La Nina what does it mean for Expedition Coppelia?
Spring is finally arriving, and the measurements are showing a return in conditions in the Pacific to a “normal” or La Nina summer.
A moderate La Niña is well-established in the tropical Pacific, and may strengthen further through the rest of 2010, says the NIWA National Climate Centre. La Niña conditions are likely to continue through the summer of 2010–11.
What does this mean?
La Nina is associated with more North Easterly winds, and fewer South Westerly's. More rain on the East coast, droughts on the West coast.
Typical La Nina wind anomalies (Source NIWA)
Which may be good for the Round the North Island. The race is run using the low points scoring system. Each boat gets points equal to their finish place. The lowest total at the end of the race wins. As we sail round the North Island anti-clockwise North Easterlies would mean most of leg 2 from Manganui to Wellington would be with the wind behind us. This is not the best point of sail for Coppelia, however a similar distance broken into 3 legs and therefore 3 times set of points will be available for “upwind” sailing. Well that is the theory any way.
Not much to report from this weekend, both Rob and I had a break. We did however make a list of all the things we need to do. I would post it, but my storage space is limited !
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