Start Day

Sunday morning. First off was a race briefing then clearing customs and a last good luck to all the sailors. You can tell that this is no ordinary yacht race with all the sailors shaking hands and hugging each other (with the lady sailors that is) and wishing each other the best of luck, we all know that if we needed help one of us would not hesitate to come to another sailors aid. Every one seemed a little bit nervous even me, I just wanted to get on with it. Start time loomed and there was only a 5 knot NE wind which soon died off to 2 knots so it was a bit of a drifter for the first 4 hours or so. BWR managed to wriggle her way around the first turning mark in first place and slip away slowly. Cousin Steve’s NITRO was the only boat to get close to me in the lighter winds of the early evening but as the SE wind and swell built BWR came into her own, got back onto those rails and blasted away into the night. The wind reached 28 knots but mostly sat on 24-26 knots. Early morning the wind started changing to the east then northeast at 15-22 knots. We are still making good progress towards Mooloolaba. BWR has already equaled the top speed that we reached on the way across the Tasman to the start - 21.3 knots this morning with 3reefs and the jib up on a great surf.
I would just like to thank all the solo committee and especially Lindsay who couldn’t make the start for health reasons, without these people this race would not happen. And to all the solo skippers as well, you need the sailors to have a race too. You make lifelong friends out of this race and have past competitors turning up to see you and watch the start, its just one big family. That’s all for now.
Bruce .

I'm off to Mooloolaba

Hi @17.45 NZST - Pos 38 58 S, 173 51 E, Wind SSE 10kn, BS 8kn, COG 280, Sea 1m, Cloud 70%. All is well, some wind at last .... Bruce

New Plymouth, New Zealand

Well, what a great week before race start day. First the new sails arrived on Saturday and they look awesome. A quick test sail in 15-20 knots and BWR hit 13 knots upwind and 21 knots downwind. Great stuff, thanks to Kenny from Fyfe sails. On Monday night the sponsor Fitzroy Yachts hosted a BBQ followed by a tour of a nearly-completed 50m super yacht, with a 59m mast. It is huge! On Tuesday night we had a reception at the mayor’s office - very nice. Wednesday saw a day of briefings on sea safety etc. Friday included another test sail, with not much wind. On Friday night we had the Solo Trans-Tasman race dinner - a bit of relaxing time, and a chance to catch up with the other solo sailors. Saturday saw the final top-up with water and food and another test sail. We have also been doing lots of little jobs all week and checking over BWR to make sure that all was ready to go. And of course we had a great time catching up with friends and family all week. One night to go before race start, one last full night’s sleep for a week.

We Made It.

What a last 24 hours, the wind picked up to a strong 30 knots NW with 2 reefs in the main and jib, BWR was flying up to 20 knots boat speed. As the wind started to change to the SW and increase to 37 knots we put in the third reef, by then the sea was getting nasty with very short steep waves. BWR was handling it very well and all we had to do was hang on tight as we approached New Plymouth in the dark. We dropped the jib to slow down a bit and to get our bearings before entering the port. The Port Taranaki Harbour Control put on the main shipping lead lights for us to come in, then had a security car with a flashing light on the wharf to show us where to dock for Customs clearance. We spent the rest of the night tied up to a old fishing boat, then in the morning MAF cleared us. It was still cold and wet when Harley showed us to our mooring and said welcome to bastard harbor. Overall a great crossing of the ditch in what was mostly moderate winds.

Are We There Yet ..... You Betcha!

Arrived@ 2213 AEST Wednesday 24th March 2010. (NZDT 0113 Thursday 25thMarch 2010.)

We had a very wild ride into the Port for the last 24 hrs,it’s cold and bloody wet.

Cleared Customs @ 1330 this morning and we spent the morning rafted up to a fishing boat on Motoura Wharf.

MAF cleared us @ 0825 and we are now on our allocated mooring.

Nm’s Sailed 1,350 Ave= 210.93 nm’s/8.78 knots

Are We There Yet? ....... Not Quite!

As at 2000 AEST Wed 24/03/2010:

Position: 38 55.6’S, 173 37.3’E COG: 70 SOG: 12.9 knots Wind: WSW 30kn
Barometer: 1025 Swell:3.5M Sea Temp:18.2 Cabin Temp:16.9

Day 6 Run:236nm Ave: 216.5 nm @ 9.02 knots DTG:20 nm to New Plymouth Sailing with Triple Reefed Main & Jib

Lots of Rain Squalls, 4 M Swells, Maximum Wind Gust 37 kn BLOODY Cold and Wet.

New Boat Speed Record = 21.3 knots under Double Reefed Main& Jib (SORRY JESS.)

Bruce is having a Radio Interview with John Stokes on CoastFM (ABC Radio) at 6.20 am AEST Thursday 25th March 2010.

Still running on those rails…SURFING.

As at 0821 Wed 24/03/2010:

Position: 38 17.6’S 171 22.7’E COG:94 SOG: 11.7 kn Wind: WNW 25-30 kn
Barometer: 1028 Sea Temp:19.0 Cabin Temp:21.5 DTG: 132 nm from New Plymouth
Sailing with Triple Reefed Main & Jib, Cloudy 45% with Sun Out, Rain Squalls overnight.