook
strait before it’s effects are fully felt – normally we should see
lightening winds tomorrow but we hope this mad dash till postpone their
arrival to coinside with our arrival at Cape Farewell now 525nm to our NE

I was filming some of the waves this morning, and have so far been quite
diappointed with the look of them through the lens – they seem so much
smaller – so next time you see some footage of big waves – remember that
they were totally enormous, as the only way to get a shot of a big wave
seems to be to film a gigantic one that you’d rather not be fillming at
all…….