1/4/24
After 16 days, 8 hours, 36 minutes Bill crossed the finish line in Newcastle, Australia completing a 3,160 nm journey.
1/3/24 10:43 PM Central time
Very exciting day here. The wind picked up this morning and we’ve been going 10 knots straight at Newcastle with the code 2 spinnaker. I helmed for three hours before we hit a whale, or sunfish, or something else hard, which distracted me and caused a broach. We got the code down without any damage. Whatever it was did not seem to hit the rudders or do any damage. We are still going fairly fast with a yankee up instead of a code. After the 1pm team meeting, we put up the code 3 spinnaker in gusty winds trying to stay ahead of Punta. They are 20 nm behind, so no problem as long as we can keep the code up. 12 hours to the finish!
1/2/24 8:25 AM Central time
Apparently we are through the worst of the adverse current. We tacked and at least are pointed in more the right direction. It will be interesting to see how Punta does after passing just behind us today. I have been ask to help fill in for Olly as cookie and stupidly said yes. I was asked to serve the second watch and now that’s been changed to cleaning up. What a sucker. I was able to get a few hours of sleep this afternoon and did some deep breathing.
1/1/24 7:55 PM Central time
Punta just passed less than two miles behind us on the other tack heading almost directly at Newcastle. It’s beyond frustrating. We’re just letting them go. We’re once again going perpendicular to where we should be going. Everyone’s tempers are frayed. Izzy had it out with Andreas on the helm this morning. Even Bob is struggling. Winds are forecast to pickup, so the sea state will become worse. We have 366 nm to go. We will be lucky to make 100 nm per day. I just took pity on Teresa and helped her finish doing the bilges. She’s been at it for three hours. Now I have to clean the heads.
1/1/24 5:08 PM Central time
I learned more of my limitations today. We changed from the yankee 2 to the yankee 3 as the wind built. Olly has been unwell, so I took his place on the bow. We got the #3 on deck, dropped the #2, hoisted the #3, drug the #2 back to the cockpit, flaked it into its bag, drug it back to the bow, and dropped it into the sail locker. All of this while waves broke over the bow and us and the boat pounded violently. It was almost impossible to both hold on and work. I don’t believe I have ever done anything as hard in my life. The change took over an hour and by the time we were done, I was soaked and exhausted. Worse, I had missed calling Elizabeth at midnight on New Years Eve her time. Luckily she was safely home from a party and we were able to talk for a few minutes on the sat phone. Talking with her was like a lifeline and helped restore me. We are about 400 nm from Newcastle, but unfortunately it is directly upwind and we will have to tack upwind for at least another couple of days. That means heeling at 45 degree and pounding into the waves. There is also a current flowing south close to land which is not helping. At the rate we are making progress, it could take another four days. What makes it especially hard is being in close to last place. Earlier in the leg, the lower inner forestay fitting failed and we spent eight hours sailing in the wrong direction while we made repairs. The fact that we recovered from that and aren’t in a distant last place is a miracle. But, it’s still disheartening.
11/31/23 11:54 AM Central time
Happy New Year! It’s midnight here. I stayed up to ring in the New Year. Hard to believe it’s 2024. On a positive note, we just passed Qingdao! The wind has picked up, but once again coming from the direction we need to go. So we’re tacking. It’s probably the best night so far for stars. The Milky Way is so bright that Orion gets lost in it. At about 10:30 pm, we had a beautiful moon rise. Very orange.
12/30/23 6:53 PM Central time
The famous Sydney-Hobart race started on Boxing Day. They are coming down the east coast while we are going up. One of the skippers called us up. He was CV30 skipper in a previous race. What are the chances… We actually did see the mountains of Tasmania as we went by the waypoint. They are to the west of us now. It’s a beautiful day, but we’re getting into a wind hole. Punta and another boat went east and we’re officially in 9th place. Cam just played a Rod Stewart song. Some of the words ate “I am sailing stormy weather to be near to you.”
12/29/23 11:48 PM Central time
OMG. Cookie this time is the worst. Andreas insisted on cooking bacon and eggs and it was a debacle. Really rough conditions. In the “coffin” berth now for a couple of hours until we do lunch. Update: Half way through lunch. Just heeled so much that dishwater poured out of the sink. Vasi showed us how to bake bread from scratch. Can’t wait to finish and disappear into my coffin bunk for the afternoon. Rounding Tasmania now and starting to head back north. Probably won’t see it. Waves are huge. Ahead of Punta! 687 nm to go. I helmed earlier this morning in the wildest conditions you can imagine. Christian went 20.6 knots and Jono went 21.9 knots with just the mainsail.
12/29/23 9:42 AM Eastern time
The small whales we saw were “false killer whales”! Had a crazy wild ride in the las 8 hours. Punta crossed us and gybed. We’re racing neck and neck headed to the Tasmania turning mark. Very windy with really big (20-30 ft) waves. Surfing down the waves. Top speed 21.6 knots!
12/28/23 9:18 PM Eastern time
We came up for our 7pm watch last night and saw the lights of Punta. We made to horrible mistake of putting up the code 3 spinnaker in place of the yankee 2 to go faster. It went bad from the beginning due to way too much wind. I had the standard three wraps on the spinnaker sheet but the line went zipping out when the spinnaker filled explosively. I was barely able to let go before I got pulled into the winch. We immediately blew the tack line, but the shackle didn’t release. We cut the tack line and were able to recover the code 3 after about 20 minutes of it flogging hard. It went zipping through the winch also. Again, no one got hurt. Bob, John, and I spent a couple of hours looking it over for damage, but found only one minor tear, which Vasi quickly sewed. We spent 3 hours of a 4 hour watch recovering from a mistake. Today has been fun. It’s windy and squally. I helmed for 1.5 hours and check helmed for another 1.5 hours. A squall blew through just after we put in reef. The wind went to 42+ knots and we started to round up despite me putting my entire weight and force on the wheel. I finally got it back under control and had a great time surfing down the waves at 15-17 knots. Harry took over the helm from me and hit 19.7 knots.
12/27/23 7:28 AM Eastern time
We are screaming along towards Tasmania. Should be there in 3 days. It’s more typical RF’s weather: colder, windy, and wet. Vasi made chocolate cake with icing for dinner! We had a very exciting evening. We went on watch withe the code 3 up. We were supposed to deploy a 35 kg scientific buoy for a program that Clipper supports. The buoy should float around the ocean for 3-4 years transmitting salinity, position, etc. The wind really picked up and we did a quick drop and hoisted the yankee #1. We are getting very good at our sail evolutions compared to when we started this race. Once everything was back under control, we deployed the buoy. The most exciting part of the day was Teresa going to the low-side rail (a big safety rule violation) to retrieve a block and getting buried by a wave that swept the leeward deck. She was completely underwater and washed down the deck. Her PFD inflated, the emergency beacon activated setting off an AIS alarm, and the light activated. Everything that should’ve worked did, which is good since I did the PFD checks in Fremantle. She was absolutely soaked, but unhurt and learned a good lesson.
12/26/23 3:16 PM Central time
Just got off a night watch. I did a great job helming. Lots of compliments. In my warm bunk now. We are playing catch up from having to sail eight hours in the wrong direction due to the rigging failure. We were within 8 nm of Punta today, so doing well with that. Today was another beautiful sailing day in the Roaring Forties.
12/25/23 12:35 AM Central time
We had a great Christmas Day here in the RFs. We has gifts and stockings. Greg is dressed as an elf and Bob as Santa with tiny ornaments in his beard. Liz was covered in some kind of slimy fake snow Olly brought. The weather is very nice. Not too cold. I’m an actually on deck in merino wool long John’s, shorts, Crocs, and a fleece. It’s a great look. LOL The crew have adapted “The Twelve Days of Christmas” to the Clipper Race. We sang it and videoed in hopes of another media prize. A large whale broached literally 25 feet from the boat this morning. I got a great view from the cockpit. It was grey-brown with a wide mouth and a small dorsal fin, so probably not a right whale, which I saw on a previous leg. Our spirits are high. We have just over 1800 nm to go. Currently flying the code 3 going close to 10 knots right on course for the waypoint just south of Tasmania.
12/24/23 1:15 PM Central time
Merry Christmas to you from the future! LOL. Yes, it’s Christmas Day here in the Roaring Forties. I was just on deck trimming the spinnaker and thinking about my Bay. Down below now having a cup of tea to warm up. Winds are light, but we’re moving in the right direction. Less than 2000 nm to go! We are having a big Christmas Day dinner at noon. Baked ham, Brussel sprouts, and roast potatoes.
12/23/23 4:13 AM Central time
Looks like I will be on antibiotics soon for my cough. Fingers crossed that will help. The boat is decorated for Christmas and we are having a gift exchange. Apparently Bob is play Santa.
12/22/23 1:31 AM Central time
Bob just got the Broken Hank Award for his heroic efforts to fix the inner forestry. anything that requires a Spanish windless deserves an award. Our spirits and camaraderie are high even though we had to sail eight hours in the wrong direction during the forestay repair and are currently in last place. We are currently in a wind hole, which is supposed to fill in from the south. Hoping we get it before the others.
12/21/23 10:24 AM Central time
Bad news… There is a serious issue with the inner forestay. We’ve been working to fix it for hours and had to sail off course while we do it. It’s going to really affect our position. Andreas and I are cookies today. We’re doing bacon and eggs for breakfast unfortunately. Thank goodness it’s pretty calm. Liz is doing a great job. I am doing my best to support her. Cam is good. A couple of people took bad falls, but no injuries. Harry was washed down the low side of the boat like he was in a log flume. I am being super careful.
12/21/23 12:30 AM Central time
The wind and seas are way down today. Everyone who was seasick seems to be recovering. I’m glad because I’m a cookie tomorrow. My cough isn’t getting better, so I’m going to see if Hannah will do telemedicine for me. Liz is an excellent watch leader.
12/20/23 9:19 AM Central time
We are going upwind, but not too bad until this afternoon. Very tough going now. Six people are seasick. Doing my best to hang in. I can barely stay in my bunk.