They form quickly and also can dissipate quickly and it became an ongoing challenge to try to minimise impact on our progress. We were luckier than many others and our maximum gust was 32kn which the fully-hoisted Parasailor handled without stress or damage. Many other boats didn’t have the same good fortune. Cattiba hums and dances with the waves As the trade winds finally strengthened, Cattiba came alive. Body surfers know the feeling. Waiting beyond the break ... Feeling the swell begin to lift ... A few strokes ... Then suddenly gravity takes over. That’s exactly what happens aboard a fast catamaran. She rocks gently, searching for the next wave. Then everything aligns. Wind. Wave. Timing. The bows lift. The stern settles. The noise of breaking water disappears. The daggerboards begin to sing. Sixteen knots. Seventeen. Nineteen. Twenty-three … Cattiba doesn’t fuss or become unstable. She accelerates above 17 knots and hums unmistakably. It’s an addictive sound. Every surf leaves you wanting another. Crew conference and progress check of the large laminated chart on the table in Cattiba's cockpit, with photographer Tam’s feet kicking back in the foreground. TAM BLOG POST #6 Hi from another timezone. It’s a bit perplexing, when do we change our clocks? How do we change them? There is no city to select on Apple... All the modelling is happening in UTC, which is +1 hour to our agreed ship’s clock, so do we advance our clocks or turn them back? Fatigue... We have agreed that it should be done at midday so as not to advantage any watches at night and we have 4 hours over the trip, another decision for the light of day. My piece of masking tape saying UTC+1 will need changing as well. The Starlinked computer & phones, unless selected otherwise, make the decision for you, so a couple of nights ago, I bounded out of bed at 11pm by my iPad, leaving Bron sleeping, only to discover I was an hour early for my watch (ship’s time 10pm!) ... try going back to sleep for 40 mins after that!! Mainsheet 2026 Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron Yearbook 70 ARC Feature
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