Changing sails became almost a tactical chess match in the early stage as we sailed south. The Parasailor excelled dead-downwind and was wonderfully stable. The ASO gennaker sailed at hotter angles and usually proved faster. Every change meant balancing speed against crew fatigue and protecting expensive sails. Neil’s constant reminder became our mantra: “Protect the asset.” Sometimes going slower was actually faster. When we finally turned west with waypoint heading straight to St Lucia, the Parasailor came into its own. Winds consistently above 20 knots, sailing at TWA 155—165, we started with the mainsail up with second reef. It only flagged as the Parasailor did all the work brilliantly so we dropped the main and sailed solely on the Parasailor for a continuous eight days, many of which were over 240nm days. No sail changes left crew and Watch Captains with little to do, but the focus to maintain high speeds as the wind direction varied was ever-present. We found that the autopilot operated with more stability when sailing to a compass heading rather than to the true wind angle. Surfing the waves had the helm working excessively as we ended the ride and steering a compass course was the best approach despite several instrument recalibrations led by ChatGPT throughout the crossing. Watch Captains needed to monitor the wind shifts and adjust pilot heading accordingly. Neil took the helm manually a few times and, whilst boat performance increased during these periods, it wasn’t sustainable: we were cruising. Atlantic lessons The Atlantic weather (mentally pictured as rolling southeasterly tradewinds) is not typical. The wind varies in strength and direction and the sea state is a combination of current from the northeast, opposing swells from the southeast and remnant northwesterly waves. In the absence of land, the warm ocean generates localised squalls of various intensity and they generally move with the prevailing wind. Localised winds around these squalls can be a challenge: high strength in the front and drop to nothing in the back as rain passes by. TAM BLOG POST #4 Last night was a bit tough. Forecast was medium chance of storms 2200 ‘til 0100. It did arrive (22kn) but the wind direction change is what kept us hopping in and out of bed, especially with Wouter making ground on us. We’d started with the ASO and 3 reefs as it was for the Parasailor. Wind went south when forecast was NE. ASO was furled, genoa put out in 21kn and all’s good, back to bed (except if you’re the watch!). Light rain around, pitch black, not cool, but more dust in the storm than water. Wouter was at 5 miles behind but catching. Out comes reef 3, leave 2 as I’m hopeful we can go back to parasailing. Nope: he’s still gaining – out comes reef 2, then 15min later back to full main in 15/16 knots. We decided to gybe whilst Wouter continued south. We had put the ASO back out later in the piece as well. Today, 1400, 9 hours later and Wouter is back on our tail 5NM behind! The autopilot would have its work cut out for it on many occasions in the shifting winds and sea states … TAM BLOG POST #5 One of our big concerns daily is the treatment of waste. Outremer has provided a builtin chute in the bench where organics can be disposed of when away from populated areas. There’s also the plastic waste compactor: hand- operated, then cut into small pieces & stuffed into bottles with a special stick. Steve Everett and Lovely put us onto this. Surprisingly efficient. 69 ARC Feature Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron Yearbook Mainsheet 2026
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