After the cold front passed us a few days ago the temperatures dropped as did the wind. The wind hole had presented itself in the forecasts already, however it was too big to sail around it. Thus, the focus was to use the last bits of wind to get into a position, where the wind would fill in sooner. That plan only worked out partially. Other boats seemed to be stuck for much shorter. Nevertheless, we took on the test of endurance and patience with less than two knots of wind at times. This allowed us to also put up our light wind sails, which had been living in the sail locker for quite some time.

For the past day and a bit the wind has been building again. Finally we are making some good speed again towards the most southern waypoint of our circumnavigation: the southern tip of Tasmania. In about a day we should reach the virtual mark off the coast of Tasmania and after that we can finally sail north again. The weather looks more or less stable for the next few days, with only a small decrease in windspeed being forecasted. After rounding Tasmania we will head north along the Australian coast, keeping the right amount of distance. We will be looking out for the East-Australian current which flows with up to three knots in southerly directions and would thus slow down our progress going north.

The lighter conditions were a welcome opportunity for us on board to get some rest. But only the life below deck has been easier. On deck it is now even colder and we are doing more sail changes than on previous days. Nevertheless, we can all go well-rested into the second half of this race. With the aforementioned currents and the islands and reefs off the coast it promises to be more interesting. On one hand this requires greater attention when navigating compared to sailing in the middle of the ocean, on the other hand it offers more tactical possibilities. And looking at the fleet which is still very close together nothing is decided yet. Of course we are looking ahead hoping to make up a couple of places, but also behind us are boats looking to do the same. Therefore, the new year will start as the old is going to end: regular trim checks and sail changes to not fall behind on the other boats.