By Ian Grant.
Save OUR Seas Ocean racing skipper Ian Thomson has continued to log a fast average speed in his attempt to smash the solo circumnavigation of Australia record.
The Whitsunday Sailing Club member skippering the impressively fast Hugh Welbourne designed 12 m yacht has stuck to his promise of taking the 68 day 8 hour 30 minute record set by David Beard 20 years ago into a new time zone.
During his first 12 days Thompson set a cracking pace with the water ballasted yacht logging an hourly average speed of 8.98 knots on her anti clockwise voyage.
He completed a third of the approximate 6542 nautical mile challenge when he entered the long haul down the remote and often inhospitable waters off the West Australian coastline on Sunday.
Apart from being bodily tossed onto the cockpit floor during an involuntary gybe Thomson reported all was well onboard when SOS Ocean Racing sailed into a sloppy and confused Indian Ocean west off Broome on Sunday.
However the comfort of sailing in a relatively pleasant tropical autumn climate will continue to change as SOS Ocean Racing tracks a course into the cold latitudes of the Indian Ocean to weather North West Cape (Exmouth Gulf) and then onto West Cape Howe and the stormy waters of The Great Australian Bight.
Meanwhile the solo sailor who has committed the physically tough record challenge to raise awareness about the damage plastic bags are doing to the oceans of the world continues to enjoy a fast sail towards entering a unique record in his personal log book.
But first he will face a supreme test of endurance and seamanship as he navigates a course towards the cold and inhospitable waters which are continuously tortured almost daily by bone chilling winds born in The Great Southern Ocean.
Ian Thomson is well aware of the challenge that remains ahead but the cold latitudes are known to be even more volatile during the colder months and this is expected to test his sail reefing skill on the leg from West Cape Howe to the South East Cape of Tasmania.
His present speed average suggests this west to east sail across The Great Australian Bight will be fast limiting the time he will spend ‘rugged up’ in the storm weather clothing.
Thomson remained in a buoyant mood after completing the first third of his voyage with a daily average of 215.75 nautical miles which is 75 nautical miles faster than his conservative prediction to complete the circumnavigation in 50 days.
Based on this average and barring any unforeseen damage to sails, hull and rigging Thomson could sail back across the circumnavigation finish line off Airlie Beach during the first week of June.