Day 5 Update:
1330 Pm
position: 25deg31S, 156deg05E
175 miles to Brisbane
Its the final countdown...
We have punched through the low pressure, had to motor through some light winds, and now the wind has just swung through 180 degrees, a fresh breeze of around 18 knots from the SE. This means we are now into the next high pressure and we should stay in it until we reach Brisbane. The grib file shows SE winds exceeding 20 knots, so we started with 2 reefs in the main, just to play it safe. But after a while we shook out one of the reefs, we are now hurtling along once again at around 8.5 knots with a single reefed main sail and full jib. This is really good news for us, as it means that we may make it into port before sunset tomorrow. Wouldn't it be great to finish our shimmi cruise with a 200 mile day?
The downside is that the ocean is downright rough, we are all feeling wobbly, you can imagine what the ocean looks like when the wind goes from 25 knots NW to 20 knots SE within a few hours. Its a mess, and slicing diagonally through it at 8-9 knots is not really that much fun. Great for Wednesday racing around Cape Town harbour (when you know you'll be back in the bar within a few hours), but not so lekker for a prolonged family cruise. Its a constant adrenaline rush, with shimmi flying from one wave crest to the next, sometimes diving into the holes with spray and seawater washing right over the roof. After a while you just feel tired and drained, our bodies ache from the constant bracing. But we are NOT complaining, we happily take the speed with the discomfort.
Otherwise we all pretty much look like zombies, with sense of humour to match.