Wilderness Cruising | Nautitech Open 40 blog

October 29, 2019 12:43 PM Day 0 Good progress - all is well, the winds, gust, and waves are all as expected so far, matching up exactly with the ECMF model. Wilderness 19 36.07S 176 02.19E October 30, 2019 Day 1 Winds are now from the South, still matching the euro model. We are heading 247 deg. VMG only 3-4 kts despite 6's and 7's GPS. October 31, 2019 10:02 AM Day 2 Winds back to SE - gusts over 32. Lucky we chose the right reefs. Waves not so kind. We're not on the "milk run" anymore. Wilderness 22 57.56S 172 51.13E November 1, 2019 Day 3 Winds still SE, but are lighter avg. 20kts. Euro model still seems the best. Speeds 6-7. Daily avg. around 140nm. Should be another 5 days to NZ which wouldmean we get in before the nextlow. November 2, 2019 10:11 AM Day 4 This is a lumpy passage - a bit like being stuck on a "pirate ship" fairground ride for eight days. Very different from most of our sailing in the Pacific. We are about half way. Both of us are fee...

Just before our departure from Tonga, the talk among cruisers was of the underwater volcano.  The active volcano had been puffing out clouds of floating rock. Floating rock! It sounds so strange, until you realise the rock is pumice. The rock has so much air trapped that it rises to the top of the sea, and spreads out like a giant slick. These brownish floating pumice fields appear on the ocean surface. They dampen the shape of the waves, making the sea look sludgy, they get blown about by the winds, and drift in the currents.  On a boat you do not want to go near any of this stuff. Although they are light, the rocks are still abrasive. They do break up, but this only presents a bigger problem for boats as the pumice fields become more spread out. In dead calm conditions it would be difficult to steer clear of the pumice. Once you enter a field it can be so spread out that and it leaves you unsure how to escape. If you are going too fast you could take damage, but too slow and...