Inspired by Joshua Slocum,
Robin Lee Graham and Jesse Martin, 16
year old Zac
Sunderland is seeking to be the youngest person to ever
sail around the
world alone. He plans to complete his voyage before his 18th birthday.
He left Marina Del Rey in Los Angeles on June 13th, stopped
in Hawaii and is now
south of the Equator.
His blog entry for August
23rd begins, " Squalls, Squalls and More Squalls -
Yesterday I had 20-25 knots all day. I was running with it so it was a
good ride and I was able to get some jobs done. At around 7pm I saw a
squall on the radar and when I zoomed out I saw that it was over 24
miles wide. When I went out in the cockpit to get a look at it, it
filled half of the horizon. Quickly I reefed and waited for it to hit.
The wind dropped to about 15 knots for about 5 minutes and then it hit
at about 30 knots and built to 35 knots constant with higher gusts.
This first squall lasted about 2 hours." more
Zac's
website. Position as of August 19th:
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 NOAA forecast for the Cape Cod area
Outlook as of Saturday August 30th 9:30 am - Waist+ waves today with with SSW wind building to 15 mph this afternoon; Nantucket buoy is showing (8:50 am) 3.9' at 10 secs from ESE; low tide is at 5:50pm; possible showers this afternoon. Waist+ waves tomorrow with wind shifting to NNW at 10+ mph. Monday looks like possible knee high. TS Hanna, now north of Puerto Rico, looks like she'll turn into a hurricane off of Palm Beach by next Wednesday. It's currently unclear if she'll turn north or move across Florida and into the Gulf .
Friday August 29th 6:15 am - Thigh+ bumpy waves today with onshore NNE wind at 10 mph under partly cloudy skies; Nantucket buoy is showing (5:50 am) 2.6' at 11 secs from SSE; low tide is at 5pm. Wind shifts to 15 mph SSW Saturday with waves in waist high range. Sunday looks nice with waist high waves, sunshine, and offshore NW wind at 5-10 mph. TS Gustav is stirring up trouble in the Gulf but won't be a factor in New England. TS Hanna is forecast to turn into a hurricane early next week positioned off the coast of Florida near the Bahamas. With a little bit of luck the high pressure ridge over the N Atlantic will shift westward just enough to open a door for Hanna to come our way while remaining 500 miles or so offshore (with plenty of warning for the fishing fleet to get out of the way).
Thursday August 28th 6:45 am - Repeat of yesterday with bumpy waist+ waves, sunshine and NNE wind at 10-15 mph. Nantucket buoy is showing (5:50 am) 2.6' at 11 secs from ESE; low tide is at 4pm. Onshore wind will be lighter tomorrow with waist high waves. Sunday and Monday look like they'll be clean with thigh and waist high respectively. The hurricane track is running into the Gulf of Mexico, high pressure is blocking systems from making the turn north. Bertha's sister can't get on a flight in our direction... yet.
Wednesday August 27th 7:15 am - Bumpy waist+ conditions continue today and tomorrow with N wind at 10-15 mph. Nantucket buoy is showing (6:50 am) 3.3' at 11 secs from ESE; low tide is at 3 pm; plenty of sunshine. Wind stays mostly onshore through Sunday.
Tuesday August 26th 6:45 am - Bumpy NE-E swell for today and the next few days dropping from chest+ to waist high. Today's low tide is at 1:50 pm; wind will be blowing from NNW at 15-20 mph shifting to N at 10+ mph for Wednesday and Thursday. Natucket buoy is showing (5:50am) 6.2' at 7 secs from N.
Monday August 25th 7:00am - Nice lines coming in delivering waist-chest waves with good shoulders. Today's low tide is at 12:35 pm; wind blows 15 mph+ from SW. Nantucket buoy is showing (5:50 am) 3.6' from E at 8 secs. Sun and clouds this morning, possible thunderstorms this afternoon. Wind turns NNW at 15 mph tomorrow, waves diminish. Short period NE swell develops Wednesday and continues through Friday, possibly getting to head high.
Sunday August 24th -Sunny with glassy waist to chest high this morning; wind blows from NE at 5-10 this afternoon; low tide is at noon. Monday offers building waist-chest waves with morning showers, SW wind building to 15 mph and scattered thunderstorms. There's a lot of activity forecast in the Atlantic: offshore nor'easter could give us head+ weaves on Friday/Saturday and it looks like a hurricane is forming in the Bahamas that will make the turn north and give us waves in about 10 days. |
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