Adventurer Shaun Quincey, 24, is now almost 400km off the east coast of Australia after 5 treacherous days at sea. For the past 40 hours Quincey has been confined to his cabin weathering swells up to 5 storeys high, winds over 40 knots and drifting in whatever direction the Tasman decides to take him.
Fatigue has not been an issue yet however his body is already starting to deteriorate as the rough conditions have prevented him from washing causing salt rash and moderate claustrophobia. Quincey's cabin is smaller than a bathtub and from inside his bathtub he operates satellite phones, sends tweets to those following his adventure and where battery power permits, watches a movie or two.
The boat, named Tasman Trespasser II after his father's successful voyage in Tasman Trespasser, has according to Quincey 'performed remarkably given the weather being thrown at her'. With the help of mates, Shaun made the boat himself, building every panel, sanding every block and measuring every length. Now that Quincey is well out of Helicopter Rescue range and Water Police Sea-Based Rescue Craft, should the boat fail, rescue is potentially days away depending on weather conditions and support.
Family and friends are somewhat comforted by risk management procedures Quincey set in place before his departure. The expedition website shows a live map of the boats position, updating every ten minutes. Shaun studied reports published in the wake of the tragic incident claiming the life of Andrew McAuley and stated that in the event he was separated from his boat, the frequent 'breadcrumbs' of GPS information would assist search and rescue professionals identify important variables such as 'drift' hopefully reducing the time it took to find a person floating in the Tasman Sea.
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