Hi
Thought some of you may be interested , this fellow is on his sixth circumnavigation ,this time on a Moore 24 he is now on his way to Bundaberg ,maybe Cisco can catch up with him I am sure he has a story to tell.
I can't post the link to his tracker , but I am sure if you google Web Chiles you will find it
I just finished reading the book about his first voyage. His boat was leaking like a sieve and he was bailing HUNDREDS of gallons a day. Towards the end he had to wake up every 30 minutes to bail or he would have sunk. And his sails were in shreds too. But every time he came to a potential stopping point, he just said that he could keep going, so he kept going. Anybody who wants to really understand singlehanding should read Web Chiles, Bernard Moitessier and Donald Crowhurst. The line between genius and insanity is very fine. They have awards for people like this: Darwin Awards :-)
Hi Cisco
According to his journal first stop will be Bundaberg and the way he is travelling, he won't be long.
Just had a look at his log and he has done over 600 nmi since Tuesday so nearly half way, would be really interesting to meet him and check out his boat. Have to admit I am a bit worried it will trigger some sort of depression/inspiration in me that can only be cured by disappearing into the blue myself!
Wanderer 66, you just have to keep these desires and urges to strike out for freedom under control. If anybody outside the forum finds out you have those desires and urges, it will go on the computer and you will never get gainful employment again.
Yeah he slowed down a bit last week with the light winds. But not sure whether he is actually sailing, just reading his journal from the first trip and starting to think his speed might be due to the jet propulsion effect of bucketing out 20 ton of water per hour through the cockpit drains. Looks like he arrived today and is waiting at the marina to clear customs, is there anyway to contact him directly?
FFS- Not a single item in the Media in Aust about his current trip?! I just asked 7 News Bundaberg to go give him a warm welcome
; hopefully they think hes at least locally 'newsworthy'... Meanwhile a Kardashian somewhere in the world just broke a fingernail and its Global news..
Webb is now in the middle of the Indian Ocean.
Lots to be learnt about world trade winds by following his routes.
You can check on his current position with his satellite tracker here:
my.yb.tl/gannet
Then its interesting to look at a world wind map here, to what type of conditions he is experiencing right now, in real time:
earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/isobaric/1000hPa/orthographic=-270.73,-22.04,833/loc=86.251,-19.211
Webb is now in the middle of the Indian Ocean.
Lots to be learnt about world trade winds by following his routes.
He is probably using Pilot Chart predictions to plan his route. People with his experience don't just blindly wander off into the blue, they usually have a plan which optimises their trip.
This is the July chart for the Indian Ocean.
@ Leftside, I'm guessing Webb doesn't want much attention. LOL He came to Cairns but only as close as Yarrabah and left promptly after.
His blogs in Darwin are at times pretty humorous and give an interesting insight into the type of guy he is.
In his blog he mentions that his tracker may run out of batteries soon, so don't stress if he goes offline for a period mid ocean..
Webb's passage log Darwin to Durban is posted here: self-portraitinthepresentseajournal.blogspot.com/2016/08/darwin-to-durban-passage-log.html and makes for very interesting reading particularly alongside his yellow brick tracker log. Seems to me he experienced the opposite of what you would hope for or expect in a long passage, a predominance of bad weather and calms with the very occasional day of fine sailing. Such a journey is not something I would aspire to but you have to admire his tenacity. Andy59 are you reading this stuff?