The past days were very variable. The winds near the equator are rather weak and change a lot. On the other hand the high sun radiation creates a lot of thermal activity, cloud formation and potentially squalls. Those cannot only shift the wind direction drastically but produce strong gusts. To spot those squalls in due time we use the radar especially during the night. While the radar is not capable to show us the wind, […]

On our way onto the northern hemisphere, we have to pass the doldrums yet again. Similar to what we saw three months ago when heading south, this region is notorious for light winds, hot temperatures and some squalls. We have meanwhile completed our motor-assisted section in this race and are heading for the end of the corridor. Since the engine has come off, we have faced everything from basically no wind to almost 30 knots […]

A lot has happened since our arrival to Australia at the beginning of December. There were the festivities at sea and many more impressions, I will likely remember forever. Nonetheless, the time has come to bid farewell to Australia. But I will be back at some point. To clear out we have moved our boats to Mackay over night. Following that we drive them just outside of the Great Barrier Reef. The way led us […]

As we have now realised we did not just get stuck in a wind hole. We also got dragged into an adverse current which carried us southeast. This pushed us further into the no-wind-zone and we lost distance made towards the finish. This is how we lost more than 400 nautical miles to the next boat within days.  On the other hand this allowed the boats behind us to make good some ground. And as […]

We transitioned into the new year a bit east of Tasmania. However, we were far enough out at sea to not see any of the fireworks on land. And the celebrations on board were also quite muted. Right at midnight we had a small whistle concert after having spent almost an hour trying to right the year with glow sticks and capturing it with a long exposure photo. Unfortunately without much success. Afterwards the night […]

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, […]

Christmas on board is certainly something different. Even though we had a nice meal with fresh vegetables and a big dessert, we only had limited time. And that was pretty much the extent of the coziness. The weather had very little mercy with us. We had reduced the watches to a minimum with only three people on deck so that most of us could celebrate together down below. At least the sun showed from time […]

The start of the race from Fremantle to Airlie Beach was not an easy on. The wind was only blowing with medium strength, but from southerly direction so that we have to beat against it. That’s not really a pleasure and has caused some seasickness amongst the crew. Luckily I have been able to get through without this time. Maybe my body is starting to adopt. In the second night we had our first big […]

Last Sunday it was time to leave Cape Town. We started with a parade down to the boats which was lead by an African dance group. Once on board our boat we had the obligatory crew picture taken before slipping lines. Already in the entry to the harbour we were reminded of the warning words which were addressed to us the day before during the crew briefing. The wind blew with gusts around 30 knots […]