Emma Richards update

The lone yachtsman mid-Southern Ocean on Around Alone describes life in the Furious 50s

Christmas day saw Emma Richards hurtling into the depths of the Furious 50s. A depression had been approaching from the west along her latitude and to stay in favourable following winds she was faced with two choices: going north to remain above the depression but sailing many more miles, or going deep south to get into the westerlies associated with another depression several hundred miles to the southeast. She chose the latter.

When we contacted Richards she had 20-25 knots and was sailing under genniker and one reef with the boat speed exceeding 20 knots in the puffs. "Unfortunately I'm not in a steady wind, so unless I'm handsteering, I can't keep the high averages that Bernard [Stamm] and Thierry [Dubois] somehow keep up for days on end - it's incredible, I have a lot of respect for how hard they push," she said.

Having made the long gybe south east she had gybed back. "I am on my way back northeast after a dive south on Christmas day, to avoid the high pressure system that has held onto to Hexagon for a while. It meant quite a few extra miles, but I kept the speed on and that seems to have paid off..."

However the timing of her gybe was critical. The low pressure system to her northwest was tracking in a southeasterly direction and there was a danger that Pindar could be caught in headwinds if she left it too late. "If I have my timing right I should be able to get north enough to catch the northerlies before they go into the west, and completely miss the easterlies," Richards explained. "I plan to reach east on the northerlies and then as they swing west, I should be able to go fast northwest enough to lay the compulsory gate on the 46th southern parallel between 105E and 120E".

Looking at the conditions (see map at the bottom of this page) Emma is experiencing today, it looks like her tactics have paid off and she should be able to maintain the favourable northwesterlies for at least another 24 hours before the wind backs further. She is currently in fifth but has closed on fourth placed Italian Simone Bianchetti who is sailing a deeper angle than her as both boats head towards the waypoint line.

Outside the sky continues to be the peculiar Southern Ocean shade of grey-white with dark grey clouds, a grey "wobbly" sea and Richards said there were a lot of birds. "It has been very cold and wet, but the last few days it's been dry and possible to dry everything out," she said of the conditions she was experiencing during her dive south. "I've not had much sleep at all with the genniker up and with the autopilot problems and this sail combination I've been kept on edge - I could create a real mess with a crash gybe while doing 20 knots with all this sail up." When the northeries kicked in she was expecting to change to two reefs and staysail - a rather less nerve wracking combination that would enable her to get more sleep.

In the 50s with the sea temperature lower and with the associated wind chill factor working on deck all the harder. "I have about 18 layers on - no, not quite - but Henri Lloyd have completely kitted me out for the fourth year running, so I have a couple of base layers, midlayers, fleece, fleece gloves then Gortex gloves, hat, neoprene and fleece facemask, two pairs socks and Gortex socks, and the the foulies and I use the French Le Chameau boots when its really cold or Dubarries otherwise (they're a lot lighter and more comfortable, but not so warm). With all this on I'm just about warm enough but it's still essential to come below and put the heater on or charge the batteries after a couple of hours handsteering and in the dark hours I keep trying to continue a handsteering routine, but it's too cold!! So I admit I'm a wuss and steer by remote control at the nav station during those cold dark hours and only go on deck to handsteer during the squalls."

Earlier on the leg, Emma felt that her confidence had taken a bashing but was now on the mend. "My confidence is building again - I just started pushing in the last few days with the genniker, but before then it was always my limit for the big sails and I was too nervous to hold the gennaker in the 25-30 knot range as it inevitably gusts to 35. Now with 15-20knots I have seen 25 but no more, so it's a lot less stressful."

Sailing singlehanded keeping yourself motivated is an issue. Emma described her tactics: "Motivation comes from the position reports that we receive three times daily, finally pulling back some miles, plus the fact I would like to hold onto my podium position." She also mentions that she'd really like to beat Graham Dalton into New Zealand and wonders if the pineapple arrangement Dalton's younger and more famous brother rashly proposed should the sheilas ever beat him, holds true with Graham in this race?

Christmas day was like another day at the office. "It was unusual - I wouldn't like to spend any more on my own. This was my second at sea and it's hard to get into the festive spirit on your own. Having said that, it's a good time to think about everyone, all your family and friends, and about the previous year and how time has dissappeared again, its like someone has pushed a fast forward button and I wish they would press PLAY again."

Today Emma Richards still has 3,733 miles left to go before she reaches Auckland.

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The star in the centre of the weather map below shows Emma's position with the centre of the low off the bottom left hand corner.