Circumnavigating NZ.

[Island Time 775]

Thats good. At least it appears he can lay the entry. Hope he's not too beam on.  As Booboo said, the only other option is Jacksons bay...

Best wishes

[MuzzaB 11]

3 hours ago, Fish said:

 

Tracker says he's doing 2.9 knts @ 141 degs, but it s dated 14th.

 

The date follows UT (old GMT).  As I post this we are at 2335h UT so about to roll over to the 15th.

Getting that wrong was a common mistake back in the days of celestial nav.

[Edit to fix stupid stupid stupid spelling].

[Fish 595]

Post from his tracker page

Land ho! The precipitous coastline of Fiordland emerges out of the cloud. I can just see the narrow steep walled entrance of Milford Sound up ahead. In about an hour I should make the outlying point and leave behind the equally precipitous blue mountains that are rearing up under my stern.

[rossd 14]

PredictWind shows 30knots off shore but  a large part of the weat coast at 15/20 on the coast or just off. Thats not likely I would have thought! Haven’t actually used it much so not to be taken so literally maybe?

[Fogg 177]

Looks like he’s been able to hold a course for the entrance of a Milford Sound in a big quartering sea and beam apparent wind

[Romany 68]

Good decision by the looks of it. Hope he sleeps well tonight - certainly deserves to.

Are catabatic winds a probability in Milford under current circumstances? And how / what do u do to deal with them. Just watched a video taken in Charlotte sound - viscious looking event.

 

[B00B00 170]

Looks like he is in, some good seamanship there. Well done, I would say its been a very tough few days.

Dont think queen charlotte sounds would ever get cold enough for true catabatic winds? Milford sounds maybe.

Will certainly be gusty.

[darkside 18]

That's a good effort alright. I think there is a mooring in Deepwater Basin but there may be an out of work tourist boat tied up to it at the moment. Hopefully the fishing guys will help him out.

[Tamure 357]

Lived in Nelson for a few years, learned that Katabatic winds are common in any mountainous area. In simple terms all they are is cold air falling down a slope, some like the Bora in Croatia are intense others are mild, it all depends on the setup. Elevated snowy plateaus emptying into valleys that run to the sea, bound to get them.

[Island Time 775]

Well done! Would not have been a fun last few days. Tough time of year for a circumnav of NZ!

Not sure about "true" catabatic winds in the sounds, but I've had the masthead of Island Time in the water on a mooring in ship cove from a big downdraft off the hills...  Held us flat for a few seconds. No sail, just windage in the rig.