Yesterday was very frustrating for Quincey as he had planned to get stuck into getting the boat back in rowing shape but the weather did not ease enough. He therefore spent another very frustrating day in the cabin.
Today Shaun woke quite positive as the seas had died down substantially. He spent the morning fixing his steering and getting the sea anchor untangled and then got on the seat at about midday. Rowing south, he slogged away all afternoon and achieved some reasonable progress as the seas continued to ease. He is now feeling extremely excited about the next few days as he pushes to half way.
Sunday, February 7, 2010 Posted in Podcast
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Shaun talks about the first 19 days of his epic journey across the Tasman starting famously and of late conditions and his luck deteriorating.
Download audio file for media use. Please attribute tasmantrespasser.com
“Spend 7 days in a 2m x 1m box whilst massive swells and gale force winds smash you, add a shorn sea anchor bolt, a sore back, problems with the plumping and a circling shark. Thats the definition of tough!” These were Quincey’s words last night. He also finished by saying “I think I get to tick off the ‘I’ve toughened the f@#k up box’!”
Yesterday the conditions continued to ease however rowing was still impossible. With the sea anchor deployed Quincey’s westerly progress shifted to north east as he rounded an eddie current.
Sunday’s plan is to get the boat back into ship shape rowing conditions so that he can take advantage of the favourable conditions that are forecast for Monday onwards.
After a harrowing last few days it seems that things out on the Tassie are slowly easing. Winds are dropping slowly and the swells are following. The Westerly drift has also ceased and a more favourable NE flow is currently occurring.
Shaun had a really good sleep last night however his back is still a bit sore. Although he was still cabin bound today he is now able to wander outside without being in grave danger. All is not completely dim as he has amassed an incredible 159 games of Solitaire on his iPod!
Today he also spent 3 hours emptying the step in front of his cabin door and a couple hatches of water which has probably left TT2 about 200kg lighter! In the next couple days as the weather continues to ease Shaun will spend his time getting the boat back in perfect rowing order as it certainly has taken a beating!
Tonight Shaun was a little down, which is completely understandable, however as I read him some messages of support his demeanor changed and was left feeling positive and very stoked! So…keep those messages coming. Jokes are great, as are memories of past times with Q-Dog!
Shaun experienced the worst conditions yet over night. Extremely strong winds and massive swells continued to belt into him at so much force that at about 4am this morning one of the sea anchor bolts was sheared in half! When it was light enough Shaun braved the conditions to retrieve the sea anchor, hurting his back in the process. Once safely back on the boat the sea anchor ropes took over two hours to untangle and re-set up and then finally Shaun was able to pop a couple pain killers and lie down!
As you can see on the map, Shaun is still being taken west however the storm should start to abate tonight and next week is forecasted to bring favourable rowing conditions.
Even under immense duress this morning, Shaun was still able to share a funny story which shows he is still mentally on top of the game. After two days in the cabin it was time for a bowel movement….so Shaun ventured outside in the terrible conditions, set his bucket up and was half way through his business when a large swell hit the boat, unbalancing him and….well you can guess the rest!…..
The blog title says it all! Today the winds hit their peak and churned up some massive swells that tossed Tasman Trespasser 2 around quite fiercely. At around 4am this morning one of the shackles on Shaun’s sea anchor came undone leaving him to do a precarious repair job. He couldn’t believe it as he had done it up so tightly before setting off!
Talking to Shaun tonight he relayed his frustration about the weather and not being able to be fully in control of a situation. It has been an extremely tricky week with the horrific conditions but once again the cabin time has given him some time to think about the rest of the trip and to set some goals regarding arrival dates.
It was pleasing to hear that he is still witty as ever as he commented that he is embarrassed about his beard growth. Whilst the upper lip and chin region are progressing nicely, his chops and cheeks look more like the sporadic sprouting on a pre-pubescent boys face!
Last night and today have been tough for Shaun. Strong easterlies and large swells have been crashing into Tasman Trespasser 2, tossing Shaun around inside his small cabin. He is frustrated about the weather but realises there is nothing he can do but ride it out and get ready for some better conditions. Unfortunately the easterlies are forecast till Thursday so he potentially has a long cabin stint ahead.
You would have noticed that over the past 24 hours or so Shaun has been pushed west. This looks rather alarming when zoomed in close to the live tracking however when you zoom out so that both Australia and new Zealand are visible you notice that the westerly movement is pretty negligible.
Shaun really has been buoyed by your messages of support so keep them flowing!
The easterlies really battered into Tasman Trespasser 2 on Sunday and yesterday, making rowing very difficult. Shaun relied on the sea anchor to keep him inching slowly eastward.
Over these two days his steering cable snapped twice however Shaun is confident he has fixed the problem.
Mentally and physically Shaun is still very strong and is now used to his routine. He has a positive outlook regarding the bad weather he is facing as well.
Late update today as I am down at Mt Maunganui competing at the Northern Regional Surf Lifesaving Championships and the interest shown by the clubbies on the beach has been huge. Everywhere I went on the beach people were asking after Shaun and wanting to know how he was doing!
Yesterday Shaun “hammered it”, striking off many nautical miles and was feeling extremely positive. Although today his progress was brought to an abrupt halt due to the easterly winds. Shaun’s outlook however was “guess you’ve gotta take the good with the bad” which shows that he is still mentally sound.
One highlight yesterday was the bird who hung out on Shaun’s solar panel for about 2 hours hitching a ride east!
Also, today he threw over a fishing line but unfortunately got no bites, even from his four fish friends under the boat. Probably a good thing since later in the trip he will no doubt be appreciating the company!
Looking at the progress map Shaun finally got taken east last night. He was really positive about this as yesterday he put in some hard slog! He is now approximately 600km east of Australia and so is roughly a quarter of the way! The plan from here is to go slightly more south, around 35deg S, where the winds prevail west.
A quick physical check sees Quincey feeling a 9/10 however the rash on his bum is pretty horrific as is the state of hands which are rather shredded. He also has a solid 2mm growth of beard on his face! And in case you were worried, his gap can still fit a $2 coin!
Unfortunately the weather for the next few days looks fairly average with some strong easterly winds forecast but with the aid of the sea anchor, supplied by W A Coppins Ltd, he shouldn’t be knocked back.
by Bucky
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