| Date | 6th April, 2002 |
| Time | 1730 hrs |
| Position | 69.36E 48.30S |
| Course (True) | 070 degrees |
| Speed | 7 knots |
| Swell Height | 3 metre |
| Swell Direction (True) | 270 degrees |
| Sea Temperature | 10 deg C |
| Wind Direction (True) | 270 degrees |
| True Wind Speed | 44 kts |
| Cloud Cover | 8/8th covered |
| Ice Report | No Ice |
| Visibility | 1 miles |
| Barometric Pressure | 1009 mb |
| Distance to Go | 3285 nm |
8th April, 2002 -The decision not to land at Kerguelen Island was certainly not made in vain. The "National Investment Institute" was able to get within a few miles of the island but the crew could only make out but the faintest outline due to driving rain and fierce winds up to around 60 knots. To quote Skipper David Pryce "Kerguelen Island certainly is the cauldron of bad weather". The yacht is now on its way to Hobart and home.
It certainly isn't over by a long shot yet though. The Inmarsat C communication system, that the crew use to send their daily reports home with, went down at around 7:00pm Australian EST. This is certainly not anything like a disaster as they still have HF communication with Penta Comstat in Australia and the Iridium Satellite Phone which David will still use to phone every couple of days. The crew are still in fantastic spirits, especially as they are on the leg home. Although with over 3000 miles of Southern Ocean to cross, this expedition isnt finished until they are tied up in Hobart.
Previous Updates:
5th April, 2002 -The weather has now steadied off a bit. It is still blowing at around 30 to 35 knots but this is quite manageable & the "National Investment Institute" is averaging around 7 knots under just a staysail & trysail. The crew are receiving visits from a heap of sea birds especially albatrosses who are circling for a look, always a good sign!
There has also been a "crew meeting" the result of which is that the yacht will now not be stopping at Kerguelen Island as the crew are too eager to get home! So the yacht will still go to the Island but wont be stopping. They will sail past the island before heading home to Hobart.
4th April, 2002 -Things have settled down over the last 24 hours, giving the crew of the "National Investment Institute" a much needed breather and a chance to catch up on a little bit of sleep. The decision to alter course away from the storm proved to be the right move although it has pushed the arrival of the yacht at Kerguelen Island back by a day. With the wind easing to around 30 knots, the crew have been able to increase sail slightly; the yacht now sporting a staysail & trysail and still averaging around 5 knots.
The crew have decided to make the next stop a short one, this will mean the "National Investment Institute" will arrive back in Hobart hopefully by the end of the month.
3rd April, 2002 -The crew of the "National Investment Institute" have found themselves in the middle of a fairly full blown storm. The wind last night was well over 50 knots, forcing the crew to run under bare poles to try and reduce some speed. Even so at one stage the yacht was still clocked at 19 knots! The wind this morning has eased slightly to around 40 to 45 knots but nevertheless Skipper David Pryce has decided to head NE to try for better weather..this is obviously away from their objective but with a bit of luck it wont be for long. They are now running before the wind under just a storm jib..hopefully making things a little more comfortable for the crew. David still estimates his arrival at Kerguelen Island in around 3 days.
2nd April, 2002 -A fine Easter was had by all on the "National Investment Institute". The wind eased off to around 20 knots for Thursday to Saturday; easing off to around 10 to 15 early Saturday morning. Thursday & Friday also saw the crew waking up to a pea soup style fog, visibility was very low & the fact that the crew saw killer whales lurking about put the tension up a notch. This cleared fortunately by Friday night. Saturday was spent celebrating Tony's birthday in usual luxurious style. Tony's birthday present was getting the engine running again! Sunday saw the yacht head into a bit of wild wind again with it getting up to around 40 knots & increasing 50 to 60 knots at times during the night. The crew rode the night & Monday morning out with just a staysail up. Not a great night for sleeping! Through all this the Easter Bunny still managed to visit!
The yacht only has around 750 miles to go to Kerguelen Island, the fact that they are heading south is certainly reflected in the sea temperature, dropping around 11 degrees in 3 days. The hot weather of 4 weeks ago is a distant memory...
28th March, 2002 -The "National Investment Institute" is down to a trysail & staysail, having to endure 40 to 50 knot winds at the moment. The yacht is in the middle of a big low and with a 3 metre sea, it is making life difficult. To make matters just that little bit worse, the auxillary motor, which the crew use to charge the batteries, has refused to start. The crew can't work on it until the wind eases a little. This weather should last another day or so..
27th March, 2002 -Relative calm has descended on "National Investment Institiute" after an interesting 24 hours for the crew. The yacht was hit by a 40 knot plus NW wind, followed by a nice cold SW front. This has all since left leaving the yacht in very confused seas in a 5 to 10 knot breeze. During all this the yacht managed to average 7.5 knots over the period. They are making fantastic time & are right on schedule.
26th March, 2002 -Imagine..you're standing on the deck of a 55 foot yacht in the Indian Ocean, the boat is shooting along at 9 to 10 knots, the wind in your hair...then BAM! a flying fish hits you straight in the face! Sort of ruins your day a bit? Well, that what happenned to Mel today, just to break the day up a bit!
Apart from that little adventure..the yacht is going well with the wind increasing to around 30 to 35 knots. This is providing some fast exciting reaching for the crew and given the current conditions should be in Kerguelen Island by Friday week.
25th March, 2002 -The "National Investment Institute" left Cape Town on Thursday afternoon. The meter was reset with around 2500 nautical miles to go to Kerguelen Island and with all well should reach there on around the 5th April.
Friday saw them round the Cape of Good Hope and across the entrance to False Bay to the Agulhas Bank. This saw the "National Investment Institute" cross from the Atlantic into the Indian Ocean. The yacht had a nice following breeze of around 15 to 25 knots.
Saturday was one of those days when it all falls into place. The breeze swung around just a little aft of beam giving the yacht a wonderful run covering 190nm over the 24 hour period. This intial run into this leg has put all the crew on a great high and the mood on board is great.
Sunday didn't start as well with the wind dying to around 5 to 10 knots and swung around on to the nose. This slowed things up for most of the day but it then swung back later in the afternoon and the yacht is again reaching SE at around 7 knots.
15th March, 2002 -The "National Investment Institute" arrived safely in Capetown at around midnight last night local time. The crew are by now showered and looking alot more respectable than prevoiusly! They are now looking forward to the next leg to Kerguelen Island and again into the Southern Ocean. This expedition is not over by a long shot yet!
