N.Z. winter weather being most unhelpful! I'm in Mana, north of Wellington, on the Cook Strait, awaiting a weather window to leave for Hawaii....

(See 'Nelson Mail' photo & story - posted on 'Articles & Interviews' page)

   Mana Island, on east side of Cook Strait.

Tuesday 25th May 2010

I can't believe how time is slipping by!

I thought I had a weather window to get through the Cook Strait last week - but the forecast storm coming shortly after looked too bad sensibly to leave N.Z. to make for Hawaii, as I wanted to.... So here I am in Mana, at the very friendly, hospitable Mana Cruising Club, a short train ride north of Wellington, hoping to leave for Hawaii just as soon as a suitable weather window presents itself....

Well-known N.Z. weather 'guru' Bob McDavitt has kindly invited me to meet him for a tour of the NZ Met Office in Wellington tomorrow - and to look at the weather outlook for the next few days. Winter has set in here with a vengeance and nasty lows seem to be sweeping the country every few days. An added complication is the need to get the wind and tide right through the notorious Cook Strait. To head S through the Strait safely & avoid problems with overfalls etc, I need to avoid strong southerlies (a N wind is clearly to be preferred) and the tide must also be in the right direction through the narrowest part from here at Mana Island to Cape Terawhiti & on past the Karori Rip due west of Wellington Harbour entrance. The Cook Strait, with its highly irregular seabed making for nasty rips and overfalls, has a reputation akin to that of the Bass Strait and the Agulhas Current - to be treated with the utmost respect & not to be transited in the wrong weather conditions.

I arrived in Mana from the South Island, having come through the scenic, narrow French Pass in daylight from Nelson to Catherine Cove where I stopped overnight so as to make a daylight entry on a rising half-tide through the shallow entrance over the bar to Mana marina.... French Pass is another place where getting the tide right is vital. Like some passes in British Columbia, the spring tides here can cause whirlpools and it's highly dangerous to try to pass through against the tide - slack water is ideal for a relaxed transit!

  Approach to French Pass from Nelson   Anatakupu Island, on way N from French Pass.     View S to French Pass from Catherine Cove anchorage near sunset.     Ninepin Rock.     Chetwode Islands with Ninepin Rock.     View past Cape Jackson towards Cape Terawhiti across Cook Strait.  

I was delighted to see an occasional small penguin on my way and was joined by a Black-browed albatross for a short while, as well as seeing lots of sea ducks and two small groups of dolphins. Four handsome black-and-white Cape Petrels joined me in the middle of Cook Strait - where I was finally able to raise the mainsail & have a good, if short, sail towards Mana, having started the day motoring in a flat calm with just 1-3 knots of wind. Mana Island is a nature reserve and made for a very pleasant approach to Mana itself. The shallow, narrow, dog-legged entrance channel to Mana with its transits definitely concentrated my mind on coming in... As it was, the depth showed just 2.1m at one point (Nereida's draught is around 2m!) .... & I'd calibrated the depth instrument before leaving Nelson so I knew that was spot-on!!

The previous week in Nelson had been spent generally sorting out the boat after my long passage from Cape Town (62 days), trying to resolve ongoing reefing problems and making sure the rig was OK (helped by sailmaker John Heydon and rigger John Foulds), with time taken over provisioning for the passage to Hawaii and regular walks along the river to the lovely Nelson Library to catch up with emails and general Internet access in between meeting up with my relatives. I was happily surprised to get a visit, among several people who dropped by to say 'Hallo', from Annie Hill and Ulla Norlander - I hadn't realized they were in Nelson, which they'd decided was a good place to work on their 'new' boats, & they promptly invited me for a thoroughly enjoyable, sociable dinner before I left. (Nelson has a great micro-climate & a reputation as the calmest, sunniest spot in all of N.Z.!) It was on realizing a possible weather window had disappeared, with a bad storm forecast as imminent, that made me decide to sail to Mana on the Cook Strait as a positive step toward leaving N.Z. so as to retain my sanity .... There's nothing more frustrating than to be forever on the brink of leaving but then finding the weather has changed to prevent it.....
   View of D'Urville Island on way to French Pass from Nelson, in Tasman Bay

   Sunrise over North Island on way to Nelson past Farewell Spit, South Island - Cook Strait entrance close by to the South.
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30April - 16th May 2010: On through Bass Strait past Tasmania and across Tasman Sea to Nelson, South Island, New Zealand - Into the Pacific Ocean!!

30th April: Headed through Bass Strait in good winds (SW 20-25 knots overnight, 15-20 later) after heaving to several times in the stormy weather of the previous week while crossing the Great Australian Bight. I passed unexpectedly close to the gas platform 'Nyacine' near the edge of the shallow Bass Strait shelf and on past the shipping lanes off Wilson's Promontory by dawn... Not many ships around and none at all once I'd sailed on to between the Hogan and Kent Groups of islands north of Tasmania, since they all seemed to be hugging the coast whereas I was headed across the Tasman Sea. Amazing numbers of albatross were seen for a day or so as I passed north of the Kent island group. Also Mutton birds - smallish birds, dark on top, white underneath, who seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time underwater, occasionally coming to the surface where they pattered across the water with stumpy wings beating furiously, before diving under again.

I gradually found myself chatting on the HF radio to a lot of people from Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand which made life on board very sociable. It got to the point where I needed to write out my daily 'contact list' to avoid missing a 'sched' in between all-important (non-computer) weatherfax downloads!! I chatted to Mary Kay of Smithtown Radio on 4483 every night all the way over to N.Z. after she'd given out the weather (she was the one who identified the 'Mutton birds' for me & told me all about them) - and then I usually found Coast Radio Hobart and others coming up on frequency for a chat also! Allan of America River Radio on Kangaroo Island also kept in daily contact from Tasmania to N.Z. and gave me lots of useful weather info for my passage. Occasional check-ins with Tony's Net in N.Z. led to chats with various other people in Oz and N.Z. also. I was in constant contact with Graham, ZL2ABN, the Wellington Winlink sysop (himself a sailor) both by email and finally on HF radio. He has been extremely helpful in contacting people in N.Z. for me - initially to see if I could stop without a food problem (I needed to know that my long-term stores wouldn't be confiscated if I were to stop for a short visit - MAF in Nelson were very understanding and said they could seal in a secure place until I left those items they might otherwise take away) and, once my stop here was agreed, he contacted lots of others to organize things ahead of my arrival... I'm really grateful for all the help I've had from him - Thanks a lot for all your time and effort, Graham!!

It's turned out to be a good thing I decided to stop here in Nelson in order to get a variety of important items seen to - including more rigging and ongoing sail problems (...!), a first engine service for my new engine ..... and, unexpectedly, a replacement needing to be sent for the vane on my windsteering gear which I found broken off a few days out from Nelson. Graham also found a Nelson Ham, Brian ZL3BCO, to look at my 'dead' computers and fix the connector on a dodgy 12V charger - so one laptop at least is now functioning fine and I'm able to email from onboard again - thanks so very much for that, Brian! Another 'Thank you' is due to Nelsonian Peter Halifax of 'Electronic Solutions' who very kindly gave freely of his time to mend corroded connectors both on my VHF radio in the cockpit and also on a handheld GPS. (I've had a lot of kind words from well-wishers here in Nelson, especially after the local paper splashed a photo of me on their front page...!!) I also want to give a big 'Thank you' to Graham Griggs, ZS2ABK, of the South African Maritime Mobile Net who daily posted my position and weather reports to the Winlink website all the way to New Zealand from text messages I sent him daily using my satphone, so everyone would know where I was and that I was safe while my computers were down. Also I'd like to thank the friends who sent me text messages to my Iridium phone - those were lovely to receive when I couldn't get emails! (Unfortunately some didn't give me a phone number to reply to...) And, of course, I also want to thank Bryan, who has made such a great job of my website over the last few years, for posting occasional news to my website when I was unable to.... My cryptic, abbreviated text messages got quite challenging for him to interpret at times!

My crossing of the Tasman Sea from Australia to New Zealand was almost without incident - just one cold front halfway across causing a bit of a problem with NNE winds at 25-30 knots for 2 days. I hove to for a very short while when the wind strengthened to 30-39 knots & was forecast to be stronger, with nasty, short, steep seas and was then able to sail on once things had calmed down, with the wind backing first to SW & then to SE. (The seas crashing onto us caused pasta to jump & be spilled everywhere out of two containers in the galley & I spent several days finding lots of pasta shapes in different places!) Mostly, I was fortunate to have good sailing winds, lots of sunshine and lots of birds for company as usual - but different ones: Grey-headed & Black-browed Albatrosses.... and two days from landfall, I was thrilled to see a pair of New Zealand Wandering Albatrosses around 'Nereida" for a time.
       Cape Petrel soars past "Nereida"

New Zealand is the 'Land of the Long White Cloud' - and I felt privileged on my last complete day offshore, with the sun shining from a clear blue sky overhead, to see a long line of white clouds over land in the distance... I looked through my binoculars and was amazed to see high mountains above and below the line of clouds .... What a landfall!! (It's my first visit here.) To cap my feelings, several beautiful Cape Petrels turned up to keep me company for the rest of the day, to add to the big flock of prions & several albatrosses & other petrels I already had nearby.... I was exhilarated,... ecstatic ..... singing out loud for joy!! Overnight, I headed around Cape Farewell & the long sandy Farewell Spit, and as Day 62 from Cape Town dawned, with a cloudless sky & beautiful sunrise over North Island in the distance, I made my way south towards Nelson, already visible in the distance...... Greetings, New Zealand!

......................................................................................................................................................................

Mon-Sun 10th-16th May 2010 Notes from Port Nelson Marina, South Island, New Zealand

Mon 10th May
10 o'clock - tied up alongside tug for Customs and MAF paperwork - 6-mth visa (standard) plus form to exempt boat purchases from GST. Calm & sunny day. On to marina berth D22. Ambled over to nearby chandler to look around & on to organize timing of pre-arranged engine service. Cousin Stephen arrived in afternoon - he hadn't realized it was me he'd watched coming in to the marina earlier! Took me to my aunt's place - fresh fish&chips on way - lovely!

Tuesday 11th May
Laundry!! Cousins and aunt came by to see boat in morning. Interviewed by 'Nelson Mail' plus photographs - publication on Wednesday.
Graham (ZL2ABN) arrived to help with jobs on board. Also Brian, ZL3BCO, came to take computers to see if repairs possible... and 12V charger for repair of connection to PC.
John (sailmaker) came to check sails and discuss reefing problems and broken battens - need to replace several broken ones and change position of cuts in sailcover to re-position 1st & 2nd reefing lines where tied around boom.

Wednesday 12th May
Brian brought computers back - one is now fine. Also brought Nelson Mail and the local Ham Radio club's Newsletter - in which he (as President) had printed photos of 'Nereida' coming in towards Nelson on Monday, from AIS screen!!
Engine first service carried out. Hydrovane vane arrived. Graham R. placed ferrites on variety of leads to attempt to stop interference from AP and instruments and also from Iridium on SSB radio. Checked Winlink on radio and downloaded emails outstanding. Later, walked over to chandlers & on into town for Internet - having problems with slow connection, failing to get laptop online to download emails.
Heavy rain and strong gusty wind overnight.

Thursday 13th May
Peter repaired VHF radio connection at helm - had corroded power terminals. Took handheld GPS unit away to see if repairable - corroded metal in battery compartment from leaking battery. Refused payment ... very kind. Gave me lift into town to see about seeing to mobile phone/NZ simcard - new NZ simcard bought.
Library for Internet... slow! Walked back & on over to Tasman Bay Cruising Club - very welcoming.
Back to boat - rigger John was waiting & was highly impressed both by my lovely seaboots and the red ski socks I was wearing - a feature of Kiwi sailors after Peter Blake set a trend, he said. The genoa foot shackle was replaced - pin had gone when retaining ring disappeared. Other rigging issues looked at - split pin gone from clevis pin at foot of lower shroud on starboard side, emergency forestay needs fixing, some shroud tensions need adjusting & there's chafe on 1st & 2nd reef lines at exit sheaves in for'd end of boom - sheave edges seem to be too sharp.

Friday 14th May
Heavy rain on & off over night and day... Library for Internet - too slow to achieve much... Went & bought new cellphone - old one misbehaving. Sail battens replaced but sailcover couldn't be cut for reeflines 1 & 2 because raining too heavily all day long.. hoping to do on Sunday.
To Tasman Bay Cruising Club with aunt and cousins for meal - lots of people there, all very pleasant & friendly.

Saturday 15th May
Cousins drove up from Christchurch to visit me on boat - had good long chat. Spotted leaking overhead hatch - very wet bedding ... needed drying out... useful to have loan of electric fan heater for that. Too wet for rigging jobs to be finished, postponed re-fuelling to Monday for same reason. Stocked up with lots of the 'Back Country' dehydrated meals I'd heard several good reports of, in readiness for my 6-7 month 'around' repeat attempt from Victoria B.C. later this year. Got them mainly at the outdoor store 'Mountain Designs' where Manager Mike kindly gave me a good discount . Then took time off for a small tour by car of countryside around Nelson, including Trass Valley area where family had been brought up, & saw some other relatives I'd never met.
Back on board to get on with jobs over the evening - but totally sidetracked by visit from friendly Richard McBride who came along waving a bottle & suggesting a pizza, but who then stayed for a long, thoroughly enjoyable, 'sailing-stories' chat, ending with going off to nearby 'Anchor' for a lovely meal of Marlborough mussels.... Back to try to catch up on jobs, but no joy - postponed to Sunday!!

Sunday 16th May
More heavy rain overnight and day.... I'm being told it's unusual...!!! Discussion with Graham of timing of possible French Pass transit towards Cook Strait over Tuesday/Wednesday for leaving N.Z. towards Hawaii. I'd hoped S winds would have died away by then - but late morning heard that weather forecast is for strong S winds into late Tuesday/Wed ... so now definitely being held up by weather... will see what forecast is later today. Still several jobs to do onboard but will be frustrating if weather stops me from leaving for several days now. Trying hard to get this 'blog' (finally!) written up - about to head into town to Library which I believe is open for Internet now... then on, in cousin Vivien's car, to supermarket for provisioning ready for leaving - whenever that might be..... 

(Postman got lost...!)

Crossing the Bass Strait, north of Tasmania.. lovely moonlit night... Southern Cross high overhead... seas calmer after strong (30-40knot) winds of past few days. 
Hove to midnight Tuesday for 16 hours - 5m seas washing the decks & crashing into us frequently!!
Bumpy...but OK - I read a lot and took refuge in my bunk!
Repaired autopilot yet again - keeps coming loose on rudder stock.
Was prepared to wait to get aross the shallow Bass Strait - now have a 2-day weather window... wind 25-30knots so making good speed (150miles today!) ..seas still 4m - the birds love it when the seas are rough!!
Still seeing albatross and prions but also saw my first gannet here today.
Weather forecast shows I might run out of wind coming Sunday/Monday as I begin to cross the Tasman Sea to New Zealand...

(Posted from Nelson N.Z. after safely arriving this morning (10th May) .... will post report of crossing and arrival as soon as I can get to Internet...

Saturday 24th April  2010

Recovering from storm last night - 14 hours of steep, 6 metre swell, wind 35-46kt with occasional lull to 28 kt.  No sleep.  Seas calming down now, at 7pm, but still big.  Sailing gently. 

Australian Coast guard plane flew by at noon.  Called me on VHF - but called "Ella's Pink Lady".  I asked him to let me know where she was when he located her. He came back and reported that she is 56 ml to my NNW.   My worries confirmed - we must have crossed paths in the stormy weather of the last few days but at least I now know she's safely astern of me.  Like me, her team will have wanted her to be north to avoid the centre  of the low and the worst of the weather. More cold fronts coming Monday and Wednesday with strong winds.

Saturday 17th April 2010

South of Cape Leeuwin, crossing Great Australian Bight. 

Replaced the rudder on the Hydrovane in flat calm -  celebrated with beautiful shower!  Also wired the shackles I've put in place on the genoa foot to the Furlex to overcome problem of shackle pin having gone missing.

Calm overnight but NNE 12kt wind soon after dawn. Sailing nicely - despite weather forecast!   Making for New Zealand for a brief stop in Nelson.   Windstrength is fine.
 

Thursday 15th April 2010

Ella's Pink Lady and Nereida

I’ve had quite a few messages about having got close to Jessica now I’m near to Australia on my way to NW America from Capetown.

Jess sent me a very nice email in February to say how sorry she was to hear of the repairs needed in Capetown and asked me to email her when I left so we could talk on HF / SSB radio as we both sailed east.

While my computer was still working, I was able to email her several times wishing her well and giving her my position. But I never received a reply. So for over 5 weeks now we have not made contact.

I don’t have her sat phone number, though she has mine.  Unless she or one of her team calls or texts me, I have no way of finding out her position or how she is getting on.  She could be close by just over the horizon for all I know!

It would have been fun to chat and compare notes every so often, as we both sailed across the Southern Ocean. If she still wants to make contact, my phone is always on.

I wish Jess and all her backup team the very best and hope she has a successful completion back in Sidney very soon.

Jeanne
Nereida
15th April, 0300 UTC
Position 38 38 S 110 25 E

PS How is Abby doing?

Sunday 11th April 2010

Just a reminder, if you would like a return text from Jeanne, please remember to include your cell phone number in the text you send her from Iridium's website!

Jeanne is currently hove to in 30-40kt winds awaiting a storm to finish. Her autopilot has failed, and she will work on it when things calm down.

Monday 5th April 2010

2 dead computers means that Jeanne has NO EMAIL capability, but her positions continue to be posted daily. Tasmania is 2500 miles away and she is making excellent progress towards San Francisco for the start of the Transpac Single-Handed race to Hawaii in June.

She can receive text messages on her Satellite phone at +881631641746 (free from www.iridium.com) and her SSB is working!

Maundy Thursday 1st April (Day24)

Easter Greetings!

I hear the daffodils are out in England! Here, there's a murky grey overcast - and definitely no daffodils!! But we did set a speed record on 'Nereida' last night in strong conditions... sailing 104 mls in 13h 40m, giving an average speed of 7.6 knots over the period! We were regularly making over 8 knots with double-reefed main, although I have to admit I was forever on the verge of taking in the 3rd reef.... but kept waiting to see how we fared - OK, in fact! Conditions got rather rough with the continuing strong wind making for a good-sized swell but nothing too bad. I bore away (came off the wind) a touch, to make life a little more pleasant. This morning, we're back down to just 18-20 knots of wind and a more sedate 7 knots of speed - which is very acceptable! I'm still waiting for a cold front to pass by which will put us on to a starboard tack - should be sometime today. It will give a windshift to SW from the present NNW, although I'm hoping the windshift will be more gradual than the usual sudden one...

I forgot to mention that while I was putting in the 2nd reef strop on Wed, the topping lift, which had just beforehand come loose & was flying wildly all over the place in the wind & swell, came close enough for me to grab .... Most unusual - it's normally impossible to get hold of once it's come away from the boom end but I was perched up high in the cockpit, leaning over the boom tying in the strop at the time, so I was lucky for a change. The topping lift is now safely stowed at the mast, ready for possible use as a trysail halyard.

Good Friday 2nd April (Day 25)

Well, we certainly got that windshift yesterday afternoon. I was at the mast looking carefully at the two reef lines 1&2 leading from the boom, wondering what exactly to do about the chafe there, as the wind got lighter and lighter... Then it started drizzling. I'd centred the main because the boom was flopping around in the swell & light wind and had managed to gybe the genoa by changing course slightly to put the wind aft. I let out the full genoa, released the portside running backstay & prepared the starboard one, ready for the expected gybe on to starboard tack... and then realized the wind was backing and building rapidly..... very rapidly!! I had to winch fast to furl in all & more of the genoa that I'd just let out.... and then more... The wind built to around 30knots from the S and we were making good speed (very!) on a broad reach under double-reefed main. Initially, I didn't reef the main further ... but with the boat being so often knocked over by strong gusts & the big seas that soon built up, together with the uncomfortable heeling all the time, I realized I had to. As usual, it took a time and a lot of effort, but finally it was done, in time for nightfall and an uncomfortable night of crashing about and seas breaking on deck... I decided not to tension the kicker as much as before so as to leave the boom higher - I had seen it touch the water at least once when we were knocked around by the steep-sided waves, so a higher boom seemed eminently sensible!

The birds, a different albatross among them, certainly enjoyed the conditions, unlike me! I cannot say I spent a comfortable night, For a start, I'd allowed myself to get soaked yet again and wet hair doesn't dry too well around here (air temperature is down to 16C) and clothes hung up to dry that I picked to change into were, I found, still very damp. But I did go & find some lovely dry thick fleeces so now I'm warm. (I'm writing this cosily tucked up in my bunk, listening to music!) It's so difficult moving around safely to do anything, even just crossing the cabin to get to the chart table, in such strong conditions - It's "two hands for the boat"... not the usual "one hand ..."!

I was absolutely delighted when I found a bumper load of 'post' with Easter greetings and news from friends in my email Inbox later on .... Thank you so much for those lovely emails - I'll reply over this weekend - but they really cheered me up just when I badly needed it!

One problem overnight was my course - with a S-SSE wind, I was forced to head ENE-NE ... and, quite close to that course, I suddenly spotted Ile St Paul - less than 100 miles away. Fortunately, we were able to make a course of 070T which kept the little French island a good 50 miles away at its closest today - but I kept checking until we had passed it..... The bigger, nearby island of Amsterdam, also French, is another 50miles further N. Both important bird nesting places. The wind is expected to shift more to the SW, maybe W, over tomorrow, so then I'll be able to head more S & get back nearer to 40S which in turn would keep a couple of high pressure areas to N of me, which would give me a good wind direction for heading E. (As I wrote that, there was a loud 'crash' & the whole boat shuddered and jumped, as it was hit by a wave crest..! ....water rushing all over the decks...!)

Good distances covered in these strong conditions! But all jobs are on hold, waiting for calmer conditions!

Noon-to-noon (UTC!) distances covered (DMG: distance-made-good) (see 'Travels' page on website for link to my track on Google Earth)

Thursday: 168 n.ml.
Friday: 141 n.ml.

Tues/Wed 30/31 March 2010 (Days 22&23)

Wednesday.... Another beautiful day until late afternoon, following a bright, moonlit night.... of really pleasant sailing! I've been busy sail trimming, on & off, since before a lovely dawn this morning (Venus high up in E, full moon about to set in W), with wind up and down, trying to keep our speed up... I'm enjoying the warmth with not too big a swell, under a sunny sky. Lovely .... but no birds yesterday and just a couple of White-chinned Petrels today..... I think they all prefer the strong wind and waves, so they can soar on the updraughts...!

Magnetic variation around here is immense. It went up to 47W on Sunday & has just started to go down now - to 46W. Means that when I see a N swell, looking at the ship's compass, it's actually coming from the NW... that's quite a difference!

I'm now trying to get to the Start line of the Single-Handed TransPac Race to Hawaii in June, having had to pull in to Cape Town for repairs after 2 months at sea on my previous nonstop circumnavigation attempt - re-start now planned for October. I just heard that the North California PHRF have given "Nereida" (a Najad 380) a rating of 123. Similar-sized and rated boats are the Catalina 380 and Ericson 38 at 120, Cal 39 and Gibsea 42 at 123, and Beneteau 35S5 at 126. Interesting that they've rated us level with the Cal 39. Chances are slim that I'll make that start line (it's a long way from Cape Town - half the world & well over 13,000 mls!)... but I'm trying! By the time I get close to Hawaii on the way north, I'll know how I'm doing... but in the meantime, this is an excellent test run for "Nereida" - the job list is being made ready for eventual landfall!

One ongoing problem has been bad radio noise with the autopilot in use. (Being unable to use my windsteering gear until I can get the rudder back in place is really bad news ... It was so good on the way down from the Canaries through the S. Atlantic and power consumption is nil... so there's no radio interference problem!!) My radio transmission, I'm told, is excellent, having gone to great lengths to organize a good ground on the system when the boat was in build, so it's really frustrating not to be able to hear people on 14316 kHz and certain other frequencies, when they can hear me so clearly! I'd specified twisted, shielded wire to be used in the AP cable runs to avoid exactly this problem.... something to look at again... not there..? When I turned off the AP while Roy, VK6BO, was transmitting from Perth yesterday, it cleared the noise on frequency almost completely & I could hear him quite well...... but in strong conditions, unless I heave to, I can't afford to leave the AP off for any length of time. Stymied!

A fresh problem that appeared yesterday, on letting out the first reef in light winds - I noticed that the 2nd reef line was badly chafed in a place that did not allow me to just pull a section through to avoid the problem -the line is just not long enough... so I have to try to pull another reef line through the boom ... not something I fancy in mid-ocean but it has to be done sometime soon...... In case it gives way when in use in the meantime, when putting in the 2nd reef this morning, I used a strop to tie in the cringle, so I could, as is my habit now, release the tension on the reef line, and I also rigged a short 'emergency' reef line to reach from the cringle to the boom, so I've something to use to pull the reef down if needed. "Oh, what fun ....the life on the ocean wave... tra-la...!!" Always something to keep me busy...!! And people think I get bored with nothing to do out here...!!! Only problem with pulling a new reef line through the boom is that it requires pulling out the old one ... If the join goes, I'm stuck with my emergency system alone.... I'm not rushing into it just now...!! Pity it's not feasible to have a 'mouse' (spare thin line) running through the boom ready.... New thought.... How about attaching a mouse line to near the chafed area (which is near for'd end of boom) so that if it goes, it takes the 'mouse' into the boom with it... Hmmm...!! I wonder..... Worth looking into.... LATER: Bad news! It's not only the 2nd reef line, but also the 1st reef line, that's chafing - on the small sheaves' quite sharp edges, where they exit from the for'd end of the boom, because of the angle of the lines down to the mast base, it seems.... Two 'mice' will be needed.... fairly urgently. I must see if I can change the leads of those lines somehow.... A good thing both reefs have strops in place, taking the tension off those lines at present.... and today was such a lovely day..... Damn....

Jobs still waiting...
The steering cable is making a slight squeaking noise at the turning sheave below pedestal - to be lubricated.
Oil levels to be checked on Genset and main engine.
Sender wire to tachometer, at back of alternator on 'w' terminal, to be checked to see if loose.

Noon-to-noon DMG:
Tuesday: 151 n.ml.
Wednesday: 170 n.ml. !!

Monday 29th March - NNW of Kerguelen Island - More albatrosses, the usual White-Chinned Petrels and a small flock of prions, among others...!

I'd never heard of Prions until I got my new birdbook on birds of the oceans ('Albatrosses, Petrels & Shearwaters of the World' - a great book!) in Cape Town. Alex on 'Berrimilla' recommended it as he & Pete headed down the S. Atlantic to the north of me in December. I kept giving him descriptions of birds I was seeing & he tried his best to tell me what it might be. Now that I've the book, I can see just how difficult that is .... such a lot of very similar birds, you just can't be sure what exactly they are most times..... But NOT so in the case of the Antarctic Prions I've been seeing so much of today, close to me!! There were 20-30 of them, wings beating fast, then soaring, close to the water and then up..., behaving quite unlike the far bigger juvenile Wandering Albatross gliding among them. That was distinctive by its size & its dark upper parts and white face - unmistakable (although it might be an Amsterdam Island Albatross adult...!!)!

I'm not that far from Kerguelen and Heard Islands (~560 & 830 n.ml to my S) and Amsterdam Island is ~580 n.ml. ENE of here ... Islands where many of these birds breed. I've not seen the Yellow-Nosed albatross for a time now - just these enormous Wandering Albatrosses - this morning there was a pair (Snowy or New Zealand Albatross?),,, and this juvenile - a family, I wondered? All the Albatrosses are said to range over long distances - all the Southern Ocean, in fact. Horrific numbers are slaughtered still by (illegal) fishing methods around here - let's hope they don't become extinct as a result of man's greed, as could so easily happen - that would be unforgiveable.

It's been a very pleasant day of relaxing sailing, with little swell, under almost full canvas, the wind shifting from S to NNE overnight, as a high pressure system passed over bringing almost no wind (I actually motored for several hours, very slowly), and then backed to NNW. Unusually, I ate in the cockpit late this afternoon, it was so pleasant - good to enjoy the moment & study the birds all around.

I'm expecting a cold front to come by soon - that also brings an often-dramatic windshift with it - usually from NNW to SSW. So, seeing a bank of grey cloud on the horizon, I decided to take in the 2nd reef with night falling - then to find the weather (grib) files are forecasting lighter winds over tonight & tomorrow, from an extended high pressure area to the north of me... Oh well ... better to be safe than sorry...! We're still making 7 knots or more in NNW4-5 (~17kt), so all's fine for now (8pm local time)... 40S seems to be the 'magic' latitude for keeping out of both the worst of the high pressure systems' no-wind areas to the N and the really strong winds and associated cold fronts of the depressions to the S, which come by on a frequent basis every few days (Wednesday could see strong winds as I 'catch' the top end of the expected low & its cold front). Keeps me busy with sail trimming, gybing and tacking pretty often!

Sunday was notable for the impressive pair of Wandering Albatrosses with white body & white splashes on their dark wings, the usual grey overcast skies - & excellent overnight and morning speeds (6-7+ kt) in good SSW wind, with a building SW swell. But as the high pressure area came over, the wind dropped - by late evening to 6 kt. I'd removed the broken batten in the morning, well before needing to change tack - it slid out easily while the 2nd reef was in but now the question is whether to try to replace it after cleaning/smoothing off the broken end (but how would I keep it in place? Sew the batten pocket end closed??) or leave it out. I'll see how the sail behaves without it & decide later - no rush.

29March 17:00 UTC:
40*07'S, 065*46'E
COG: 090T, SOG: 7.3 kt
WIND: NNW 18kt
BARO: 1018mb
AIR: 20C, SEA: 15C

Noon-to-noon distances:

Sunday: 146n.ml.
Monday: 115nml (poor overnight wind)

25-27th March 2010 (Days 17-19) HAPPY EASTER!!

Saturday 1230 local time = 0830 GMT Ambling along goose-winged downwind at 4-5 kt in wind from W at 8-10kt

Decided to pause for breakfast (brunch/lunch??!) and treat myself to some grapefruit juice (it's a Holiday weekend, isn't it?) ... but still jobs to do. The main one is dealing with a broken batten, spotted this morning in the grey of a wet, misty dawn... Broken near the mast, where it's unsupported & uncovered over a small section aft of the batten end holder before it enters a now-slightly-torn batten pocket... the same place as the two broken before I arrived in Cape Town. I'd had the battens replaced with new stronger ones in CT but clearly the design of the forward batten-end holder area needs a re-think. It's clearly not up to the job when the boat is being knocked about in swell in light winds - as overnight, when I motor-sailed gently for a few hours. Although the boom is invariably either on a preventer or centred, depending on the point of sail, the sail still flaps at times as we roll in a larger wave in light winds.

So I climbed a short distance up the mast to try to push the end in (sticking out a good foot or so (30cm)) ... having to time my efforts with the swell. I put pressure tape around the splintered end, tying myself to the mast to do so, and tried again... I could get it in so far, but just not enough. Re-think... Then it suddenly occurred to me that if I couldn't get the batten in properly, so it stayed in securely, I wouldn't be able to tack the sail around without almost certain damage to it as the batten broke more, which I'd expect, or maybe rip the sail if it didn't break. I was going to have to remove the batten completely.... not easy ... and it's long...!!

Other little jobs: tidying up lines in the cockpit, re-routing a chafing 'tie-down' for a running backstay , re-attaching a staysail sheet, tightening a lazyjack ... generally checking around for unforeseen problems & tidying up....

A new problem I came across while motor-sailing overnight was finding the rev counter on the engine display panel was no longer working - a pain, that, because I want only to motor gently, at minimal revs ... Will have to be done by sound of motor & positioning of gear lever now, unless I can fix it.... Add that to the joblist!

Thursday & Friday were notable for lack of birds around, in grey, sometimes rainy, conditions (just like today) as we made slow to reasonable speed in shifty, variable winds, mainly from the N quadrant. With less strong winds, the swell gradually lay down, but is always there. Thursday afternoon & early evening, for a few hours, we did very well in stronger winds - NNW 14-18kt - making over 8 knots at times ... but then the wind died down, to 8 knots! And last night, around midnight, the wind went SE from ENE & died right down to 4 knots - the reason for the engine being started for a time!

I tried to download weatherfaxes from Wiluna, Australia, but no radio reception - too far away still, clearly.

Sea temperature is mainly down at 17C & air feels damp all the time (humidity 82%) - 'dry' clothes are damp to the touch - but air temp is 22C and with little wind, it doesn't feel too cold - but I am in my ski socks and fleece layers..!

Well, I'll finish my brunch with a boiled egg (the nearest I'll get to celebrating Easter!) and then deal with cooking a meal (a 'hash') in the pressure cooker for the next few days. Unless I get cooking before nightfall, I've not been inclined to do so .... After my ratatouille was finished, I've been making use of biltong (S. African dried meat), nuts, dried fruit, biscuits and crunchy oatmeal bars - all very healthy but not the same as a hot, cooked meal. This afternoon's job is to try to sort out that batten .... No rush, since winds are supposed to stay W-SW, and light, for next day or so, gradually backing to S-SSE over Sunday, so I expect to stay on this starboard tack for a while yet, but it's best to be prepared so as not to get caught out...

Oh yes ... seems my back-up 'cooked & doused' computer is playing 'dead' - hopefully just a battery problem, since it doesn't seem to want to accept charge - and I don't have a spare battery...

Just before 4pm (local time) today,(1200 UTC), the wind backed to the SSW and strengthened... I put in the 2nd reef - that might help in removal of the broken batten which is also now easier to reach. With the stronger wind and clearer sky, the birds have appeared again ... petrels, an albatross and prions (possibly - ID still unsure!). Nice to see some blue sky & the sun. And it's also nice to see the waxing moon appear toward evening - getting quite large now.

Noon-to-noon distances :

Thursday 25Mar10: 146 n.ml.
Friday 26Mar10: 127 n.ml.
Saturday 27Mar10: 100 n.ml. (L-shaped course with wind shifts...)

(Positions/track shown on Google Earth accessed via 'Travels' page on website)

Tuesday 23March - was notable for quite a few events... one of which was a lesson in chemistry ... I learned that when silicon rubber burns, it turns to a fine white ash - silicon dioxide, maybe? I was cooking some ratatouille in the pressure cooker (not for the pressure, but for safety) and moved it over to the small burner - which just wouldn't light... I tried several times, puzzled, ... finally it lit. (Bear in mind, it was night-time and I had minimal lighting on in the cabin.) But a few moments later, I saw thick smoke pouring up from the back of the stove... What was going on?? ....
I realized something was amiss inside the stove .... and on opening the door, soon saw that a silicon rubber steamer, stored on the stove floor, was on fire... It was touching the gas burner... which I turned off... but it kept on burning.... Thick, thick fumes rose up ... so I hurriedly opened the sliding hatch nearby and the galley portlight directly above to let the fumes out. Fortunately, it wasn't too rough at the time so the portlight seemed a safe thing to open.
I was able to pick up the flaming item using a knife and ladle, get it into the sink close by and douse it with water..... fine white ash everywhere... but no harm done... or was there?
Inside the oven, I always kept my spare computer and various other spare electronic items ... "The oven acts as a Faraday cage in case of lightning strikes," I was always telling people, "So put electronic items in the oven and they'll be safe. But, obviously, you've to be careful not to light the oven with them inside..." Tell me!!!! In trying to light the small burner, on the right-hand side of the cooker, I'd unwittingly turned the furthest right-hand knob ... & lit the oven! I hurriedly removed the laptop and an oven baking dish with a handheld GPS unit in it.... They might be OK, I thought, since there were two large metal sheets shielding them from the flames and they didn't seem overly warm...
As I was beginning to sort out the mess, a spurious wave crashed into the boat... water came through the open portlight ... and landed partly onto the laptop... Oh, no!! Fate laughing at me, as usual?? I grabbed some paper towels and hopefully dried it off as best I could....
But this was just the evening entertainment . .. there'd also been plenty going on in the early morning of Tuesday to keep the Gods amused..... A reefing marathon, in fact....
Monday had been a really uncomfortable, grey day. We were headed into big lumpy seas and NNE winds, unable to quite make our course & falling off waves which got bigger as the day progressed - difficult to do anything much except hang on tight, maybe stay in my bunk for safety and try not to get hurt when moving anywhere. The only good thing about the day was the realization that the really big, solitary albatross I'd seen for several days, Monday included, was definitely a Wandering Albatross and almost certainly a Snowy Albatross by the distinctive white patches on its dark upper wings. I'd also named the pair of dark, white-rumped, sparrow-sized storm petrels that danced and flitted on the water surface, wing-tips constantly getting wet - Wilson's Petrel. The small group of blue-grey & white, fast-flying middle-sized birds that came by occasionally, with a distinctive black 'M' on their upper wings, were either Antarctic Prions or Blue Petrels - but I need to look at tail feathers and underparts more carefully next time to be sure which one.
So as we moved into Tuesday, around dawn, it was still grey, with rainclouds around, & we were still falling off waves - 'banging horribly', I noted in my log - but we were making good speed: SOG 7.2knots. Just over an hour or so later, the wind suddenly backed - from NNE to NNW to NW ...and went light: from 19kt .. to 10 kt.. and then 6 kt ... "Wind's dying, as forecast," I thought... and let out the full genoa, winching it in hard because we were still on a close reach, but fortunately waiting before shaking out the two reefs in the mainsail... I went down below to make a log entry but soon realized the wind was getting up... and up...
So back on deck to furl in the genoa - a lot! - and some staysail... The wind was now up to 24 knots true, meaning an even higher apparent wind, and we were heeling like mad. It was tough, slow going, furling in the sails, and took me a long time, not helped by the angle of heel. When finished, we were still heeling way too much -nothing for it but to take in the third reef - never easy... I decided to run off downwind a bit, to ease the heeling by reducing the apparent wind, but that didn't make reefing any easier. Release the kicker... & mainsheet... start dropping the sail... Damn! ... it's getting caught in the downwind lazyjack... go to the mast & release the lazyjack - good news and bad news .. The sail's not getting caught in it anymore - that's good.. but it's also not being supported anymore - not so good! Taking in the 3rd reef always takes me a time, especially downwind, pulling in both lines to take up the slack as the halyard is slowly eased .. but eventually it was done... and the reef cringle was tied in with a strop to prevent chafe on the reef line. Then I tried to tie in the big loose slab of sail with two sail ties ... difficult...! ....And tighten the lazyjack - not so easy either, with the slab of sail falling off to one side... but at least we could come back on course & felt more in control. The wind had, by now, veered into the north ... There was a large,dirty grey raincloud close by. "The cause of the problem?" I thought.. but the wind stayed up all morning, by midday easing a touch to 20 knots. I'd shipped quite a lot of water from the big waves that an increasing wind always builds up, a lot down my neck (where was that sou'wester?!) and was soaked again ... but found some nearly-dry gear to change into. Well over two hours had passed by....!! (I'd easily missed the 0630 UTC SSB radio call!)

Wednesday: The wind has been fairly consistent throughout the day at NNW, but down from the 16-18kt of late yesterday evening, to around just 8-10 knots all day from before dawn. So the seas have lain down and I've been able to clear up yesterday's mess in the oven, open up and dry out the computer (not too much water got inside so there's hope there yet) and try to dry and wash some clothes... Anyone who's seen "Nereida" of late will know how many lines I've strung up across the main cabin - all in good use now for drying lots of damp or wet gear! And my short piece of 'preventer' line under the boom makes an excellent washing line, if conditions permit - as today!

The moon is up in a starry sky throwing a path of light across the sea to "Nereida". Upside-down Orion is in full view & Sirius, in its 'Dog' constellation, is high up, seas are calm... but we're slowing down gradually (wind now is only 8kt and veering more to the N). It's a lovely night... not too cold... Is it the layers I'm wearing... or have I acclimatized??

Noon-to-noon distances:
Monday 22nd March: 70 n.ml. (big tacks against E wind)
Tuesday 23rd March: 156 n.ml. (good wind strengths!)
Wednesday 24th March: 137 n.ml. (reducing wind strength over period)

Position at 2200UTC Wed: 39*06'S, 052*52'E

Sat/Sun 20/21 Mar (Days 12&13)

Made excellent progress in the Southern Ocean during Saturday, often at over 8 knots, heading East in company with a variety of albatrosses & petrels flying magnificently around "Nereida" - skimming close to the waves, then soaring high in the air currents, with hardly ever a flap of their wings!! A beautiful sight - I keep watching them for long times at a stretch! (Using new bird book a lot!)

Reefed down (yet again!) to 3rd reef, as night fell, bringing increasing wind...& then went to change out of my thoroughly wet gear from breaking seas splashing all over me... I went to get dry clothes from an aft cabin locker but found my 'dry' underclothes were all sopping wet ... water clearly leaking in from somewhere. Next, I managed to turn on the tap in the head basin when I went to hang up wet stuff nearby - didn't realize until way later.... so had a load of mopping up to do! (Next day, found aft cabin leak seems to be coming in via opening portlight - gasket sealing the glass onto the surround when closed clearly not fitting well enough since lots of water drops seen on inside of glass.)

Sea temp went down from 23C to 17C overnight on Saturday - so boat was noticeably colder.... I'm in my fleeces and ski socks... and enjoying hot soup - last of tasty home-made pumpkin ...must make some more...!! But later, having headed a little more north, temp was back up to over 21C and has so far stayed around that (early Mon morning, it's 21.4C)

Swell got up more again on Saturday, and overnight, but it was calmer on Sun. High pressure suddenly came over us midnight Sat/Sun bringing expectation of lighter, more easterly winds over Sunday. Had to head NE for a time, in SSE winds, & then NNE-N as the wind backed more, later having to tack around to the south in ENE wind to keep some kind of easterly heading on average. Winds were thoroughly variable over Sunday evening and night but by Monday morning they finally settled into fairly steady NNE4-5 (~15knots) - so we were able to make a good speed - and were heading East at last, although in very lumpy conditions caused by opposing swells - from NE and also from SW.

I've been reading instrument manuals - just got into 'Windvane' mode for AP - so can use AP like my windsteering gear -to steer by the wind direction.. and getting into 'Auto Tack' next..should prove useful for coping better with the sheets of the two headsails when tacking!

Found a shackle had gone missing from a preventer line block on the port quarter... fortunately, my spares had one of the right size, so problem quickly resolved.

Sunday morning, I had the last of my fresh blueberries and also had the last of some fresh mushrooms in an omelette that evening, with another baby 'Gem' squash for starter - still several of those left - they keep well.

Noon-to-noon DMG: Sat 20th: 147n.ml. Sun 21st: 137 n.ml.

Friday 19th March Suddenly - peace & calm!

The usual crashing around all morning..... some sun in between white clouds.... Then, at lunchtime, a major rain squall, with a big wind shift to SW, followed by rain on & off all afternoon... I'm sitting here at tea-time, with a mug of tea in my hand, munching away at a slice of Dundee (rich fruit) cake - very British!! It's suddenly become really peaceful and almost calm - no violent crashing into or off waves ... the wind shifting to SW from W has made all the difference... we're now heading due E easily, just off a beam reach - excellent news! When we bounce along gently, I know we're sailing well - often fast...

There have been a lot of birds around, as though they like the rainy weather of this afternoon... a pair of Yellow-nosed albatross, a dozen White-Chinned Petrels, another different albatross, a pair of Storm Petrels ... and one or two other small ones (prions?), yet to be identified - I'm making good use of my new bird book!

With increase in distance, I may be losing my contact on 7120 kHz of the S.A.M.M. Net with Alistair (ZS5MU), but I had excellent contact at 1130 UTC with Graham, ZS2ABK, on 14316 kHz - the same frequency I'll be making eventual contact on with Roy (VK6BO), in Perth, as I get closer to Australia. I was also contacted by Graham. in Wellington, New Zealand, (sysop for the Winlink station ZL2ABN) kindly offering help should I need it.

I still can't believe how suddenly it's calmed down.... Oh well! Just checked... wind down to 12 kt, SOG down to 5.5 kt, although pressure steady still, at 1010 mb. One good thing - the rain will have washed a lot of the salt away - everything I've touched, when topsides recently, has been coated in a film of salt water or salt crystals...

Distance noon-to-noon: 150 n.ml.

Position at 1800 UTC: 38*27' S, 038*27' E !!

Tues-Thurs 16th-18th March Big swell but wind OK

Tuesday was quite a pleasant day with W winds of 15-20knots and no big swell. I was looking out for the expected backing to more southerly winds (which came that afternoon) when I noticed around midday that the sea temperature had shot up from the 19C of the day before to 26C!! We were also getting a definite push from current - we seemed to have found the Indian Ocean circulation & were seeing over 8 knots from time to time.

By midday Wednesday, the morning's SW winds of 10-12 knots had become 18-20 & our speed over the ground was consistently showing well over 9 knots ... the current was giving us a real boost!!

That morning, as I checked around on deck, I found the 3rd reef shackle lying on deck without its pin which had obviously come loose and jumped into the sea.... Fortunate that we'd not had strong enough winds overnight for me to need to take the 3rd reef in. I found a similar shackle in my spares and so was able to re-attach the reef line to the sail, after lowering the sail sufficiently. I used a plastic cable tie (didn't I say how useful they are??!) to hold the pin in place so, hopefully, it shouldn't come loose again.

We've had steady company over several days now from various petrels (White-chinned among them, it being too far from Tristan da Cunha for the Spectacled Petrels) & a Yellow-nosed albatross - who came very close to inspect me several times when I was in the cockpit wearing a bright red top - as though I caught its attention wearing the bright colour.

A big swell had built up over the day & with stronger winds forecast, already at 24 knots apparent and gusting higher, I took the 3rd reef in before dark. Finally managed to get it in, going downwind, without tangling the reefing line or battens in the lazyjack lines but I couldn't tie it in as I wanted - I decided to work that problem out another time - I'd been perched high up in the lurching cockpit hanging on to the boom for quite long enough in the big seas then running and darkness was falling.. On Tuesday evening, I'd cooked some Bolognese sauce with fresh mushrooms & now, having got well and truly doused with seawater while reefing, I was really pleased that all I had to do on getting down below was to heat it up and enjoy it!! I didn't cook another of the delicious baby Gem squashes I'd also had on Tuesday but did heat up some of my pumpkin soup to have first - making a good, quick, hot meal!

It's Thursday afternoon as I'm writing this - and It's been difficult moving about all day ... I have to be really careful... I left the sliding hatch partly open - and water came down as a wave crashed into us.... I've had to keep an eye out also for lines getting washed over the side - the sea sweeping the decks occasionally, together with the frequent violent heeling action as we climb a wave and then lurch down the other side, keeps tangling them around cleats or washing them over... Safest place for me is in my bunk ,,,,,!!

Hopefully, the seas will lie down soon - high pressure is expected to move this way and with it light S-SE winds - not very good news, but hopefully, the wind direction & strength will allow us to keep moving in roughly the right direction.

Distances noon position to noon position (see 'Travels' page on website for link to positions on Google Earth):

Tuesday 143n.ml
Wednesday 154 n.ml.
Thursday 167 n.ml.

Fri 12Mar2010 Passed due S of Cape Agulhas - so officially entering the Indian Ocean? Where does the Southern Ocean start??

Lovely sunny day up to noon with good W wind and building seas - knocking us about often! Making 7-8+ knots for most of the day on a broad reach until reduced sail early afternoon when broken rainclouds seemed to be bringing stronger wind - of course, wind dropped back down as soon as I'd finished that!! Left 2 reefs in ready for overnight - still making over 6-7 knots... Decided to head slightly more S around noon to get to 40S sooner - grib files are showing high pressure ridge and light E winds coming up soon around 38S but not at 40S where Wlies are forecast.

Been looking at birdbook - will have to study birds keeping me company (albatrosses, petrels & sheawaters) very closely for fine detail if I'm to distinguish the many similar-looking ones....

Consistent wind through to late evening - going well and making good progress...

Sat 13Mar

Winds overnight and morning around 30knots, often 34+kn for periods of time... Had difficulty putting in 3rd reef downwind overnight - too much wind, should have reefed sooner! Bonus is good speeds - 7-9knots (noon-to-noon distance was 171 n.ml.) but seas built up more, so boat getting regularly knocked over.

Mostly grey raincloud around, but not too much rain & occasional sun. Saw one dark, very large albatross this afternoon - all dark above, unlike others I've seen before. Possibly a juvenile Wandering Albatross?
Exciting thought! Plenty of other birds around at times.. . White-rumped and dark Storm Petrels and some other small birds, a well as the usual larger, mainly dark petrels and (yellow-nosed?) albatrosses I've seen before - but no Spectacled Petrels - too far from Tristan de Cunha now, maybe?

Slept several times over the day. Seem to be needing plenty of sleep - making up for lost sleep in CapeTown maybe? Then cooked a good meal before dark - feeling good for that!

Wind has swung to SSW and down to 20-25kn this evening, so on a close reach - with a current of 1.3kn for a time, now 0.3kn, pushing us East!

Running generator now - not needing to run very often because Kiss wind generator has been piling in the electrons nicely with all the wind - but radio (S.African M.M. Net and email&weather downloads) and autopilot use both make the batteries slowly go down. Solar panels not doing a lot with mainly overcast skies: 1-3A at most.

Found a minute lovely deep blue flying fish in the cockpit this evening...

1930GMT posn: 39 31'S, 23 11'E

Mon 15th March

If only sailing were always like this! We're creaming along in bright sunshine at well over 6 knots (although losing up to 1 knot to current), in NW wind of ~10 knots, under a clear blue sky, in company with albatrosses, petrels and others... Swell not too bad, although expected to increase, and wind expected to back gradually over next day or so. I'm hoping to keep the reasonable wind strength as I head NE to move away from 40S where strong winds & big swell are forecast in 2 days or so. Sea not calm enough today to try to replace rudder on windsteering unit, unfortunately, but with Kiss wind generator going nicely in the wind, we seem to be managing power requirements of autopilot, so no worry just now.

I've been seeing to domestic duties so far this morning - always nice to have a clear galley area and a pumpkin has been chopped up ready for making soup in the pressure cooker - a safe item to cook in on board. It helps to be able to use the sink properly - not being heeled over so much, I could open the galley sink seacock, so the water drains away normally.

Sun 14th March - Great fun and games....!!

It all started with trying to let out reefs in the mainsail as the wind dropped - but I soon realized that the main halyard (rope via mast top to head of sail, used to raise & lower it) was caught right up at the top of the mast, around a mast-step. For a moment, I wondered whether I was finally going to have to climb the mast to free it, but then decided it was safer to lower the sail completely in order to grab the halyard and swing it free - which eventually happened ...

But while perched on a lower mast-step & winch trying to grab the halyard when the sail was down, to my horror, I heard something clatter onto the deck. It was the clevis pin holding the headboard of the sail to the car (which holds the sail to the mast) . What luck it didn't bounce into the sea - as normally happens when Murphy is around.... I thought a small split pin had gone missing, but then realized that wasn't so - the toggle holding the pin in place had simply come adrift. (Maybe it was a stroke of good fortune that the halyard had decided to get caught now, since for the sail to come away from its fixing to the mast in strong conditions over the next few days could have been nasty!!) I've never liked that system and a small toggle had early on been replaced with a larger one on the Hamble in England. When I replaced the clevis pin, I secured the toggle with a cable tie, so hopefully it can't come undone again. Whoever invented those plastic (electrical) cable ties should get a knighthood - brilliantly useful items in so many situations! (Easy to fix and easy to cut away)

Next job was to raise the mainsail again - so the genoa (large headsail) needed to be furled in so we could come head-to-wind to do that .... but the winch made peculiar noises... So now I had to take it apart to check it out & service/grease it (something I'd already done in Cape Town) - no big deal and soon back together again & sounding sweet!

So finally, I get the main up (being careful not to get the halyard caught again!) and the genoa unfurled, so we're sailing gently again in not much wind and fairly calm seas ... Time to try replacing that windsteering rudder again, I thought... boatspeed only ~1 knot so going really slowly through the water (one mile per hour!) .... Took ages, what with harnessing myself onto steelwork at the stern to be safe, manoeuvring both myself and the heavy, big rudder into position on the stern steps, in a very restricted space, and tying on the rudder safety line securely. Leaning out over the stern feels very precarious.... With only one spare hand to try to get the rudder vertically onto the rudder post from below, with it being moved around vigorously by the seawater motion... this just wasn't going to happen...!

Just after sunset, with the seas even calmer, I tried again, this time heaving-to first, so the boat was more-or-less stopped in the water. The problem now was that the stern kept moving up and down with the swell - which crashed onto the stern and regularly submerged it in a rush of water making it again impossible to keep the rudder still enough to fix in position.... I kept locating it onto the hole... but couldn't keep it vertical, with only the one hand available, so I could slide it up... (I tested my Goretex seaboots well and truly... they came out trumps!... at least my feet stayed dry!!) ..... Hey ho!... What fun!! Retire gracefully.... Back under sail and using the autopilot... I cooked a nice meal, feeling my efforts deserved it!

With the wind right down to ~4 knots, I actually motored quite a bit last night, having taken on extra fuel in jerrycans in Cape Town with that possibility in mind.... I had a call from WRI who were worried about my being caught at 40S with 20ft swells and strong wind in 2 days' time ... I reassured them that I was heading ENE-NE to get further north ... What with my regular grib weather files I download each day, my contact with the S. African Maritime Mobile Net each morning and occasional input from concerned friends, as well as WRI who keep an eye out for nasty conditions I might encounter, I'm not short on weather info to help me try to head the best way possible, despite my having no Internet access. Of course, having said that, my speed is very limited and the weather often does its own thing, regardless of forecasters!! "What you see is what you get..."

About to have a good meal - think I deserve it!

Monday 15th March: Day 7 (continued)

A pair of white-rumped storm petrels dash by, low down to the waves.... an albatross soars by, keeping a pair of all-dark, yellow-billed petrels company, ..... they land in the water to join a group of petrels resting there. The sun shines out of a clear blue sky... we're gently sailing along with just a fair-sized swell... All's well with the world!!

What a difference it makes when it's calmer like this - you can actually get so much more done! I've cleaned, tidied up, cooked (made a fabulous pumpkin soup - scrumptious!!), checked over vegetables and eggs (yet another broken egg - what a mess! I'm not doing too well on this passage!!) and re-organized some stowage by my bunk - so I should be more comfortable when sleeping. All in addition to the usual S. African Maritime Mobile radio net at 0630 and 1130 UTC, trying to make radio contact to send/receive emails, checking weather files, keeping an eye on sail-trim & occasional food and drinks. I looked at the sea-state & decided it was NOT, however, calm enough for another rudder session... There's a long (9 second) 2-3 m swell from the W, as well as other less obvious ones from other directions which occasionally combine and the usual wind-ruffled sea surface....

The wind has been quite good over most of the day, contrary to the forecast, and we've been making a good 6 knots, or nearly so, until this evening around sunset, when due to the wind backing, putting us onto more of a broad reach, we've slowed to around 5 knots SOG - still not too bad... It's so much calmer, I keep thinking we've slowed right down. The wind is expected to keep backing, into the South by tomorrow, and strengthen over the next few days, as will the swell (expected to get very large), due to a deep depression passing East to the south of our position... the reason I headed more north as of yesterday.

(By the way, I've been asked to point out that the helpful Rear Commodore Outside House at the Royal Cape Y.C. is not a Vice-Commodore, as I mistakenly referred to him .... Seems someone took umbrage at the wrong title used.... Oh dear.... I can think of far worse things in life to get upset about...)

Just went up to check on deck - a really heavy dew - just as though it had been raining from the clear, starlight sky. And now for some of that lovely soup..... !!

Position at 1800 UTC: 38* 55' S; 026* 32'E (See my website 'Travels' page for my daily noon positions on Google Earth)

Wed/Thurs: Days 2&3
Trying to head S-SSE to get around Agulhas Bank -a large, relatively shallow area south of Cape Agulhas which gets nasty in winds from S and W due to Agulhas Current running SW-W. Wind is mainly from SSE-SSW so not being helpful .... having to put in a series of long tacks and often losing speed due to current. It's always quite a balancing act when sailing a close-reach between not wanting to go too far off course and trying to keep up a decent speed.
Windsteering rudder fell off this morning (I'd clearly managed to 'secure' the pin holding it in place in a really clever way just before leaving - so it had slowly got pulled out..!) - good thing it was tied with a safety line! Tried to replace it later whilst hove-to, but there was too much swell and motion for me to manage to slide it up onto rudder post, so on autopilot (AP) for time being. Means battery power needed... not too bad while wind generator putting in lots of electrons, as it has been, but together with radio use, batteries slowly go down, so will need to top up by running genset occasionally from now on. I must have a look to see how to get AP to steer to the wind (as wind-steering does automatically) so we maximize our speed by staying in keeping with sail-trim.
Reason I was hove-to was that I'd discovered noise-making culprits causing bad interference on SSB radio while talking to South African Maritime Mobile (SAMM) Net were mainly Iridium telephone (on standby) but partly also the basic instruments - which include AP in circuit. So if instruments turned off to avoid noise on frequency when receiving on radio, AP gets switched off also & so boat is not being steered (since I'm by radio & not at the helm) - we end up hove-to!! With wind-steering, no such problem... another reason to get that rudder in place a.s.a.p.!
Another problem was how to fix the emergency shroud in place. It had started swinging wildly overnight, despite having newly been held down by a small Highfield-type lever - but that was clearly not strong enough for the job and the hook at one end simply opened up to release it - pity! - it had seemed like a good solution to an ongoing problem. I've tied it down but will need to keep an eye on it for chafe on the rope used.
Have had a pair of albatrosses & large petrels keeping company from time to time - always good to see them soaring close by. I must look them up in my new oceanbirds book!
Feeling a bit better today - yesterday I was definitely not 100%. It was pretty rough a lot of the time, and having had to concentrate on re-stowing several items that had come adrift in the forepeak with the crashing about, that had clearly upset my system. I'm not usually seasick but was not feeling at all good & took to my bunk a lot!
Forecast is for possible strong winds later, maybe overnight - up to 35knots... but for the moment, wind is around 12 knots.
Time for tea - I have some lovely rye bread to have with & I've several more loaves bought in a Cape Town German 'deli' which I'm hoping will last for quite a time (Thanks for that 'heads up', Vojan! . and to Tony for taking me there despite the heat of Sunday and missing good sailing time..).
Cheers for now from "Nereida"...., (making 5 knots SW...oh well..!)

Finally! I'm sailing south and Cape Point (the Cape of Good Hope) was fading away at the entrance to False Bay as I started to write this over the (sunny) afternoon. An end to all the frustrations of the past three months !!

It feels so good to have finally got away - although I've a mix of feelings, having left so many friendly people behind, amongst them several whose company I'll miss.

I've just dug out my long, warm undertrousers and I'm wearing a fleece top - the cold sea water makes it feel quite chilly and there was a lot of sea fog all morning. Despite the warm sunshine from around midday, after the fog had cleared away, the wind had a cold edge to it.... but at least, eventually, the wind did get up enough so that I could turn off the motor & sail. I'd bought extra jerrycans for fuel, knowing there was little wind expected for 2-3 days.

(Later) We're losing over two knots to current as we cross the edge of the Agulhas bank - nearly 6 kn boatspeed but only 3.5 kn over the ground...frustrating! It's a very bumpy ride in rough water tonight - I've been warned by several people here to get across it by heading due S as quickly as possible - it can get very nasty with the strong Agulhas current flowing in relatively shallow water. Position tonight: 38mls SW of Cape Pt at midnight (local time)

Earlier today I passed by a large whale cruising slowly on the surface & saw lots of seals with fins raised out of the water. (Comment heard recently: makes them look like dolphins from below, so the Great Whites don't take them - seals being their main food... and wet-suited humans swimming look like seals from below....) Also lots of birds, mainly resting on the calm surface in the sun, including an albatross and several small flocks of white birds. As we approached the larger petrels, they ran across the water in a frantic effort to take off ... quite funny to watch!

It was so calm, I calibrated the fluxgate compass and checked our heading alignment quite soon after starting out, as well as going through the autopilot set-up routine to make sure that would be OK, since I expected to have to motor for quite a bit.

The aim is to make for 38-40S and stay along those latitudes towards S. Australia - trying to avoid the deep lows to the south, with their associated bad weather, and also the high pressure 'no wind' areas further north. That's the theory!

Stress right up to the end here!!.... The guys working on warranty work on board turned up just two out of the last five days - for half a day's work... It's still not complete and I've a big hole high up above the galley which was supposed to have been covered up with a wooden spice shelf - no sign of that , nor of Manuel all day Friday.....and I just have to leave.   I had begun to wonder if I'd ever get away - and my visa was due to expire on Tuesday 9th March - making it  three months that I'll have been in S. Africa!! 

The people at the Royal Cape Y.C. where I've been berthed whilst work has been in progress were very helpful on Friday in resolving problems so I could  be ready to clear out... but I had to spend all Friday afternoon trying to organize international payments so I could leave here... Phone calls to Sweden and England kept being dropped just at the end of a convoluted process - so I had to go through it all over again- several times until successful!!   I keep hearing "What!  Are you still here?"!!

On Wednesday, I took the opportunity at the Race Prize-Giving to say "Thank you" to everyone here - so many people have helped keep me sane over the stressful times I've gone through while here.  Melvin & Shama came by on Friday and took me to meet her family for a meal, which was very nice of them and very enjoyable.  On Saturday, I spent all day trying to get the sail and running rigging sorted - Miles (one of Melvin's 'Day Skipper' students) had kindly volunteered to help me the previous day - and despite being hung over from celebrating passing the exam until the early hours, he came along and proved very helpful.  Baden popped by from Simons Town to say goodbye and was also a great help, even though, unfortunately, he couldn't stay long.  So the mainsail, lazyjacks, reefing lines and reef tie-in strop system were all in place by the evening - and looking far cleaner due to Miles' efforts!!

That still left me with lots to do today - but Vice Commodore Tony stepped in to help me with provisioning, finding somewhere to buy jerrycans for the extra fuel I felt I should take, providing bits of wood for lashing one of the cans on deck and eventually ferrying me around to the three different places needed to clear out this evening:  Port Authority, Immigration and Customs - who also dealt with my VAT reclaim form. Thanks a lot for all that help, Tony. 

I've done laundry, got the Hydrovane ready, flaked the Jordan series drogue & chain into its new bag on deck, run lots more lines, hosed the deck and solar panels down to get rid of the usual black dust, and stowed food away... but still haven't got my pulpit back together  - taken off to access the bow navigation lights' wiring so they could be changed.  That has turned into a major problem, with the silicone sealant, which was  most unfortunately used previously, together with a tiny hole for the wire, seriously complicating what should have been a simple job. 

I'll go back to the boat now to finish tidying up and stowing things away ready for sea before getting some sleep... the wind looks good for leaving tomorrow morning - NW, but not strong, so I may have to motor for a day or two to get down towards 40S - the latitude I'll be roughly keeping to while on passage towards S. Australia and Tasmania.  The HOT sunny day has now given way to overnight thunder ...

I'll be keeping up my usual regular news updates while on passage nonstop to San Francisco  - or Hawaii, if taking too long (see my website:  www.svnereida.com .... 'Home Page' .... and 'Travels' page  - "Where is Nereida?" for noon positions)

'Bye for now from Cape Town - hopefully my next update will, finally, be from "Nereida" at sea again!

 Monday 1st March (St David's Day - but no daffodils here!)

Murphy came visiting 'Nereida' last week.... to make sure a Monday exit  from Cape Town and South Africa (today) became impossible.  The new engine was run for the first time on Wednesday - everything seemed fine except that I noticed the charging system shooting up to well over 16V each time the secondary alternator kicked in.. not good news on a 12V system so the motor was stopped each time...  The next day that problem was investigated and (more-or-less) fixed, but when the engine was run on Friday, hoping for a seatrial later that day, the pressure and temperature gauges were misbehaving....  another problem to be sorted out. 

Some good news was .that Clive came back from the UK on Thursday, bringing with him a  British ensign (plus a spare) for me to replace one that went missing in December, along with a replacement driving licence &, credit cards, to replace ones that were in a bag  stolen just before Christmas.  The bad news was that he went down badly ill on Monday so the engine seatrial was put on hold, but the good news was that the senders were changed by Philip and Welcome in the meantime, to give sensible readings on the temperature and oil-pressure gauges.  (Clive's on medicine for a bad infection & seems much better already)

Last Friday (26th) was a frustrating day all round for me with the other jobs on board not being touched, let alone finished as had been promised.... TIA.   . I buried my sorrows that night with dancing to the 'Cape Rockers' - all guys from the Royal Cape Y.C. here... and enjoyed what I hope will be my final Friday dance night in Cape Town. There's a possible 'weather window' later this week to get away South around the relatively shallow Agulhas Bank and then East towards S. Australia.

The previous week was, again, a very frustrating time for me - I should have learned my lesson after all the time I've been here in Cape Town but I assumed, wrongly, of course, that once the engine was in, all the other work which had been waiting for that to happen would get done quickly so I could leave soon after - surely well before the end of the month ...  but... no way!! 

               The few days on the hard to instal a new watermaker intake through-hull fitting and make changes to the exhaust system were, as always, not as pleasant as being in the water, but at least the hull was thoroughly cleaned and then antifouled...

I was amazed at how badly fouled the keel was, on seeing it when the boat was lifted in slings by crane - lots of a kind of thick. dripping jelly all over, especially on the anodes and log/speed impellor, in addition to gooseneck barnacles still well stuck on with a kind of cement, as well as green 'whiskers' near the waterline and other, harder growth on the through-hull fittings. 

By Friday 19th, "Nereida" was back in the water - but nothing else was achieved by way of work ("It's Friday - nothing gets done since the weekend is coming up"...!!)... more frustration.. so I was happy to be driven up the coast to where the Mykonos Regatta was being held, the first 60 mile offshore  race having started that morning, up the coast from Cape Town via Dassen Island and on to  Saldanha Bay.  This is the big event of the Cape Town/South African racing calendar and had well over a  hundred boats taking part - of all sizes.

It was a two-hour drive NW through mainly flat countryside of newly-built Cape Town suburbs initially and then partly through some coastal National Parks which, I was told, were full of flowers at the relevant time of year but were now devoid of much interest.  Mykonos resort was based on the Greek island of the same name - having visited there, it was interesting for me to see how well they had achieved their aim - not too bad, was my reaction.

Sat 20th Feb - Looking out from Mykonos Marina, Saldanha - not a lot of wind for a Pursuit Race..so the start was delayed !!  

        But then the wind came up a tad, so reasonable racing was possible, although there were plenty of 'holes' to try to avoid...   I was 'rail meat' on 'Picasso', courtesy owner Ray, but I found it very frustrating not to be allowed to be of more use.  Men only, it seemed - who didn't all seem to know what they were supposed to do......!! But the 3-man foredeck (spinnaker) crew coped quite well with some difficult situations...  It actually turned into a very pleasant afternoon's sail around Saldanha Bay - a much nicer way of touring it than by land!  The view of the marina entrance on our return gives a good picture of the 'Greek-style' housing behind.   And later I enjoyed the lively, sociable atmosphere - lots of people enjoying themselves with chatting, music and dancing.    
     

Approaching Cape Town the following morning, the 'Table Cloth' falling over Table Mountain was very clear, showing a strong 'Cape Doctor' (SE wind) was blowing:      

The strong wind encouraged me to stay down below on Sunday and start seriously clearing up, to make the boat ready for passage .. made me feel a lot better and I've kept up the stowing & tidying since, even though I can't finish until all work is completed.  One new problem has been the difficulty of changing the bow navigation lights - the wires  were so well stuck in place that the pulpit steelwork is having to be taken off partly for access to get the new wires through the tubing....

Thursday 11th February: AT LAST!  Clive gently guides the new engine down into "Nereida", with Welcome, crouched low, and Philip, above, helping, - soon it will be ready and, after other related work is completed, I'll be ready to set sail - well before the end of the month, I hope!  The keel needs a good clean from having been still here for so long and then I'll need to provision and generally get the boat tidy and well organized for the next long passage eastward...

    
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A  RCYC member brought me a sou-wester hat from England - I wanted it for extra protection from heavy rain at sea .... they don't seem to sell them here anywhere!

Although busy trying to sort out the various problems I've had of late, I also took time out to climb up Table Mt with some other cruisers one Saturday morning - in heavy mist...  Beautiful views and plants, but a tough climb up the steep path through Platteklip Gorge ... stepping up enormous stones most of the way up, often slippery in the moist conditions of early morning - but definitely worth the effort!
     
           
A timid dassie ...... about half   a metre in length.....whose nearest relative is the elephant!!

Last week ended up being pretty busy both over the days and evenings.... I've been out Wednesday evening racing several times now on 'Thalassa' with skipper William and his crew - last Wednesday there was excellent wind & lots of boats on the water, making for a fun race, followed  by the usual very sociable evening.  The following evening, I was taken a short distance down the coast to busy Camps Bay, with its lovely beach and spectacular waves crashing onto the rocks just off the shore,  for a lovely fish dinner and Friday saw the usual excellent live music here at the Royal Cape Y.C., so I got a bit more exercise with some dancing ...

On Saturday, I enjoyed a lovely drive along the beautiful coast road from Cape Town, over Chapman's Peak and on to the Cape Point National Park, which has the Cape of Good Hope and its lighthouses within it.  Surprisingly, only one baboon was seen fleetingly, but I saw several more dassies, a few Cape zebra, black lizards and a blue-headed lizard, as well as some pretty striped mice!  The original light house high up on the promontory  was replaced with a lower one, which is better seen in cloudy conditions, after the liner Lusitania was wrecked on Bellows Rock, just off the Cape, in 1911 when the light was hidden from view by rainclouds.  Many people around were under the commonplace but mistaken impression that they were looking at the meeting of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans - which is actually at Cape Agulhas further to the SE.  Afterwards, I was driven around to False Bay and the surf beach of Muizenberg beyond Simons Town and Fishhoek.  Swimming here is a risky sport with people occasionally being taken by sharks....one poor man in a wetsuit was lost off a False Bay beach just a few weeks ago...  The thought is that wet-suited people are mistaken for seals - regular  food for sharks.  Sounds like a recipe for indigestion to me!!

 
High up ... the old light-house.  Low down, quite close to the sea... the replacement light-house.