A Gale of a Time

Remember that picture from a posting in mid-March of those cute little orange and white sails we tried out on Curare - the storm sails? And remember how we said that we carry them for insurance purposes never really thinking they would get used? Well, we tried them out yesterday and both of them worked as advertised.

Without a doubt the best description of the weather in this area of the South Pacific is VARIABLE. The wind speed and direction, cloud cover and wave height and swell direction are constantly changing, not just from day to day but from hour to hour. Reading our log the weather seems schizophrenic with it's quick changes in wind strength from low tens to mid 20 knots, cloud cover from none to 100% and a similar, but slightly slower, rate of change for swell direction and height. In contrast the barometer has been very stable, hovering around 1025 for most of the passage, so when it starts changing it's time to pay attention as a high or low is fast approaching.

While at sea our primary source of weather information are GRIB files. These computer generated models provide a 3 or 5 day prediction of wind speed and direction in a selected area and on this passage the GRIBs have been remarkably accurate. In general the GRIB information is confirmed by text reports from the Chilean Navy Weather Service and from an amateur weather reporter based in Panama, but on the few occasions where the three weather sources have been very different we go with the GRIBs. We download a new GRIB every 12 hours and using this modeled data we alter our course to find areas of favourable wind and avoid areas with gales. An excellent web site for GRIB data is found at www.passageweather.com - have a look and see for yourself what kind of weather we are experiencing.

Monday was not a surprise when the wind started to blow about 0600, the GRIB files had predicted this, the barometer had been steadily dropping, and we were looking forward to a good sail. Finally we would be getting some favourable winds to blow us towards Valdivia, 800 miles to the east. Indicated wind strengths were in the 25 to 28 knot range, but one thing we have learned is that GRIBs always under estimate the higher wind speeds so we knew we'd see more than that. As the winds continued to build during the afternoon we started reducing sail; first by furling the genoa and then by reefing the mainsail. With sustained winds of 25 knots and gusts to 30 Curare was heeled at an uncomfortable angle so we replaced the triple reefed main with our spanking new trysail which is about 30% smaller in area. This worked well, our angle of heel was reduced but our boat speed remained the same, we were still flying along at better than 6.5 knots.

An hour or so later the winds were still blowing in the mid to higher-20's but the seas were starting to build and break around us. It was time to bring down the staysail and hank on the brand new storm jib. Again, this tiny little sail did it's job by reducing heel and keeping the boat balanced in the strong winds and heavy seas. Now we were essentially running before the wind on a broad reach with the wind and seas over the port quarter which was a marginally comfortable motion, but the occasional wave breaking into the cockpit or slamming against the cabin top was disconcerting. By this time it was dark and with the wind still increasing and the seas looking bigger we were out of options. Had we acted earlier we should have hove to with the bow pointing just slightly off the wind, a highly recommended method for waiting out a storm but not a technique that this crew has mastered. Heaving to stops the onslaught of the breaking waves and the boat's motion becomes stable and comfortable (or so "they" say), but to turn head to the wind in the dark with large breaking swells and driving sea spray was not something we wanted to attempt.

Trusting the GRIB files we felt the winds would ease up in 4 or 5 hours so we sat below and listened to the howl of the wind and the roar of the breaking waves, looking out every few minutes to ensure we were on course. We had experienced similar conditions before on Curare and during the past six hours she had been ably coping with the heavy seas so surely she could protect us for a few more hours, but LE found it all a wee bit scary. Jessie slept through it all, relying on the uprights to do the right thing - little did she know that we were reading books on how to survive a storm. About an hour before the expected decrease in wind the rig started shaking hard, rain began pelting the cabin top and a huge wave slammed into us broadside, and then another, and then ... nothing. The wind had backed to the southwest so our faithful windvane had turned us beam on to the seas (which explained the slamming waves), and in less than 2 minutes the wind had dropped from 45 knots to 15 knots; it was eerie. Within half an hour the wind had completely died and we were motoring, although it took a while longer for the 3.5 metre swells to dissipate.

Now the reliable GRIB files indicate that we will have no wind for the next 500 miles or 5 days. Oh well - it's alway too much of a good thing or never enough.