From: OmanTri
Date: Sat, 21 Mar 2009 02:53:25 -0000
To: update
Subject: Saturday 21st March

High Pressure Hurdle – 800nm to go

So we have one last hurdle to jump an area of high pressure between us and
the finish.
How big is it? and how long will it’s light airs affect us? These are the
big questions.

Using two different computer simulations and a satellite wind measurement
service we can help get the answers. BUT the computer simulations are
updated fully just twice per day, and the satellite sometimes has only one
pass per day!

Have a look at http://manati.orbit.nesdis.noaa.gov/quikscat/ to see what
winds we have right now – the satellite scans 1800km wide bands across the
ocean, and as it does a complete circle of the earth there are places that
it misses – these show as empty areas on the above web page. It’s deeply
frustrating when we sit in one of these area of outage, as it’s our eyes
ahead of us!

Right now there will be a satellite going roughly overhead, and in 2-3 hours
the results of the pass will be shown online, and we’ll see how we are
positioned. We want the high pressure to move to the E and for the winds to
rotate through the south to the southwest, and slowly increase. If the high
stays over head for longer we will suffer light airs for longer. We can
choose to position our selves more to the W to make sure we have the
shortest period without wind, but we would have to sail quite a few extra
miles, and with the high forecast to move E it seems better to wait for it
to move away rather than sail around it. If there was more wind generally
for sure this straegy would be wrong, as we’d be able to sail quickly. For
now this is our only real option.


It is another glorious indian ocean sun rise, and it’s pretty clear it’s
going to be a hot day again today. We have a few photos of sunrises now,
Hooch in particular has taken the lead in sunrise and sunset photography, so
when he askes you if you’d like to see a few of his sunset photos – mumble
some excuse, and head for the door, as you’ll be there a while – ( there’s
more than one picture per sunrise on this trip that’s for sure) We have a
calm sea, and a gentle NE wind so are upwind full main and genoa, sometimes
code zero.

We have seen signs of life – with 4 boats yesterday all fairly close to each
other – looked like a pair of fishing boats – not sure if they do pair
trawling here, but they were at least sisterships, and two others they were
really too far off to see any detail, and occasionally the eyes on the front
of the boat scare a few flying fish out of the water, and off into the
distance.

Some of our families and friends are starting to head to Oman over the next
day or so, and the’ll get a chance to see a little of Muscat before our
arrival. This is starting to make the finish all the real in our heads, and
we are starting to make plans for what to do after we arrive, a return to
the real world will be great, we have all missed different things on the
trip, but we have all missed family and friends. Now that we are going to be
back soon, we can turn our attention once again to planning attendance at
birthday parties, weddings and all the other social engagements that have
been on hold since the new year. There’ll be a lot of catching up to do,
and i am guessing the trick will be not to do too much too quickly.

keep your fingers crossed for us not stopping too long in the high, almost
certainly tomorrow’s update will be from a becalmed trimaran, but with an
crew expectant of increasing winds….. we just have to tough it out (
again )