Solo-Around-Nonstop - Dee Caffari/Aviva www.avivachallenge.com - zur Übersicht 03.02.2006 Dee gets through the worst weather of voyage so far In Brief - Dee says the conditions were "horrendous" - 12 consecutive hours of winds over 50 knots, topping out at 58.1 - “Survival mode” required at times - No significant damage reported Summary “12 hours of forty-five knot winds with gusts into the fifties, mountainous blue grey seas with wild foaming tops, which were being whisked away by the wind. Bottomless troughs that sucked you down, walls of icy cold seawater that broke and covered what ever was in its path. Aviva went from being a 45 tonne steel yacht charging forward with purpose to being a cork lost in an endless watery landscape that was wild with fury. We spent these hours last night being tossed around in horrendous conditions.” Dee’s latest diary entry describes the extent of the “horrendous” conditions she faced as she took evasive manouevres to avoid a deep, fast-moving low-pressure system with 75 knots at its centre. Last weekend she took a dive south to avoid a vicious secondary low-pressure system, before heading north to avoid the deep low. Now she is heading north once again to avoid a tropical storm to end a busy week when the worst conditions of the voyage so far made life extremely difficult. Yesterday, Dee was still seeing gusts over 50 knots even while heading north and said she had gone into "survival mode." In an interview with Elaine Bunting for the latest Aviva Challenge Podcast, she described the conditions as "horrendous," adding that it is difficult to describe what she is experiencing: Die Welle rauf... ...und wieder runter 12 Std.Orkan bis 58 kn "It's not just the wind, or the waves, or the amount of water ... if you imagine having your head out of the window with the wind in your eyes, try doing that on the motorway with buckets of icy water being thrown at you. If you get a wave in your face it really stings." The relentless conditions have resulted in exhaustion for the solo skipper and the violent motion of the yacht is not helping: "As the boat crashes off the wave you tense and wait for the crash landing and you can't relax because you are constantly wedged against something or holding onto something or catching something that's falling." However, she has managed to reindex positive, having "had a chat with herself" and deciding, "there's nothing wrong with the boat and nothing wrong with me" so the only option is to "get on with it." After a phone call to the shore team yesterday her mood was described as 'buoyant'. Project Director Andrew Roberts said router Mike Broughton has been "masterful in his predictions and advice given," reporting that Aviva was "still driving to windward at 7 knots" while striking a balance between safety and performance: "Deciding how to avoid the worst conditions whilst at the same time trying to optimise performance is equally difficult and the consequences of getting it wrong could result in real hardship and possible danger to Dee." Aviva is now heading north to skirt around the tropical storm, which Mike and Dee will be monitoring closely, but for now the conditions have eased and will soon provide an opportunity for a full inspection of the rig and deck and hopefully a rest, even if it is brief. “I am quite tired and emotional right now,” said Dee, “though I am trying to relax my body from the rigid state it spent last night in as I wedged myself at the chart table against the crashing conditions, which is proving to take some time. Nothing a nice soak in a hot bubble bath wouldn't cure! I can dream!” Quick Links Read Dee’s latest logs and see the latest pictures from the Southern Ocean: http://www.avivachallenge.com/index.asp?pageid=6 Listen to Dee describe the conditions in the latest Aviva Challenge podcast interview: http://www.avivachallenge.com/index.asp?pageid=18 Read Project Director Andrew Roberts’ commentary: Copyright © 1996-2016 - SEGEL.DE