(04-21-2008) - After spending the weekend fighting head winds and huge seas around the Kerguelen Islands, Russian adventurer Fedor Konyukhov finally cleared this last obstacle within the Antarctica Cup Racetrack, and is now after 85 days on the final stage of this solo circumnavigation back to Albany, Western Australia.
On Saturday, Fedor reported: "I am sailing in a powerful weather pattern with winds from the SSW and absolutely chaotic seas. It's extremely cold and I can't breathe freely on deck. Frozen air is burning my lungs and I need to wear a handmade scarf to protect my face. Heavy snow makes it very hard to work in the cockpit. Although it is late April, it feels like mid winter. Either I'm getting tired or indeed winter is here.
The waves are monstrous, have built up to 8-9 meters during the past 12 hours. Having spent nearly 3 months in the Southern Ocean below 45° South, I still can't get used to the power and size of these SW swells. I compare it like this: in a NW gale you experience 'Alps' sized waves. With SW gales you have 'Himalaya' waves - and the difference is big!
Thanks to Lee Bruce's weather routing, I am on the right side of the low pressure system and are now sailing away from Kerguelen with 45+ knots of wind with the islands 130-140° to starboard. My task is to get to 46°30' South to avoid the worst of the shoaling. Kerguelen has a very wide and shallow plateau with some areas only 120 meters deep. That's very shallow for Southern Ocean conditions - Right now, I have 2,500 meters under my keel and 8 meter waves. Imagine when this mass of water over two kilometers deep, meets a fast-rising shoal only 200 meters deep –It produces very steep waves with near vertical walls! It's like riding a rollercoaster, so I must do my utmost to steer north of the islands and stay in deep water."
Today, Fedor reported: a successful rounding: "Last night I finally cleared Kerguelen from the north in quite comfortable conditions. I built up plenty of sea room to be sure that there were no unpleasant surprises. In fact, this archipelago acted as a huge breakwater, creating a smooth sea state to the north and the SW swells dropped down to 4-5 meters height.
This was the last island on the Antarctica Cup Racetrack. The next dry land is Western Australia. The weather pattern ahead is complicated. Lee Bruce recommends a SE heading towards 49°S. Cold again! I was hoping that after Kerguelen I will not sail below 47°South but it seems we need to "dive deep south" one more time.
All is fine on board the good ship Trading Network Alye Parusa. She is in great shape and the rudder repairs are holding perfectly, but anything can still happen over the final 2000 miles to the finish! "
Fedor Konyukhov:
http://www.antarcticacup.com/
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