Ice Cat

The Ice Cat Challenge


Updated 7th February 1999.

Return to Excess main page or the Australian Three Peaks Race home page.

View photos of "Excess" and crew.

Radio sked position reports
View the most recent radio sked details. Minor editing has been made to some reports.

*EST = Eastern Standard Time for the east coast of Australia (UTC + 10 hours). Add 1 hour for daylight saving.
Date_of_Sked Time_*EST Latitude
Deg._mins		 Longitude
Deg._mins
Comments
8 Jan 1999 0800 hrs 43 21S 147 02E Departed D'Entrecasteaux Channel south Tasmania after quiet night at anchor.
8 Jan 1999 1530 hrs 43 56S 146 44E Speed 9 knots, Heading 200 degrees T. Winds 15-20 knots SSE.
9 Jan 1999 0800 hrs 45 36S 145 37E Seas calm, wind 5-15 knots ESE. Sailing speed 5 knots.
9 Jan 1999 1600 hrs 46 28S 145 29E Heading 200 degrees T. Speed 9 knots. Wind 16 knots NE.
10 Jan 1999 0800 hrs 48 30S 145 35E 25-30 kt NNW wind, gray sea & sky. Using high cut jib.
All well. Gale warning for area.
10 Jan 1999 1600 hrs 49 15S 145 12E Gale conditions, 5-6 metre cross seas. Heading 190 degrees,
speed 3 knots. Drogue set with storm jib.
11 Jan 1999 0800 hrs 49 11S 145 27E Hove to in gale conditions for good nights sleep. Winds now 15-20 knots. Travelled about 15 miles in a ENE direction overnight. Butter and toothpaste hard!
11 Jan 1999 1600 hrs 49 41S 145 08E Heading 200 degrees T. Speed 5 knots. Wind SW. 6 metre seas. 4 reefs in the main and storm jib. About 1/3 the way. Toothpaste usable as mint slices!
12 Jan 1999 0800 hrs 50 44S 144 42E Speed 4 knots. Heading 205 degrees T. Rode out the big blow overnight with storm jib only.
12 Jan 1999 1600 hrs 51 46S 144 40E Travelling 4-5 knots in gusty winds and 5 metre seas. Course 185 degrees True. Visibility poor, no sun today. Appears that low pressure may move to the north thus giving Excess favourable NE winds.
13 Jan 1999 0800 hrs 52 35S 144 08E Winds 10 - 15 knots westerly. Sailing speed 5 kts. Course 200 degrees T. Used storm jib overnight, conditions good with heavy swell, plenty of blue sky to the west.
13 Jan 1999 1600 hrs 53 39S 143 40E Course 180 degrees T, speed 9 knots, SW winds of 30 knots with a big SW swell. 834 miles to go!
14 Jan 1999 0800 hrs 55 18S 143 24E Poor radio reception this morning. Speed 7-8 knots. Big swells, rain and condensation everywhere.
14 Jan 1999 1600 hrs 56 02S 143 11E Speed 5 knots, course 190 degrees T, using storm jib only.
15 Jan 1999 0800 hrs 57 01S 142 32E Communications difficult as solar disturbances still affecting transmissions. Heading 190 degrees T. Speed 4 knots, seas 4 -5 metres, northerly winds 15 - 20knots. Very cold.
15 Jan 1999 1600 hrs 58 01S 142 01E Course 190 degree T. Seas 4 -5 metres with winds 15 - 20 knots NW with clear skies. Both doing very well but spending much time in cabins as is now quite cold. Nearly two thirds distance covered to destination.
16 Jan 1999 0800 hrs 59 16S 141 31E Heading 205 - Speed 7 knots - Seas 5 metres - Wind 25 -30 knots NW.
16 Jan 1999 1600 hrs 59 48S 141 12E No wind and sloppy seas. Winds should pick up tonight. Excess had radio communications with the Australian base Davis Station on Antarctica. They will be checking with Davis Station for weather reports.
17 Jan 1999 0800 hrs 60 27S 140 51E Heading 185 degrees T. Speed 2 knots in next to no wind. Wind expected to pick up from West in next 24 hours. Seas 2 - 3 metres. Very cold.
17 Jan 1999 1600 hrs 60 46S 140 51E Speed 2 - 3 knots. Heading 180 degrees T. Conditions still calm. Sky is starting to gray up. This maybe is the front forecasted with strengthening winds they hope for.
18 Jan 1999 0800 hrs No report   Poor radio wave propagation this morning meant that details of position could not be heard. Email advice from Terry Travers sent at 1450 hrs today stated Excess was at 61 04S 141 00E with 358 miles to go. They are being amused by birds and a whale while reading books to pass the time as they have been becalmed for virtually two days. ETA Antarctica Wednesday. "Life in a refrigerator goes on!" says Terry.
18 Jan 1999 1600 hrs 61 14S 140 58E Heading 175T, speed 4 knots. Earlier in the day they were in thick fog with snow. Now clear but gray sky.
19 Jan 1999 0800 hrs 62 20S 141 08E Heading 205 degree T at 4 knots. Had a good night although the weather is now very cold. Hot water bottles have been found useful.
19 Jan 1999 1600 hrs 62 48S 140 36E Heading 240 degrees T. Speed 4 knots. Conditions overcast with light winds and calm sea. Saw their first iceberg today and sailed close to it at 4 PM. They commented that it was a blue color and very impressive.
20 Jan 1999 0700 hrs 63 10S 140 28E Heading 175 degrees T. Speed 6.5 knots. Slight seas. NW winds at 10 Knots. They are starting to get some wind. They have revised their arrival time to 36 hrs from now. They have continuous day & twilight now.
20 Jan 1999 1700 hrs 64 21S 141 08E Heading 190 degrees T. Sailing at 7 knots in wind of 15 knots from the WSW. Seas are 1-2 metres. Passed 12 icebergs today but as broken ice from bergs can be hazardous, a piece that is the size of a dinghy could weigh a ton, they are keeping continuous watch of 20 - 30 minutes each. They are finding it too cold to do much more than 30 minutes at a time. Their ETA at Commonwealth Bay is still by tomorrow evening.
21 Jan 1999 0800 hrs 66 05S 142 00E Heading 210 degrees T with a speed of 4 knots. Having to tack as the wind heading them. Speeds of up to 10 knots through the night. They are having to navigate past a lot of brash ice. They have blue sky but ice is forming heavily on the ropes, sails and rigging etc. Still expect to arrive late this afternoon.
21 Jan 1999 1800 hrs 66 46S 141 49E 22 nautical miles from Commonwealth Bay. Ice on the boat has become a major hazard. Excess plans to anchor near the monohull Spirit of Sydney for the 24 hours they plan to stay before commencing their return trip. The wind is from off the land at 30-40 knots or more is expected in the next 24 hours. It is very cold and the wind chill factor is adding to the discomfort.
22 Jan 1999 0715 hrs 66 16S 141 42 A gale overnight and this morning has caused Excess to ride it out at sea using a storm jib and a drogue and are now some 50 miles north-west of Commonwealth Bay. Lots of ice is making conditions uncomfortable. Excess sailed to just 3.8 miles of Boat Harbour until the conditions prevented further progress.
22 Jan 1999 1730 hrs 65 43S 141 03E Heading 350 degrees T. Speed 3.5 knots in a 6 - 7 metre sea amd a gale of 40 - 50 knot winds. Excess now heading back to Hobart. Both OK.
23 Jan 1999 0700 hrs No report   Conditions for radio communications this morning prohibited contact with Excess.
23 Jan 1999 1700 hrs 64 54S 138 58E Heading 310 degrees T. Speed 3 - 4 knots in winds from the ESE at 30 knots. Plenty of icebergs are around and there is poor visibility. A drogue is still deployed. They are both very cold but otherwise well.
24 Jan 1999 1600 hrs 63 54S 137 08E Heading NW at 5 knots. Wind 15 knots with a 2 metre sea. Excess would have passed over the South Magnetic Pole yesterday. The have about 100 miles to go to be in water clear of ice. The ice on the deck is now thawing. Terry and Robin have reverted to 3 hour watches and are in good spirits.
25 Jan 1999 0800 hrs Position unavailable Unable to get position due to bad radio reception. Basic information from Terry is that they are OK.
25 Jan 1999 1400 hrs 61 54S 137 34E Position reported via Casey Station, Antarctica.
26 Jan 1999 1615 hrs 58 55S 138 30E Getting blown east. Winds NW 40 - 45 knots expected overnight. Everything OK.
27 Jan 1999 0800 hrs 58 06S 139 05E Heading 350 degrees T at 3 - 4 knots. NW wind at 15 knots. Fluky seas with short sharp waves make it uncomfortable but manageable.
27 Jan 1999 1600 hrs 57 22S 139 42E Heading 55 degrees T at 5 knots. Seas 3 - 4 metres with a NW wind at 6 knots. Terry has had frozen toes and has had to warm them up which caused him pain. His toes are OK. They have lost one of the rudders on Excess due to a piece of ice hitting it earlier and now it has come away. Excess sails quite well with only one rudder. They report that there is no need for concern for them or the yacht.
28 Jan 1999 0800 hrs 57 05S 141 09 Excess is in 30 knot winds from the NNW, 3 metre seas and is heading 150 T at 2 knots with a drogue set. Lost rudder is not causing any significant problem. Hoping for change in conditions in next 24 hrs to give them a bit of a lift. Winds other than northerlies preferred. Everything OK.
28 Jan 1999 1600 hrs 57 20S 141 38E Heading 125 degrees at 3 knots with wind at 30 knots NNW. Seas are 3 - 4 metres. They are still waiting for a change in conditions to benefit their course home. Robin was able to do an interview with his hometown paper via radio.
29 Jan 1999 0800 hrs 57 19S 142 59E Heading East at 3 knots. 50 knot gale from the WSW is hindering progress. Radio communications from now on will be brief due to the loss of their wind powered electric generator last night.
29 Jan 1999 1645 hrs 57 01S 143 58E Latitude may not be accurate due to poor radio reception. Radio communications not pursued due to lack of power generator. They are OK.
30 Jan 1999 0800 hrs No report   Bad radio conditions prevented contact this morning.
30 Jan 1999 1600 hrs 55 45S 146 05E Heading 30 degrees T at 5 knots. Wind from WSW at 25 knots. A low pressure system to the south is providing a more favourable wind direction and they are now heading closer to their desired course. Excess is about 880 miles south of Hobart (half way) and 500 miles west of Macquarie Island.
31 Jan 1999 0800 hrs No report   Reported OK but had GPS turned off so no position given. Heading 30 degrees T at 5 knots.
31 Jan 1999 1800 hrs 53 37S 147 04E Heading 10 deg at 4.5 knots. Winds NW at 30 - 35 knots. Now have 647 miles to run. Best days run so far on the return journey. Have done repairs to tackle boxes on deck. The HF radio has got moisture in it so they are not game to change frequency channel. We will continue our coms on same channel. Seas are rough but everything going OK.
1 Feb 1999 0800 hrs No Report   Bad radio propagation prevented contact this morning.
1 Feb 1999 1600 hrs 51 34S 148 14E 526 miles to Hobart! Excess is sailing in a 20 knot NNW wind at a speed of 6 knots, steering 15 degrees True. Conditions are moderate and they expect to arrive in Hobart on Friday afternoon.
2 Feb 1999 0800 hrs No report   Position satellites have been difficult to locate in mornings. Had been becalmed during morning.
2 Feb 1999 1600 hrs 49 46S 149 07E Heading 330 degrees T at 7 knots with 423 miles to go. Forecast for 3 Feb 99 is for gale force headwinds which will retard progress and possibly push them back east. Battery power holding up well without power generation and radio problem appears due to a bad connection rather than moisture. Both OK
3 Feb 1999 0800 hrs No report   Contact could not be made.
3 Feb 1999 1600 hrs 49 00S 148 08E The 40 miles gained overnight has been reduced by 12 miles today due to gale force northerlies. They are lying to a sea anchor tonight to wait it out and benefit from the expected change. They are feeling frustrated by the adverse conditions and not making the desired headway.
4 Feb 1999 0800 hrs 47 56S 148 20E Becalmed, believe it or not. Forecast is for 10 - 20 knots from the NW. All OK.
4 Feb 1999 1600 hrs 47 40S 148 07E Heading 33 degrees at 2.5 knots - Conditions overcast - light westerly wind, slight seas. A little wind started blowing while we were speaking on radio - increase of speed to 4 knots.
5 Feb 1999 0800 hrs 46 47S 147 13E Heading 355 at 6 knots. 237 miles to go. Becalmed last night. Variable light winds forecast for today.
5 Feb 1999 1600 hrs 46 05S 147 20E Heading 30 degrees T at 6 knots. Winds NNW at 15 Knots. 195 miles to go, not long now!
6 Feb 1999 0800 hrs 45 20S 147 26E Heading 35 degrees at 4 knots. 150 miles to go. Gale warning issued for area just SW of them and moving east. Front will cause north-easterly 25 - 30 knots winds which will swing to southwest as front passes over them. They expect to be in Hobart and Robin's roast lamb Sunday afternoon.
6 Feb 1999 1600 hrs 44 51S 147 11E Heading 345 degrees T sailing at 6.5 knots with 117 miles to go. Winds are now more favourable in direction from S to SW. They are still not prepared to provide an ETA other than tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon.
7 Feb 1999 0800 hrs 43 19S 147 11E Excess has entered the D'Entrecasteaux Channel after having a pleasant sail overnight and are enjoying sailing in smooth water.
7 Feb 1999 1200 hrs     Arrived at Hobart in gale force 50 knot winds that blew up as the voyage successfully ended.