Wind Hippie Sailing · video

What this video covers

A 30-foot sailboat transits the Gugari Rip, also known as the Hole in the Wall, in the Wessel Islands of Northern Australia.0:12 The passage is one nautical mile long and 90 meters wide, with tidal currents that can reach 12 knots during spring tides.0:29 The crew approaches the narrow gap in 20 to 25 knots of wind with choppy, multi-directional seas.0:35 By timing the arrival for slack tide, the vessel avoids the extreme current, experiencing a slow, manageable transit rather than the high-speed "cork" effect often reported by sailors.13:31 The crew uses a working jib and a triple-reefed mainsail to balance the boat for the wind vane during the subsequent passage toward Darwin.17:24 Navionics charts assist in identifying the narrow entrance, which remains obscured by surrounding rock formations until the final approach.8:00 The transit confirms that arriving at high tide provides a calm, current-free window for navigating this notoriously hazardous passage.19:15

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