Solo-Around-Nonstop - Dee Caffari/Aviva www.avivachallenge.com - zur Übersicht 20.01.2006 Extreme conditions welcome Dee to most isolated point of the voyage In Brief - Dee due to pass most isolated point of voyage on Friday evening - Aviva set to be as far from land as it is possible to be - Harsh conditions all week make life extremely tough - ‘A defining moment’ says weather router Mike Broughton - Dee past the 10,000 mile mark Summary The conditions got so rough for Dee Caffari this week that weather router Mike Broughton said this was to be a ‘defining moment’ of the Aviva Challenge. In his website commentary on Thursday he likened the Southern Ocean weather to the “notorious storm of the Fastnet Race in 1979” that brought dangerously steep breaking waves. “Whilst Aviva is a great boat to be bashing to windward in strong winds,” said Mike, “what will make conditions disagreeable will be the disturbed sea state as the wind swings rapidly from north to southwest then back to just north of west. “Southern Ocean waves often grow to heights in excess of eight metres, but they are not very harmful as long the wind stays in the same direction resulting in a long wavelength. The tricky bit is when a strong wind swings and builds up a wave train from another direction interfering with the original waves. The result is often steep-sided confused seas that are a handful to negotiate even in moderate winds.” These conditions were not an anomaly; they were the worst of what has been a gruelling week of relentless upwind sailing for Dee. After three days of consistent 30 knot winds last weekend, Dee was starting to feel the strain of life on board bashing to windward. “Yesterday I was quite down on life,” wrote Dee on Tuesday. “I was feeling a little emotional which I put down to tiredness and also feeling a little beaten at the relentless pounding upwind. The endless fronts that have daily given me 40 - 50 knot gusts were taking their toll.” But it got even worse. Sail plan decisions were becoming increasingly difficult for the tired and frustrated solo skipper, so secondary low-pressure systems were not a welcome addition to the week. “Evolving on a fast moving polar front, with 50 knots of wind on its leading edge,” wrote Mike on Thursday, “secondary ‘lows’ have a habit of ‘spinning up’ quickly and generating storm force winds … This one looks set to have 70+ knots on its northwestern quadrant (ouch!) and we can expect to see Dee clawing up to the north to avoid the worst of this storm.” Despite being severely tired and struggling to indextain her morale at times, Dee has continued writing vivid accounts of her life on board in tough times, such as this one she wrote on Tuesday evening: “I have just tacked and the wind has gone from 28 knots to 46 knots true without any build up. It is just so gusty with a massive sea that has built up. The day has delivered grey, cold and wet weather. It really is miserable. Add to that the wind ranging from 30 - 45 knots of wind and the ocean has become like a lunar landscape with craters everywhere. “We have been launching off waves that I didn't think we were coming down from. When we did land we really knew about it, with a jolt and shudder and a horrible noise as all the parts of Aviva set themselves up again. It is the relentless slamming that wears you down.” These shocking conditions are made even more poignant by the fact that they have welcomed her to the most isolated point of any ocean in the world. On Friday evening she is expected to pass Point Nemo*, which is the point furthest away from any land in any ocean. It will be the most isolated point of her lonely voyage and quite possibly a serious psychological hurdle. Mike Golding, one of a small handful of people who have sailed solo around the world against the winds, said: “It’s quite possible that this point in the voyage is the lowest point. But then when she gets past New Zealand she’ll start to think, ‘well, I’ve sailed across the Pacific’ and suddenly you’re homeward bound - you’re on the return trip. Right now she is still sailing away but when she reaches that halfway point she’ll realise, ‘I can do this.’” Interestingly, as she approaches this point of extreme isolation, Dee mentioned the appearance of New Zealand on her next chart as an important signal of progress across the wilderness of ocean. She has also now sailed more than 10,000 miles, and in her position, with astronauts on the international space station probably the nearest humans to her at present, these small milestones serve an important purpose. The messages Dee receives from supporters via her website www.avivachallenge.com continue to help her through the tough conditions in the Southern Ocean. With these extreme recent conditions, the psychological challenge of being as far away from land as possible and the fact that it’s her birthday on Monday, it may be a good time to send her a message! Click here to go straight to the message form: Gruss an Dee Quick Links Read Dee’s latest diary entry: http://www.avivachallenge.com/index.asp?pageid=6&thisDay=20&thisMonth=1&view=day Read Dee’s account of Aviva “launching off waves”: http://www.avivachallenge.com/index.asp?pageid=6&thisDay=17&thisMonth=1&view=day Read Mike Broughton’s latest weather report: http://www.avivachallenge.com/index.asp?pageid=6&person=mike Background Information: Dee is currently approximately 2500 miles from New Zealand, 1850 miles from Chile and 9800 miles from home in the UK. The astronauts on the international space station are probably nearest to her, as they should pass over Dee’s position at a reported height of approximately 232 miles. (Information taken from www.heavens-above.com) Another neighbour will be Norwegian polar explorer Rune Gjeldnes on an unsupported Antarctic crossing who will be over 3000 miles away. Point Nemo*: There are at least 3 positions all purporting to be the furthest from land on any ocean. They are all called Point Nemo but their positions vary by approximately 150 miles. The position the Aviva Challenge has selected to use is 47°30' S 120°00' W. Point Nemo is 1458 miles from an off lying island near Easter Island, an island near Pitcairn and an island on the edge of Antarctica. It is also just over 2500 miles from New Zealand and just over 1850 from Chile in South America. Copyright © 1996-2016 - SEGEL.DE