This update comes directly from Alex...
With 930 miles to go, Rusalka has been at anchor for over a day.
As we arrived just off Orford yesterday, we found there were already quite a few yachts anchored and on the public moorings, including Sydney to Hobart race yachts returning to their home ports in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne.
We chose the next tiny bay and anchored there all by ourselves. We had a very peaceful night at anchor in quite shallow water. And today it was a great place to relax and read and just enjoy.
We have a reason for being here. The new IridiumGo! Exec satellite communications system is not working. Our previous IridiumGo! system worked, albeit quite a slow data link. I decided to upgrade to this newer unit because it is supposed to be 40 times faster for emails and downloading weather predictions. It proved to be so in tests a number of weeks ago. The 2 phone lines on it work. I could email and download Predictwind weather and routing. Tracking information was being sent and could be seen on the “Where is Rusalka” link.
I turned it on just before customs people arrived on Friday. We set off, and, as some readers of our blog realised, we got one position recorded as we left and no other positions. It soon became apparent that nothing was being sent or received. I’ve been tearing my hair out checking the setup, antennas, interconnections, software configurations, passwords – everything. I have spent a day and half battling with it. I have sent help emails to Predictwind, left messages on their support phone number, chatted with a bot on their help chat thingo. Being a Saturday and Sunday makes it harder to contact them.
I have decided that I won’t cross the Tasman without my primary marine satellite communications. So we will head to Hobart tomorrow. I’ve emailed customs advising them.
We’ve missed this weather window. The next one is Thursday or Friday (18/19 Jan). I haven’t aborted the trip, it’s just going to take few days longer.
Spirits are high, crew are a mixture of disappointed, looking forward to the next weather window, still hanging in there but still enjoying the sailing, anchoring, company.
“Team Rusalka”
