60 Knot Winds in the Southern Ocean

Fedor Konyukhov, the Russian adventure sailor currently trail-blazing a record circumnavigation around the Antarctica Cup Racetrack, is facing his second Force 11-12 storm in a week. Currently some 2,500 miles from Cape Horn, the 56 year old solo yachtsman reports from his 85ft (27m) yacht 'Trading Network Alye Parusa':

"The ocean surface is white, driven by the strong winds. It seems that this westerly flow of wind will stay strong all the way to Cape Horn. The forecast shows a strong, fast moving Low just ENE of my position. I am riding on the back of this Low and plan to hold on to the system for as long as we can. It's a favourable situation for me because there is no chance that the Low will pass over my boat, as the previous one did a week ago.

The wind is blowing from the SSW, bringing even colder air from Antarctica. It must be close to 0°C now but I don't have a thermometer on board. I'm using radar to spot icebergs and had one situation a couple of nights ago when it looked like a solid reflective surface at position of 54° S and 149°W. I bore away a few degrees until we cleared this dot on the screen. There was definitely something floating there. I have had SW winds for prolonged periods of time so there is a risk of an iceberg being blown up to 54°S. From here to Cape Horn, the chances of seeing icebergs is quite high.

Yesterday, I fried my last three barn eggs from Albany. They were a tasty reminder of quality food you enjoy on dry land. From now on it's dry food, rice, spaghetti, and tinned fish. I'm not a big fan of freeze-dry food. I ate a lot of it during past trips to the North and South Poles. It's light but not very tasty, but when you are pulling a 140 kg sled to the South Pole every gram of weight matters. Since my yacht 'Trading Network Alye Parusa' has a gross tonnage of 56 tons, a few more cans will not affect performance. Right now a piece of grilled chicken would go down very well."

Regards, Fedor

Position: 54° 11'S 134°37'W
Course: 87° Speed: 8.2 knots
Distance covered: 5058 n.miles. Last 24hr run: 186.3 n.miles