S2H Day Seven - More Calms
Where Next?
Bob Williams
Mon 1 Jan 2024 04:17
Course: SSW Speed: 5 knots
Wind: calm
Sea: calm Swell: S, 0.5 m
Weather: overcast, mild
Day's Run: 65 nm
It's another new years eve spent at sea for the crew of Sylph.
After an afternoon of drifting around in calms to the point of actually dropping sails to conserve gear slatting in the sea and swell, a light breeze eventually filled in from the east around sunset, to which we set the mainsail and code zero, which duly had Sylph heading once more for Hobart at a very sedate two to three knots.
Come the change of watch at midnight, a light breeze had picked up from the north, a good direction and strength to set the new spinnaker to. We soon had it hoisted by the light of the bright gibbous moon that had just risen, and from there enjoyed a comfortable night running before the light breeze, averaging around four to five knots.
Unfortunately the first favourable breeze for the passage lasted for only twelve hours and, at 1140, we handed the spinnaker in the fading northerly and set the code zero in its place. By 1300 the wind had died completely leaving even the light-weight code zero hanging listless in the still air, draped lifeless against the shrouds. I have now dropped the code zero and we drift under the mainsail alone. On the plus side it seems we have about two knots of current in our favour so at least we are drifting in the right direction.
Now it seems we might be set to break a record I thought it would be very difficult to beat, namely Sylph's slowest Sydney to Hobart Race set in 1962 when she took 7 days, 17 hours, 13 minutes and 2 seconds. This would make for an arrival time of 0613 (and 2 seconds) on the 3rd of January. From here we have 181 nautical miles to the finish line and we would need to average a speed of 4.6 knots to remain within this finish time, easily doable if we had a fair breeze for most of the remainder of the course; however, that seems unlikely looking at the forecast.
Regardless, we press on.
One happy/sad task we performed yesterday afternoon during the calm weather was the scattering of the ashes of David Lawson. David was the son of Jim Lawson, one of the brothers who commissioned Alan Payne to design Sylph VI. David helped his father and uncles build Sylph and sailed his first Sydney to Hobart race on board her in 1962. He went on to sail a total of 33 Sydney to Hobart races and was by all reports a well respected and well liked long-term member of the CYCA. David passed away on 29 March 2016. It seems very fitting that Chris and I were able to end the year of 2023 performing this final small ceremony on behalf of David's son, Brett.
Happy New Year and ...
All is well.