S.V Condesa Del Mar

23 meter Herreshoff Schooner built in Wilmington Boat Yard California 1970 onwards. Fit out completed mid 1990's. Mark and Jenny Gaskell purchased Condesa November 2011 and crossed the Pacific Ocean in 2012.

08 November 2024 | The Sandy Straits
05 November 2024 | East Coast Qld
01 November 2024 | Lady Musgrave Island
24 October 2024 | Long beach GK
14 October 2024 | Great Keppel Island
05 October 2024 | Barcaldine
27 September 2024 | Queensland coastline
19 September 2024 | The Sandy Straits
11 September 2024 | The Coral Sea off the Sunshine Coast
25 October 2023 | Keppel Bay Marina
19 October 2023 | Rescue Bay -Middle Percy Island
13 October 2023 | Hamilton Island
30 September 2023 | Wide bay Bar
06 September 2023 | Brisbane australia
24 August 2023 | The Panama Canal
19 August 2023 | Linton Bay Panamá
11 August 2023 | Bonaire
07 August 2023 | Bonaire par of the king do of the Netherlands
01 August 2023 | Dominica
26 July 2023 | Antigua, West Indies

The Calm before the Storm

11 September 2024 | The Coral Sea off the Sunshine Coast
Jenny Gaskell | Stormy night

Is there always a calm before a storm? Well yes, but there can also be some Hellter Skelter. We are 13 hours in, not counting the 5 hours of sailing prep before leaving Southport, so a bit of fatigue was setting in.

1AM Wednesday (always in the dark) We weren’t keeping tabs on our breaks, but I noticed our tag teaming for watch seemed to come around fast. Time to put the kettle on and make some supper! I do a hand over to He Who Hums and point out the green dot on the radar screen, a yacht 2NM ahead was the only traffic around before heading to the galley.
The midnight snack was done without any fuss, no holding on or being tossed about the galley. I heard He Who Hums scurry across the top decks to shut the hatch. Yep, he did mention something about rain clouds looming. A bit smug with the ease in which I returned with the tray of our “pick me up” supper not spilling a drop.
Clearly, this is where I missed identifying the calm before this storm.
Back at the helm, I hear a few big splotches of rain begin. Our supper had barely been touched when I first saw the horizon, our tea and my centre of gravity instantaneously take a dive to the left. The noise, wind, speed and the cloud mass on the radar all escalated rapidly. Condesa had responded! To cut back the intensity we needed to let out the sails, as it was too late now and too dark to drop any of the 4 overpowered sails. The horse had bolted so to speak.
Oh, about that yacht! Where did he go? The other question is - Did he drop sails and pace? If so, he could actually be closer to us than before? We will never know as the storm was massive and clouds have now devoured what was left of the horizon too. Absolutely nothing and no one to see here, just sheets of pelting rain.
Over the following two hours the cockpit canopy was peppered hard, adding unavoidable drips to our once warm, dry enclosed area.
The silver lining was the intense storm travelled the same path and eventually cleared a patch of sky directly overhead. So we watched that gap in the clouds on the instruments, instead of the lil “yacht that was”. I was hoping the clouds wouldn’t build into a whirl wind, trapping us in the eye. It had me remembering the super cells and what they were capable of, not to mention the recent waterspout on the news. The dark can do that to your mind.
2.45 AM
Finally the coast was clear! The radar revealing the one and only green dot again. Yes the next question had been answered, it was the “lost yacht”, moving ahead of us at the same pace, thankfully. We don’t want to hit whales or other vessels in the dark.
We were back to normalcy, sailing a steady 7 knts after peaking a furious 10knts with 25 knts wind speed.
3.30AM
Someone (and you can guess who) once said “you’re not sailing if you don’t have a wet bum!”
We change into dry clothes and resumed our resting positions.
It was time for another cuppa, a soothing camomile this time. Safe and sound again with just 3 hours until sunrise. 🙌🏻
Footnote - if you were to ask Condesa, she would say it was easy peazy! She spent her years in windy San Fransisco bay and it was nothing for all 43 ton of her her to be healed over gunwales in the water every race meet. Just sayin!
Comments
Vessel Name: La Condesa Del Mar
Vessel Make/Model: Herreshoff Schooner 73 ft
Hailing Port: Southport Brisbane Australia
Crew: Mark & Jenny Gaskell
About:
Boat and water lovers from the east coast of Queensland. Both Mark and Jenny enjoyed an upbringing holidaying on the beautiful beaches of the Gold Coast where the smell of the ocean is ingrained at a young age. The passion grew with each vessel large and small over the years. [...]
Extra: Having conquered the east coast of Queensland Australia the biggest challenge and adventure was crossing the Pacific ocean in 2012 just months after purchasing. Leaving La Paz Mexico in March 2012 reaching for Australian waters October 2012. We love the simplicity and beauty of being live-aboards.
Home Page: http://www.sailblogs.com/member/svcondesa
Social:
La Condesa Del Mar's Photos - Main
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