by Julie Hartwig
May 2013
It sounded simple: design and build a catamaran, then set out on the ultimate sea trial by attempting to sail the boat solo, non-stop and unassisted around Australia. As is usually the case, nothing is ever that simple. In part one of the Zeavard Around Oz Alone story, Zeavard’s designer, builder and skipper, Len Surtees, shared the story of his voyage from Tin Can Bay to Broome where unfavourable weather conditions brought the voyage to a premature halt. Not about to be defeated, Surtees patiently waited out the cyclone season and then set off again …
While two of the voyage’s original goals – non-stop and unassisted – had fallen by the way, solo yachtsman Len Surtees was determined to conquer the West Australian coast that had previously caused him so much frustration. After five months on the hard in Broome, Surtees returned in early April to prepare Zeavard for the next phase of his voyage. These preparations included a thorough inspection of hull, rig and all associated equipment, the addition of a third reef to the mainsail to give more options in winds strengths over 25 knots, the reinstallation of equipment provided by sponsors and supporters – satellite phone, yacht tracking system, life raft, etc – and lastly, Zeavard was reprovisioned for an estimated forty days at sea. All that remained was the arrival of a favourable weather window.
Surtees did not have to wait long. Zeavard was launched early in the morning of April 15th and after final preparations and checks, Surtees departed Broome with the afternoon’s high tide to commence the second leg of his attempt to circumnavigate Australia single-handed.
Light south to south-west winds were forecast for the first few days, but Surtees planned to head offshore into more predictable wind patterns and he wasn’t concerned about the light conditions as they allowed him to settle back into the voyage and life back on board Zeavard.
As anyone who has been cruising can attest, life on a boat at sea may be pleasant but it is rarely easy. During the first few days at sea, Zeavard made good progress towards North West Cape, but these idyllic conditions were never going to last. Towards the end of the first week, Mother Nature reminded Surtees that while he may have had the helm of his boat, she was in charge. A couple of lows tracking east along fifty degrees south latitude generated big seas along the Western Australian coast. Zeavard was north of Exmouth and Surtees said, “The conditions were giving me a hard time. The weather I was getting was nothing like the forecast. I was about 100nm offshore experiencing 20-25 knot sourtherlies with seas of around 2.5 to 3 metres. Life was pretty uncomfortable on board and I was very frustrated.” Nonetheless, Zeavard was averaging between three and five knots and making gradual progress towards the next major milestone of the voyage, North West Cape.
The second week at sea delivered more favourable progress, but all was not straight forward. Following Surtees’ progress on the OceanTracker, the sizeable “wiggles” in Zeavard’s course had people scratching their heads. “On a couple of occasions, I wandered into restricted areas around survey ships,” Surtees explained. These ships, usually working in pairs, tow long survey cables up to four nautical miles long with flashing strobe lights marking the ends of the cables. Surtees said, “I was actually contacted by the captain of one of the survey ships, ostensibly to chase me out of the area, but we got talking and when I explained what I was doing and why, he asked for details of my “I CAN for Cancer” fundraising campaign so the ship’s crew could make a donation. This was great news and most welcome.”
The 24th of April saw Zeavard round North West Cape. “I had been closing the coast during the day so I could get a visual on the cape,” said Surtees. “Zeavard was romping along in about 15-20 knots of breeze with the spinnaker up and at about 1700 hours, I could just see North West Cape on the horizon. It was a pretty satisfying moment, so I had a little celebration with a bottle of wine and a block of chocolate!”
After the first week’s testing times, everything aboard Zeavard was ship-shape and Surtees was happy with his progress as he commenced the “downhill run” along the southern West Australian coast to his next major milestone, Cape Leeuwin. “I’d been in touch with Bruce Arms to discuss the best course of action for this testing stretch down the West Australian coast and Bruce advised that I head well offshore to get a good angle on the winds, so I did.”
With favourable winds and seas, Zeavard made excellent progress covering much of the 800 nautical miles broad reaching under spinnaker, but as Zeavard approached Cape Leeuwin, Surtees got his first taste of the Southern Ocean. Advised several days earlier of the approach of a couple of low pressure systems, Surtees prepared Zeavard and believe his boat was up to the task. This belief was soon to be tested. Surtees takes up the story …
“On Tuesday evening 30th April, Zeavard was sailing under asymmetrical spinnaker on a heading of 135° at between six and eight knots and was located about 200nm WNW of Perth. By late evening, Zeavard was doing eleven knots and I was just thinking that it was time the spinnaker came down when I heard a “pop”. I looked forward and saw the spinnaker was gone! I scrambled up to the bow to find the spinnaker floating on the water, partly under the hulls. I quickly hauled it in and stuffed it in one of the foredeck lockers to be sorted out later. While doing that, I noticed that the sail was undamaged. Further investigation revealed that the stainless steel snap shackle that connected the halyard to the sail had let go, leaving the halyard near the top of the mast. This meant I was going to have to go up there at some stage to retrieve it – a task I was not looking forward to.
With a small amount of jib and a third reef in the main, Zeavard was still moving along at six to nine knots. During Wednesday 1st May, conditions continued to deteriorate. Winds were blowing over 30 knots, gusting to 40 knots and accompanied by heavy rain squalls and five to six metre seas. The low pressure system that I’d been advised was tracking east along fifty south latitude, was pushing a small local low pressure system onto the south west corner of Western Australia and this system was generating the conditions I was experiencing.
By midnight, the seas had increased with breaking waves up to eight metres and I’m sure some were bigger than that! At midnight, I decided to heave to with the rudders lashed hard over and a handkerchief of jib up. I made sure all was secure on deck, then went below to lie in my bunk, hoping that things would improve. I was right in the thick of this low pressure system and conditions were the most dangerous I’d experienced to date on the voyage.
At three a.m. on Thursday 2nd May, Zeavard was hit by what I can only describe as a “rogue” wave. I was thrown violently out of my bunk and grabbed hold of the mast support as this monster wave exploded over Zeavard’s aft port quarter with such force that it felt like we’d been hit by a Mack truck. Navigation equipment, galley stove, pots and pans, etc, went flying across the boat as Zeavard was held in the grip of this powerful wave. As I hung onto the mast support with all my strength, I said aloud, “This is it, Len!” I really through that Zeavard would explode at any moment and I was done for. But strangely, I did not panic; I was resigned to the fact that the forces acting upon Zeavard and I were beyond my control.
As Zeavard was spun around by the wave, water squirted into the cabin through the main air vents high up in the cockpit bulkhead as if under hydraulic pressure. Zeavard was now surfing backwards down the face of this wave at an extremely steep angle, facing the very real threat of pitch poling, but thankfully, the wave passed leaving Zeavard still afloat in its wake. While it felt like an eternity, this whole incident lasted only several seconds, but the noise and sheer violence of the impact really shook me up.
Zeavard was slammed a few more times during that night, but the damage I later discovered was done by that first rogue wave. The dodger’s side windows were blown out; the sea drogue – which was stowed in a milk crate lashed to the aft port stanchion – ended up in the cockpit. The port hull had a leak, but later examination revealed that the rudder pintle bearings were loose and only needed tightening up. My main concern was the possibility of structural damage. Zeavard’s aluminium beams are secured to the hull with 16mm (5/8 inch) stainless steel bolts, two at each end of each beam and the outer bolt on the aft port hull had snapped clean off. Thankfully, the inner bolt was intact. (These bolts have now been replaced by 19mm diameter stainless steel bolts.) It had taken several tons of force to snap one of these bolts, yet Zeavard was still able to sail nearly 120nm to safety which is a testimony to how strong this design is.
I hove to again on the Thursday evening until finally, on Friday 3rd May, the wind and seas began to moderate and under jib and reefed main I headed for shore, anchoring safely at Wannanup, just south of Mandurah at two a.m. on Saturday morning.
I phoned Shane Walker, who had helped me in Broome and who was in Perth. He organised a berth at the Mandurah Yacht Club Marina and was on hand to take Zeavard’s lines when I arrived later that day.
I quickly realised that this was the end of my attempt to circumnavigate Australia. While the time of year had been favourable for sailing down the West Australian coast, it was now moving into winter in the Southern Ocean; the worst time of year to attempt the passage across the Great Australian Bight. Ending the voyage was the only decision I could make.”
Surtees, however, was far from disappointed. Zeavard had been tested in conditions far exceeding those she was designed to sail in and, while suffering some damage, had come through the experience with flying colours. Like all good boats, the strength of her design had looked after her skipper and brought him to safety.
For the record, Zeavard travelled a total of 5,340 nautical miles (over 8,000km) and was at sea for a total of 50 days. Of the voyage, Surtees said, “Surprisingly, I did not see any whales or other sail boats, but I did see far too many large ships, especially off the WA coast! The other notable thing that is now evident is the need to have a laptop computer on board to provide access to accurate weather forecasts. This would be a “must-have” item if ever I undertook a similar voyage.”
Although his attempt to circumnavigate Australia has ended, Surtees did achieve most of his goals:
1. He got out of his comfort zone and did something extraordinary;
2. He gave Zeavard a thorough sea trial and while the rogue wave that hit Zeavard identified a weak link, this has been rectified and the design concept has proven its seaworthiness;
3. He raised awareness of cancer survivors and their ability to live full and exciting lives. In doing this, Surtees raised money for Queensland Cancer Council that will contribute to ongoing research and provide support for the ever-increasing number of cancer patients who need help.
Surtees is now focusing on his next project, the innovative S-22 catamaran. Watch this space!
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Surtees would like to acknowledge the sponsors and supporters whose contributions enabled him to undertake his voyage:
Reefurl: Rogin Taylor’s roller reefing/furling system performed faultlessly for the duration of the voyage, handling all conditions without a hitch.
Colin Quin, Sailmaker: Colin custom-made Zeavard’s headsails and asymmetrical spinnaker which performed extremely well in all conditions.
Brian Pocock, Upholsterer: It took the forces of the Southern Ocean to damage Brian’s dodger, which is a testimony to the quality of his work.
Turvey Digital: For maintaining Surtees’ website and keeping the world up-to-date with his progress.
Julie Hartwig Photography & Design: For keeping the media up-to-date with Zeavard’s progress.
OceanTracker.net: For providing the satellite tracking system that enabled the world to see Surtees’ progress.
Tin Can Bay Signs: Who produced all the sponsors’ logo signage on the boat which weathered the journey.
John Sterling: Who installed all the Ray Marine electronics.
Convatec: For providing the foul weather gear and my daily medical supplies.
Other sponsors and supporters include TC Communications (satellite phone), Great Circle Marine (life raft), Para Anchors Australia (para anchor).