A solid run in gusty conditions... but 3 days to go!!!

It was great to get back out on the water yesterday after all the windless days. I must admit that it all felt a bit strange though. Just that morning Richy and Brad had left for Windhoek so we had to bolster the team with friends and supporters who were offering to help. We were also endeavouring to sail during the low tide which would mean we would have to finish the run a little prematurely so as to stop before the shallows at the end of the course. The wind was building nicely but it did seem a little gusty. There are a number of ways to get an average wind strength and todays method wasn't optimal i.e. a large gust range will give the same mean average as a solid steady number. This makes it hard to know when to time the run. At the tight angles we are sailing at in relation to the wind, we don't really sail along with gusts but rather we bi-sect them quickly.

Helena is looking at the wind data now so we will see what the range was for our first run. The set up all went well but it's always a nervous affair when new hands are involved. You sort of need to be 'stung' by this boat a few times to fully appreciate the situation you are in. It was pretty cool to have Hendrick, one of our keen supporters, out on the course holding VESTAS SAILROCKET nose into the wind. Hendrick follows us from all sorts of wierd and wonderful locations on a whole rage of media gadgetry. Today he would get to see what is involved in a run behind the scenes.

Once released from the tether I noticed that VESTAS SAILROCKET wasn't so 'bullish' to get onto the plane which would indicate a slightly lower wind range. Still, when she did 'hook-up' she burst through 40 knots in short time. I got the wing into around 13 degrees and began working on the flap. The course was good but already I noticed an increase in the spray coming off the front planing surface. The steering response was excellent and the nose felt well and truly planted in the water. It was a wet ride and I commented that it wasn't that fast. I bailed out early and tried to slow down quickly before the shallows. I could here the main foil clipping the shingles as I came into the shore. I wasn't feeling too happy about the run as a few of the little details weren't quite right. When I checked the run statistics on the hand-held GPS I saw that we had peaked at 47.3 and averaged 43.6 something. We used to jump for joy over numbers like that but now they just won't do. Still, it's nice to be able to do them with complete ease in relatively moderate winds. The fact that we still went quick with the nose pressing harder on the water is also a good sign for faster runs to come.

(Helena just processed the wind data from the shore station which showed wind gusting from 17 knots even to over 25 during the run period. Mean average is around 21... so not so moderate and certainly not steady. The wind was also swinging through 20 degrees. Interesting.)

Everyone commented that the wind was dropping but I checked in with the guys in the timing hut who said to the contrary. Maybe it was the fact that it was unusually warm over at 'speed-spot' that lead us to feel it wasn't so windy. I decided to go for another run as these days are too valuable to be casual with. We pulled into the timing hut so I could watch the wind for myself. It just didn't feel that strong... and yet the TACKTICK display was reading gusts to 28 knots. I didn't want to believe it. I wanted to bag the magic run and be done with it. My mind was racing through the pro's and con's as the light softened and the African sun headed for the western Horizon. I recognised a hint of 'Summit Fever' and considered if this might have been involved in Hydroptere's recent mishap. Going for a genuine Outright record attempt... and by 'genuine' I mean giving VESTAS SAILROCKET her head with a near on a full-throttle setting... in winds gusting like that would be tempting fate. It would be a gamble. We might be lucky. I had to weigh up whether the risk was worth it. What was the forecast for the remaining three days, how good was the boats new settings during that last run, how much risk is involved with this tide, if we wipe-out will we get the bits back before dark... all the while staying glued to the wind-meter watching every gust. I knew Malcolm wouldn't want us to go but I also knew that it might be our last chance in this record attempt... and that would mean it is effectively over (for now) and that this has longer reaching time and cost implications. The sun got lower. Half an hour until sun set and now just past low-tide. People were getting cold.

I decided to go for it. The gusts had dropped to 26 peaks. We all headed for the support RIB and began heading up the beach to the top of the course. It was rough... it was windy... it WAS summit fever.

We still had three days to go. Three cards in the pack. I decided not to risk it and we turned around. I hate those decisions. You will never know if they were right or wrong. We would have been stepping outside our safe margins and at least this way we will live to fight another day. The great days will come.

We were given yet another spectacular sunset as we nudged VESTAS SAILROCKET way out and around the shallows. At one stage the sun was framing the timing huts perfectly as it hit the horizon.

sigh.

Let's see what the next few days bring. So far it is the last day, the 27th, which is forecast to be windy. Then there will be no cards left in the pack. Maybe then I will go the other way.

Cheers, Paul.