Musandam crew face storm force conditions mid South Atlantic

10:22 PM Wed 25 Feb 2009 GMT

'His Excellency Major General al Namani, Secretary-General of the Royal Court Affairs, at Oman Sail HQ' Oman Sail

Heading into week 8 of Mohsin's attempt to become the first Omani to sail around the world non-stop we see Musandam over a week ahead of the 80 day virtual pace boat and with just under 6500 miles to the finish line in Muscat.

Currently in storm force conditions from a low pressure system that has been chasing them from the west over the past week, the next 48 hours look set to be wet and uncomfortable, in a short update from onboard this morning the report was it is very rough 'the keyboard is jumping around a bit and my hands are being thrown around a bit too... we have 20-28 knots (40-50 km per hour) of wind, on deck the spray is every 10 seconds or so and fairly persistent - we are wet, wet, wet. It's so rough that staying in the bunk long enough to get some much needed sleep will be a challenge', commented Charlie (Charles Darbyshire) this morning.

A look back at week 7
Charlie and crew are working overtime onboard Musandam in the middle of the South Atlantic, trying to avoid the worst of the approaching storm, which has been growing off South America. Interestingly, in these remote parts of the world where no real obstacles lie in the way of weather systems, the crew can be under the influence of phenomenon that originate from two different continents. This new week started off with 450 miles covered in 24 hours over bumpy seas, probably not ideal as far as concentration at the chart table, but the satisfaction of going fast in the right direction surely makes up for the lack of comfort.

With one reef in the mainsail and the Solent jib up, Musandam is powering along, especially when 'Loik (Gallon) and Thierry (Duprey Du Vorsentare) driving like maniacs', as Charlie reports! Both trying to extend the crew's lead over the 80-day virtual pace boat and to keep ahead of the fierce storm to come, by choosing where to be when it hits. Placement on the course proves crucial, as the navigator explained on Monday the 23rd of February: 'Our overall plan is to wait until our track is pretty much east, then gybe north and hook into some north westerly winds on the west side of the high. Timing is critical, a gybe too early means heading straight into the center of the high pressure and getting stuck with no wind, leaving it too late means not making enough ground to the north to be in a good position for the storm to pass behind us later in the week.' Later being Thursday 26th.

Yet if the 'full on' mode takes up most of everyone's resources, both physical and mental, there is still some time to reflect upon the challenge as a whole and grasp the big picture, the closer the crew gets to the finish line, the higher the stress level! Now just 6500 nautical miles to the finish they are being extra careful in everything we do...

Musandam crew - Oman Sail

On day 43 (19 February) it's another router's nightmare as computer models cannot seem to agree and change their minds with every new update: Musandam can only continue towards the north east, coping with whatever fickle and undecided winds the Gods throw at her. But having benefited from a glorious starry night devoid of any urban light pollution, the crew remains patient and even rather contemplative... but an unwelcome 'air hole' stops them dead in their tracks the next morning: 'The light airs that we predicted yesterday arrived at dawn and for a few minutes there was zero wind and we had an uncomfortable confused but oily sea that gave a wobble to the boat, making it hard to stand without holding something', writes Charlie as Musandam lies some 450 miles east of the Falkland Islands (read more HERE). Cape of Good Hope is just 3000 miles ahead, but for now the objective is more to avoid the risk of encountering some ice on the way.

Day 45 (21 February) sees the Omani trimaran over 2000 miles (3,700 km), approximately 5 days ahead of the virtual 80 day pace boat, with 14,300 miles (26 500 km) covered since the start (8th January 2009), just over 7,700 miles (11,500 km) distance to finish. The threat of sudden squalls is back on the menu, so everybody knows that a headsail furl can be necessary anytime, not to be caught overpowered and to avoid damaging a precious sail. In front of Musandam's bows, the weather is putting on a nasty frown and it's time to plan. The storm's exact form is changing with each forecast but is likely, even at it's edges, the crew can expect to see some of the strongest winds of their entire journey with 60+ knots (115km/h) gusts predicted. 'We are covering ground at a good pace,'writes Charlie, 'and that' s good because we are racing a weather system again. We need to get north and east by Tuesday to avoid a storm that is brewing off Uruguay, currently centered over the old Whitbread Round the World Race port of Punta del Este, east of Montevideo. That storm will head very quickly south east gathering in size (it's currently 380 nautical miles across but will build to be 1500 nautical miles across by middle of next week) so getting ahead of it and away from it is our priority.'

As we've seen previously in this weekly summary, that priority has not changed and the coming days will be critical for the men onboard... Stay tuned.

Day 48 (23 February) was a morale boosting day, Mohsin made a call to Oman Sail HQ to speak to His Excellency Major General al Namani, Secretary-General of the Royal Court Affairs. His Excellency said he had been closely following the progress of Musandam on its Round the World Attempt, he spoke to Moshin for five minutes to wish him well and give his regards to the entire crew 'we pray that you'll be successful on your journey and come back home soon.'

Ever wondered how random facts and figures see the light of day?
Charlie provides us with an interesting insight: 'In fact as we cross {the Greenwich meridian} we will be crossing somewhere as much south of the equator as Bordeaux is to the North - another useless fact which is produced when you are sat with an electronic chart, a mug of hot chocolate, and are looking for an excuse to spend just another few minutes at the chart table rather than fighting into soggy wet weather gear to put in an appearance on deck!!!'

Musandam Trimaran Crew: Loik Gallon (skipper), Mohsin Ali Al Busaidi, Thierry Duprey Du Vorsent, Nick Houchin, Charles Darbyshire, Jean-S?bastien Ch?nier Proteau

www.omansail.com/

by Oman Sail

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