2014 Vanuatu - Report from ARIEL II on retirement

Ashley Stevens, Skipper ARIEL II shares the circumstances that led to their retirement.

At about 0230 a wave pushed the bow and forced the boat in to a gybe.  After the gybe the main had wrapped itself around shrouds.  At first I thought the cringle had puled out of main and was thinking if we take it down to the reef point we should be OK.  On further inspection I noticed the that end of the boom was missing.  It had also wrapped itself around the shrouds I called to Jack who was down below to turn the deck lights on and come up. Once the lights were on we also noticed that the number 3 had pulled out of the luff tape in sections.

We hoved to and prepared to get the main down and so we could secure on the deck. After securing the main we started to head back even though the number 3 was torn it was still functioning without any signs of further damage so we left it up as it was giving us more drive than the storm jib would’ve in the conditions.

We were going to head back Port Phillip then decide to go into Refuge Cove and clean up the boat, have a meal that was saltwater free and a snooze.

When we arrived in Refuge we noticed MYUNA III was on anchor as well.

We did the 0800 Sked and then had a few hours sleep before cleaning up the mess on deck. Then it was meal time. A civilised affair sitting at the table below reflecting on what would never be.

These are some shots taken at Refuge Cove Wilsons Prom and the return from Refuge to Port Phillip.

ARIEL II Broken Boom at Refuge Cove, Wilsons Prom

 

 ARIEL II at anchor at Refuge Cove, Wilsons Prom

 

MYUNA at Refuge Cove, Wilsons Prom

 

MYUNA at Refuge Cove, Wilsons Prom

 

MYUNA departing Refuge Cove, Wilsons Prom afte fixing their water ingest issue.

 

ARIEL II heading back to Port Phillip Bay from Refuge Cove, Wilsons Prom under storm sails.

2014 Melbourne to Vanuatu Race - Photos from the Start

Taken from the Start Boat by Race Director Rik Head.

ALIVE

 

ARIAL II

 

ARIAL II Crew: Jack Jackson and Ashley Stevens

 

CARTOUCHE

 

CARTOUCHE Crew: Thomas Evans, Damon Fahey, Nick Fahey, Steven Fahey, Mark Gledhill, Simon Hall, Leeton Hulley, Kate Ribton-Turner

 

ESCAPADE

 

ESCAPADE Crew: Brian Abbott, Debra Allen, Nicki Booth, Aimee Bradley, Robert Bradley, Murray Erwin, Joey Gough

 

ESCAPADE and TRYBOOKING

 

GEOMATIC

 

JAZZ PLAYER-TPF

 

JAZZ PLAYER-TPF Crew: Matthew Lawrence, Matthew Setton

 

 

MYUNA

 

THE SECRETARY

 

TRYBOOKING

 

 

2014 Melbourne to Vanuatu Race - Weather Outlook Friday 4 July 2014

A further look at weather outlook from ORCV resident weather gurus Robin Hewitt and Andrew Roberts.  

The helmsmen/women had it tough in the strong following breezes for the first few days, now it's going to be challenging for navigators/tacticians on the light stuff ahead: 

By late Friday South Easterlies in the race area North of 25⁰ South and East of 160⁰ East. The Low in Tasman delivers a mixed bag depending on position with winds from South West to West in the South and in parts 20-30 knots, ranging to light and variable tending to Northern sectors further North.

There have been some South Easterly  winds above 25⁰ South but they are not staying around long.  Some fresh Westerlies and lots of Northerly sector winds ahead.  The prognosis shows these Northerlies being drawn south by the Low and an associated trough extending north to Vanuatu. One thing about being caught in light breezes are that it is better being on the nose to build apparent wind.  Just how the yachts are positioned in the coming days ahead is going to make big differences in their progress.  All hail to navigators, they will earn their keep!

 

By Robin Hewitt and Andrew Roberts.

 

 

Doing It Tough On THE SECRETARY In The 2014 Melbourne to Vanuatu Race!

 

The wind has abated and the sun is shining.  Crew have begun to peel off the layers and there is finally some room in the freezer to make some ice cubes for the drinks. 

Things are starting to settle into a rhythm on THE SECRETARY as we rotate our watches and manage our work, rest and play.  It was a corker of a ride (I hit 20.7 - the best yet) until we hit the south flowing currents yesterday.  We had planned to head straight out from Gabo as ESCAPADE has done but wind angles and our cruising mentalities saw us delay the gybe until daylight so we had to take what was dished up.  Apart from a couple of patches of ferocious waves, we only relinquished some time in lost speed.

Plotting our position on the chart, I noticed we are still one day ahead of both the 2006 and 2010 races so we've plenty of time for sight seeing - "George, Lord Howe looks nice!?"  I notice ALIVE is already up there but I don't think she is considering a stopover. Not likely for us either, even though we're in the cruising group, as there is the bureaucracy of border control to consider.

The equipment is all working well with our wind generator providing us with an estimated 50% of our power until now.  We're using 18 amps per hour during the day and about 22 amps at night, mostly for the fridge and freezer but how good are they! 

The iPhone and mast antenna fell out of range last night so we are only using sailmail to communicate, other than the SatPhone for emergencies and scheduled reports.

We broke a spinnaker pole in the gybe last night (yes, only needed to do one gybe!).  Had some new rings put on the day before the race.  Just shows you need to practice with the equipment before these long races to make sure everything is right.  Considering the tailwinds we are still enjoying it was a little disappointing but we have a cunning plan and a fitter and turner on board so I'm sure it can be jury rigged somehow.

The culinary delights on board The Secretary are as good as ever.  Today we've got curry and rice with naan bread and raita for lunch and it smells divine.  Had fresh fruit, muesli and yoghurt for breakfast and polished off Nick's sausage rolls for morning tea.   What was yesterday? Corned beef and roast vegetable fritters with smashed avocado and fetta (organically smashed - it ended up under a food tub at some stage) for brunch and lasagne and salad for dinner.

Gotta go, lunch is ready. 

Robyn