Ericsson 3 Leg 4 Day 5

Yesterday's little flyer paid off nicely, and we crossed ahead of the leading pack in the morning. We committed to the east side of the ‘Dangerous Ground’, the poorly surveyed area of reefs with uncertain positioning, or not at the charts at all.

We had considered this a no-go area for ourselves before the start, but surprisingly most of the boats went in there so we gave it a go as well. It was very scary. We approached the first reef quite close. It was not where we expected it to be and it was four times as long as what the books say, and we hardly understood how to pass it. It was real exploration. For a while, I wondered if we were going to end Ericsson 3’s days there. But, after lots of nervousness and reef spotting by Aksel Dahlsjö from up the rig, we got around it, and made the easy and only responsible decision that we could, to take a loss to get out of that area as quick as possible. How the other boats are happy to go there is a mystery, maybe they have better local knowledge than we do.

Now, back in the Palawan Passage, we have found a nice shift, which we hope will compensate for some of the extra distance we sail compared with the boats sailing through the reefs. But there are still shortcuts to be taken. They look safe enough on the charts, but it is just impossible to know if the surveys are complete and if the shoals are in the correct positions. The Sailing Directions says the following about one shoal we are about to pass:

‘Carnatic Shoal has a least depth of 4.6m and lies just within the edge of Dangerous Ground; its position is also doubtful’.

Gustav Morin - MCM