Wednesday morning the crew woke (late) to rain and fog. The original plan to pump up the dinghy and then to go ashore on Enderby Island was abandoned as the forecast suggested that an early move to a different anchorage was required.
The Auckland Island group is not large, about 570km2 (compared to 360 km2 Bruny Island for you Tasmanians), but there are lots of deep inlets offering shelter from various wind directions. So around mid-day Rusalka moved to Terror Cove in Port Ross on Auckland Island, only 3nm away, but offering excellent protection in strong westerlies, according to the skipper of Evohe.
Alex sent in the following report this morning:
“The last day and a half have been about wind, safety and this storm. It was very calm at Sandy Bay, off Enderby Island. This storm was forecast and we moved to shelter in Terror Cove from the expected very strong westerlies.
Wind was a steady, calm 5 knots, then it rose over a period of 12 hours reaching its peak at 1 am. For 6 hours it was touching into the 50's, reaching a maximum gust of 52.4kts. Easing for the last couple of hours means it's currently high 30's to low 40's. Over a 48 hour period the barometer fell from 1013 to 993, then rose to 1000, indicating we're now past the worst, even though it's gusting 40's.
Only short periods of rain, but when it came it hit hard, horizontally. The hilly shore line is 400 metres away - it may or may not be giving some shelter from these westerlies. Gusts come but not in short sharp bursts, more like steady rising then easing off. Things always look and sound worse at night. There is less situational awareness. You can't see everything, and what you can see, you can't see as clearly as in daylight. There was lots of noise during the night. It was overcast, so no moonlight or starlight, just black and noise. We did anchor watches throughout the night, 3 hours each. Off watch, I could sleep a bit, but I also got up during everybody's watch and checked what's going on. When the morning light became enough to see water and shore line it was immediately reassuring, I then slept for 3 hours straight.
This is an excellent anchorage with a sandy bottom. In 20m of water, we have 90m of 8mm duplex steel chain out. The 27kg Ultra anchor is holding well.”
Al on anchor watch
Chart plotter showing good holding, despite 40-50kt winds!
Morning, winds ease to this!
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