SailBlog

Wild weather Outlook: so much for a clear window to Taz 2nd Day of Christmas my true love gave to me: 2 compass swingin !!

I actually do have two larger compass... plus 2 handheld ones!!! Well, without the GPS, I figured I needed redundancy... but they are all effected by the magnetic variation...I am now past the point of reversed polarity and have to adjust my course to the east of where I want to go. Now, It is changing easterly at quite a stiff clip, reaching 25*E variation by 180* E the international date line..then it stays the same for quite a long time before it starts to take a more rapid decrease toward 0* near to Cape Horn. So... it is now 6*E... increased from 2* only 2 days ago or I should say 5* ago. So it is increasing at one degree nearly every day or 2 days... I will need to adjust my head around keeping the compass reading to the east of my desired heading.

I have just gathered all new info and .. new navy chart and Grib..It is just incredible that these weather forecasts can vary so dramatically from one day the next. Now this storm has taken on monstrous proportions with huge 50+kt wind flags all over the middle of it. MIke sends me frames from a loop from the Navy military site... which showed this storm nearly a week ago, in the forecast. Bob McD didn't mention it until yesterday, after having instructed me to go south first to 46* and then 44*... And now, given this storm is no longer going to come from the SW and pass quite north..the upper edge was 37*S and seemed to leave a bail out to the south.. now the upper edge is at 40*S and is going to just clobber Tasmania going more southeast. And by tomorrow, it may still change dramatcally, in either drection...diminishing or heightening.

So... now I have been sailing SSE to get to 44*S..not in a hurry but at a steady pace.. . so I adusted my sail plan to east, no longer SE... so much for that... The grib shows the top edge at 40*S and it diminishing as it goes east... Bob McD has suggested that I slow down and then when the NW winds back to light S and SE winds I will head NE toward 42*S... am not sure about why I am slowing. I asked Bob McD for a waypoint which he will pass on. It is going to be an interesting week again...

It is just an incredible juggling act as Bob McD said from the beginning. Once I get myself below the islands, I won't have nearly so many options for dealing with inclement monster storms. I am glad to have Bob' McD's support more than ever... it does seem that trying to plan any course of action too soon is a waste of valuable energy. At least in this situation I have always had enough flexibillity to get out of the greatest harms way and I trust it will continue.

I have had a lovely last few days with perfect moderate winds, partially sunny skies and some warming in the afternoons... Enough to spur on some positive spiritual growth and liven up my energy. I have had my guitar out...though, the strings are all rusted to bits...so today I will put on new strings. I have been playing my whistle tunes and in general, just 'living' on board for a change...things have dried out a bit. The motion has been minimal and the boat relatively level. A reprieve...Thank goodness... But it seems the party is over and I am in for another wild week or more of storm sailing and dealing with the 'hard crunchy edges of the ocean', land... a rare and challenging obstacle on this journey.

Behind this monster storm, there is another one vying for position between the high systems as it is charging east... at a very fast pace. This second storm is catching up to the first one as the first one is slowed by the landmasses and high system ahead of it...so there won't be much time between them for me to get around Tasmania...

You never know...I may be hold up in Hobart waiting it out for Boxing Day... though the racers don't come through for a couple of days. Life is all uncertain when it comes to weather and the likes, but I am resting in the certainty I have in Inspired Sanity and our managing what is ahead.

I am keeping my spirits up today, enjoying presence, with the sunshine and pleasant winds and a bit of reading from the Soul of Leadership, Deepak Chopra... it is quite amazing as he makes it seem a natural process to develop leadership skills which are truly Life skills... they are imperitive to working through life successfully as a part of any group; family, work, community, or pastime enjoyment...no matter where people gather there are some visions for the group to accomplish together and his book has very simple yet profound insights and challenging suggestions for allowing the group to prosper as they fulfill their needs successfully.

Of all the goals I had for myself when I came to sea, the primary one was to develop the skills needed to succeed in work and in society with a vision...and this book is a great resource for me. I am very excited to feel a bit more 'ready' for it now. Trully, these life skills are those that give us the confidence that our decision making is based on correct awareness of the situation, evaluation of the needs, and the ability to respond with respect, love, and real solutions in creativity... I love it... I deeply desire to be able to trust my responses in life situations; the true solution to the deepest fears I carry. It all begins with our communion in presence with God consciousness within.

"The journey that a leader takes is one of expanding awareness. The soul itself has complete awarenss; it perceives every aspect of a situation. Its perpective is available to you but ordinarily you don't access it because of your own inner obstacles. We see what we want to see--or what our biases and limitations encourage us to see. On your journey to inspired leadersip you will learn how to remove these obstacles. When you do, what was once difficult will become effortless, as your soul clears the way for you. Your vison becomes clearer, and so does the path ahead until it seems that the universe itself is conspiring to provide the creativity, intelligence, organizing power, and love that lie at the heart of visionary leadership"... Deepak Chopra

Keepin On Sailin On a Dream... There is certainly enough in each day for a day... no sense in throwing energy after the past or the future... just don't miss out on the energy that is waiting to bless today!!!

Fairest of Winds and the Love of the Ocean Only Gratitude Donna

�"Sent from my RedPort Aurora Satellite Terminal http://www.globalmarinenet.com/product/redport-aurora/ www.globalmarinenet.com www.ushuaialogistics.com www.xaxero.com www.transmarinepro.co.nz http://www.mwxc.com Chris Parker weather services www.jamestowndistributors.com www.bellplantation.om (PB2) www.caphorn.com www.marinemotion.com http://sayitright.com www.yoloadventure.com www.islandplanetsails.com www.baconsails.com