L'Eau Commotion Westabout
An (other) attempt to sail non stop Westabout around the world
| Vessel Name: | L'Eau Commotion |
| Vessel Make/Model: | Northshore 38 |
| Hailing Port: | Brisbane Australia |
| Crew: | Bill Hatfield |
25 February 2020 | Scarborough Marina, Brisbane
21 February 2020
21 February 2020 | 59 Miles To Go
20 February 2020 | 114 Miles East Of Australia
19 February 2020 | 220 Miles East Of Gold Coast Seaway
19 February 2020 | 262 Miles To Gold Coast Seaway
18 February 2020 | 304 Miles East Of Gold Coast Seaway
18 February 2020 | 328 Miles To Go
17 February 2020 | 423 Miles To Go
17 February 2020 | 423 Miles To Go
16 February 2020 | 505 Miles East Of The Gold Coast
15 February 2020 | 617 Miles To Go
14 February 2020 | 755 Miles To Go
13 February 2020 | 888 Miles To The Gold Coast
12 February 2020 | 1032 Miles To The Gold Coast
11 February 2020 | 580 Miles North Of The Waikato
11 February 2020 | 1167 Miles To Home
10 February 2020 | 1300 Miles To Home
10 February 2020 | 1309 Miles To The Gold Coast
09 February 2020 | 1460 Miles To The Gold Coast Seaway
Recent Blog Posts
20 February 2020 | 114 Miles East Of Australia
ETA Looking Likely
Day 258 6am Friday 21st February 2020
19 February 2020 | 220 Miles East Of Gold Coast Seaway
Amended ETA
Day 257 6am Thursday 20th February 2020
19 February 2020 | 262 Miles To Gold Coast Seaway
Amended ETA
Day 256 10:30pm Wednesday 19th February 2020 ( UTC+10 )
Rigging
22 June 2019 | 250 Miles South of Port Lincoln, South Australia
Day 15 7pm Saturday 22nd June 2019 ( UTC+9 )
With the light breeze stubbornly refusing to back to the North of East I found my course more to the Northwest than anticipated just to keep the sails full and take advantage of the slight increase in apparent wind. The temptation of course was to set up either the Asymmetric or the fabled BiSymmetric but with the very occasional strong gust and heavy weather not too far away this was resisted - better to gain a few hundred miles in a week in the Trades with intact sails than gain a few miles today and spend weeks in the trades regretting that foolishness while patching up the pieces.
Many will be familiar with the saga of failed rigging in my previous journeys. In Katherine Ann the failed furling forestay mid Indian Ocean and failed lower diagonals and uppers round The Horn. In L'Eau Commotion the failed staysail furler- near here! - and the failed lower diagonals again round Cape Horn led me to the conclusion that something was lacking. I had my own ideas of shortening the rig but in consultation with David Lambourne he presented me with plan for the setup that is now on the yacht. Not incidentally David did a complete rerig for Jessica Watson after her unfortunate collision with a Chinese bulk carrier and which served her well for her subsequent circumnavigation. In the photo you can see David ( he's the good guy in the white hat ) about to step the mast at Scarborough. The shot shows there are now two sets of solid tubular spreaders as against the single set previously installed. In addition for better balance 330mm was taken off the top of the mast and a sturdier top fitting manufactured. Indeed the whole mast was rejigged with emphasis on strength and durability in addition to extensive work around the gooseneck area where cracks were becoming evident. As well as upping the diameter of all rigging Dyform wire was used throughout so I am now confident that the rigging wonât be a problem but at the same time I will be doing everything not to put my confidence to the test. As noted previously I can send only one photo at a time so I will illustrate further enhancements in a later blog.
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With the light breeze stubbornly refusing to back to the North of East I found my course more to the Northwest than anticipated just to keep the sails full and take advantage of the slight increase in apparent wind. The temptation of course was to set up either the Asymmetric or the fabled BiSymmetric but with the very occasional strong gust and heavy weather not too far away this was resisted - better to gain a few hundred miles in a week in the Trades with intact sails than gain a few miles today and spend weeks in the trades regretting that foolishness while patching up the pieces.
Many will be familiar with the saga of failed rigging in my previous journeys. In Katherine Ann the failed furling forestay mid Indian Ocean and failed lower diagonals and uppers round The Horn. In L'Eau Commotion the failed staysail furler- near here! - and the failed lower diagonals again round Cape Horn led me to the conclusion that something was lacking. I had my own ideas of shortening the rig but in consultation with David Lambourne he presented me with plan for the setup that is now on the yacht. Not incidentally David did a complete rerig for Jessica Watson after her unfortunate collision with a Chinese bulk carrier and which served her well for her subsequent circumnavigation. In the photo you can see David ( he's the good guy in the white hat ) about to step the mast at Scarborough. The shot shows there are now two sets of solid tubular spreaders as against the single set previously installed. In addition for better balance 330mm was taken off the top of the mast and a sturdier top fitting manufactured. Indeed the whole mast was rejigged with emphasis on strength and durability in addition to extensive work around the gooseneck area where cracks were becoming evident. As well as upping the diameter of all rigging Dyform wire was used throughout so I am now confident that the rigging wonât be a problem but at the same time I will be doing everything not to put my confidence to the test. As noted previously I can send only one photo at a time so I will illustrate further enhancements in a later blog.
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