Thursday 12th November 2009 - We survive a near-disaster .. what a nightmare...!! I had to doublecheck it wasn't Friday 13th...!!! (oh, oh...that's tomorrow!!)

I was stowing away pole and lines I'd used overnight .. and spotted a metal washer on deck, at the mast-foot (where yesterday I'd found a small split pin, but couldn't see where it had come from). Looked at gooseneck (connection between mast and boom)- it was almost apart...!!! The split pin was from the end of a clevis pin whose job was to hold the boom and gooseneck together and the washer was from there also. The clevis pin going through the centre of the gooseneck had worked its way completely out of one side of the fitting - and the boom and sail were about to part company with the mast...... gulp!! "Trying hard not to panic".....!!..... I went down to fetch a hammer to bang the clevis pin back into place - but the pin was off to one side of hole due to pressure of wind in sail and so wouldn't budge.

I headed upwind with furled foresail, downed the mains'l partway.... persuaded (ie hammered!)the clevis pin back into the hole - with pressure on it eased, it was actually fairly easy - and then fitted a new split pin. ( I have lots of spares... but only found one of the exact right size...It's surprisingly small for such a major item of rigging)

That was all too close for comfort to being a disaster ....!!

When I was about to raise the mains'l again, I spotted more chafe... on the first reef line ... had to cut a length off and re-tie around boom. I think the material of the sail is so hard, it's causing some of this chafe problem. And finally (!), as I was checking around the mast, I pulled on the slack 2nd reef line - to find it wasn't attached to sail! - My knot of some days ago was clearly of the 'slippery' kind ...(I can't believe that...!)! Lowered mains'l again... re-did the knot - making sure, this time that I tied it correctly....

And I thought today was going to be one of relaxation.... ! ... I'd got out my still-wrapped-in-cellophane new edition of 'Heavy Weather Sailing', thinking I'd find plenty of use in it - and there I spotted 'Berrimilla' - my 'sailing companions' of the last 2-3 weeks (They're presently about 450 mls north of 'Nereida', still in good wind as they also head south and hoping to avoid the high pressure I got trapped in.) I even know what 'Berrimilla' looks like now....! Now there's a couple of guys with heavy weather sailing (and racing) experience...!!

I imagine Groupama 3 are getting fairly close to being well west of my position ... would be interesting to see their route.

We're moving much better today - there's been a fair wind (WNW4, 10-14 kn), so none of the slapping of sails as we flop about as there was all day yesterday. Still in the high pressure area but a bit of a trough/several small lows are complicating things.

I shall sign off and have a mug of tea - I need to relax more...!!

DMG to noon today: 62M

Distance at noon to Cape of Good Hope: 2224 M

Wednesday 11th November 2009

Watermaker finally OK - with only slight dripping from a connection that was dripping before - can't tighten it any more - think it's the hose - metal spiral in plastic wall of hose... NO water spurting all over aft cabin! - and water tanks full...YES!! (Just hope it continues - I'll always be worried until hoses are replaced entirely with fresh ones of exact right size!)Had to take off hose completely and remove some Teflon grease I'd used to help get hose onto connector - not a good idea ... but after a short while, and a bit of struggling, I was able to start it up and slowly bring it up to pressure - very trepidatiously, I have to say..... !! Great news!! I feel quite elated .. and I relaxed for rest of day after putting aft cabin back together again.

Today's noon position & weather report:
LATITUDE: 26-57.43S LONGITUDE: 024-52.69W
COURSE: 150T SPEED: 2.3 !!!
WIND SPEED: 5 WIND DIR: NW WAVE HT: 1.5M WAVE PER: 4
SWELL DIR: SW SWELL HT: 2.5M SWELL PER: 8
CLOUDS: 10% BARO: 1021
AIR TEMP: 28.0C SEA TEMP: 28.0C
COMMENT: Variable, v. lt. wind- again. Slight fair current DMG:54M By log: 47M!!

We're struggling to keep above 2 knots - mostly below, in such light winds it's difficult to keep a good course in roughly the right direction...

Looks as though this will continue for 2-3 days...

Groupama will need to go well W of where I am to avoid this high - which is all set to spread out further...

Lovely sunset - but noticeable long big SW swell from Southern Ocean weather.. soon..!

Tuesday 10 November 2009 Day 32

Hot sun during the day, not much wind, mostly downwind, often rolly, sailing .... pretty well sums it up since Saturday!! Lots of drying, in a hot cockpit, of items(including lots of rolls of paper...!) from aft cabin - now done as much as I can (cushions and bedding will need a thorough rinse in fresh water at a later date, but at least they're dry).

Had a lovely meal last night - tried something new (for me) - tuna and sweetcorn with pasta in a lovely sauce of salsa mixed with herbed cream cheese (Thanks, Suzanne!) - so simple but worked well!! All eaten sitting in the companionway, sailing gently under a dark sky full of stars... bright planet high up... my little Dolphin up there, too... And people ask me why I want to go sailing.....?!

While the aft cabin is still in total disarray, and while we're in calm conditions (maybe the last, for a very long time!!), I decided to have one more go at trying to mend the watermaker before everything gets put back together again.... So, for most of this morning, I've been busy bandaging!! I'd replaced one of the hoses BEFORE it split,quite early on in my repair efforts, and checking the length, I realized it would do to replace the newly-split hose that caused the deluge last Friday. Obviously I couldn't just use it as is - it would clearly split very soon. But by reinforcing it with lots of pressure tape, I'm hoping it might just be OK - It's certainly worth a try - although I don't fancy a repeat of last Friday's drama!! (I shall keep the top sections of the bunk in place when I start it up, I'm thinking, ... and stay VERY close by!!)I've wound the tape tightly up and back down the entire outside of the hose - it should be strong.... I hope!

So that's this afternoon's job - with plenty of PTFE tape on the connections... and we'll see what happens - keeping my fingers tightly crossed....

We've been sailing nicely downwind- mostly on a dead run, with the Hydrovane coping well in the light conditions. There had been a small shower early this morning, but otherwise skies over the last few days have been mainly clear and the boat is still covered in a sticky, crystalline coating of salt from the seas on deck n the lumpy conditions of last week and before.

Now and then, the wind has gusted up - to 16-18 knots (not always the result of a cloud nearby...)and I've had to take in the 1st reef - only to let it out again not long after.... Our track is NOT very straight due to the variable wind direction.. Today's daily 'noon' position & weather report to Winlink & Yotreps was:
TIME: 2009/11/10 12:10
POS: 26-21.41S, 025-37.35W
COURSE: 170T; SPEED: 5.5,
WIND SPEED: 15; WIND DIR: NNW
WAVE HT: 0.5m; SWELL DIR: NNE; SWELL HT: 2.0m; SWELL PER: 4s
CLOUDS: 10%; BARO: 1021; TREND: +1
AIR TEMP: 27.0C; SEA TEMP: 28.0C
COMMENT: Highly variable wind-light y'day & o'nt. DMG:81M By log: 93M!!

Time to send off my position report.. and this ... Wind has died right down now to 5-6knots.. SOG: 2.6 knots...! Pressure's up to 1022 mb....We're flopping about in the swell... in the St Helena High...

Saturday 7th November 2009 All reefs now OK!!

It's been a good day today .... presently, there are a few small clouds around, no moon yet, plenty of stars - amazing how some bright ones fairly low down seem to twinkle with all the colours of the spectrum - something to do with the moisture in the air? I don't know , but they certainly look pretty!

Got up just before sunrise - moon was still quite high in the sky, big grey cloud to the east nearby and not much wind or swell, so decided it was a good time to start getting the boom end off, with the cloud to protect me from the sun later. I had to sort out the 1st & 2nd reefs today... Lots of playing with knots and ropes .. By time sun rose at 0700, I had the mains'l lowered and the genoa furled in: boatspeed 2.0, SOG: 2.2, COG 180T. Half-an-hour later, everything at the aft end of the boom had been released, it had been lowered & taken over to port side and tied off firmly (the swell kept swinging it around otherwise) - I was ready to remove it... Coffee/breakfast break... According to my weather info, the calm conditions were going to last all day, probably tomorrow also, so no need to rush...!

We were drifting at 1.5 knots SSW and the rainclouds seemed to be missing us - pity, since the boat is covered in salt from the seas washing the decks over the last week or so. By 9am, I'd removed all 3 screws - not as difficult as I'd feared, with the help of my invaluable length of copper pipe for extra leverage...! Forty minutes later, the first reef had been dealt with - car taken out, line taken off and reef tied back around boom & onto sail ... The second reef line took a bit longer to sort out, since the luff end of the line, although badly chafed, was still intact.. but an hour later, it too was dealt with... and by midday, all was finished, the boom end having been screwed back in place and all lines neat & tidy... Just needed to raise the sails, with the lazyjacks determinedly getting in the way of a batten end high up .. eventually sorted, but took a time...

By early afternoon, we were sailing under full canvas in 7 knots of wind, making just over 4 knots .. gradually becoming 1-2 knots, as the wind died down during the afternoon!! But with a blazing hot sun all afternoon, I was able to get a lot of the wet things from the aft cabin dried out in the cockpit - excellent!.... What luck that the disaster at least had the decency to happen when I could dry everything out in calm conditions the very next day or so!!

I celebrated with a proper cooked meal in the cockpit, feeling very relaxed, sitting at the table (how civilized!), watching the sun go down in a blaze of glory.... I'm feeling much better now...!

Tonight, the wind is NE3 (9knots) and we're making 4-5 knots roughly south. In a few days' time, after passing through the St Helena High, we'll be in much stronger winds, most likely westerlies, as we get into the path of the east-moving depressions being held to the south of here by this high pressure area.

DMG to noon: 102M (made roughly 1 knot from 7am until noon!) 980 ml East of Rio de Janeiro

Nearly out of the Tropics - tonight, I'm at 23S, 026W - so will pass out of Tropics tonight, probably... only 30 miles to go!

Friday 6th Nov 09 Everything was going too well, clearly....! Time to put me in my place....!! (Ever heard Chris Rae's song about 'God's Banana Skin'?!)

Up early to try to get weatherfax again from Cape Naval in S. Africa via laptop and SSB radio... started having major PC problems - which continued on & off most of the day, later including the Iridium connection in the problem (couldn't access my Control Panel for some time!!)..... computers!! Later in the day, got email from SAMM Net Controller Graham, ZS2ABK, telling me that Cape Naval were off-air for repairs - I'd been trying for days to get their weatherfaxes - no wonder I couldn't... so having to rely on grib files which are useful but not so reliable.

I'd finished with installing the second new watermaker hose, although I got worried when a jubilee clip ('hose clamp' in N.America!) started cross-threading as I tried to tighten it ... Fortunately, I'd come across one yesterday which was a bit large but did the job (I found none the exact right size) so all was not lost. I'd also re-made several connections, with lots of PTFE tape .. so all was set for the big test mid-morning - firstly run it un-pressurized, to get rid of all the air in the system, and then ... pressurized ... heart in mouth...! All seemed fine, except for a small leak which I thought was coming from a hose end connection (on the remaining old hose I'd had no more new to replace).

I left it running and, with still just a minor amount of dripping, was eventually able to start filling the water-tank. All seemed fine, so I went up on deck to sort out some lines there, ready to deal with my reefing problem later in the day...

When I came back, I was pleased with having run an emergency 'tack' line for the second reef (from the luff cringle to a mast winch). The second reef line is also chafing badly now at the boom entry point, just as the first reef line did before it gave way. I didn't want to lose the 2nd reef, since I still don't have a functioning first reef, and we're sailing fine, if a bit slowly, with it in - removing the boom end to deal with the reefing problem was 'on the list' as today's major job in the expected light wind...

But when I got back down below, I heard a peculiar hissing noise... the aft cabin was being sprayed forcefully with brine..... everything was sodden ... dripping wet. Disaster!! ...... I don't think I need say how I felt.... The hose I'd not been able to change had split badly.... Why are we so clever in hindsight....? Why hadn't I put pressure tape all around that hose to reinforce it, knowing it was so very suspect? Would have been worth the time spent.... Now I had to mop up as best I could, and curse the fact that, among all the other things, my pillows and thick duvet (kept nicely accessible for cold weather later) were all wet.... To cheer myself up, having as yet not even had any breakfast, I later had a nice coffee and treated myself to several choc chip biscuits, some nuts, a Penguin, a Kit Kat AND half a Snicker bar - gluttony indeed! (This evening, I'm treating myself to gammon and eggs - I need more cheering up!!)

Outside it was a beautiful day that I should have been relaxing in & enjoying... sunshine & blue sky since midday, good wind, lovely sailing in a fairly calm sea.... The Hydrovane has been doing its thing reliably and well - I've not had to adjust it for several days now. Staying on a close reach was the best course we could make, so we've just made a wriggly course, following any wind changes precisely, but mainly heading slightly E of S. I've not had to run the little diesel generator for many days - the KISS wind generator has been piling in the amps beautifully with the good wind we've had.

Later on, I ran a line, 'stolen' from elsewhere on deck, from the 2nd reef luff cringle down to a block at the mast foot & on to a jammer by the cockpit, using the route previously taken by the pole uphaul and re-running that line differently so it was still available for use. I was quite pleased with my ingenuity in keeping all the various lines available and useable - I've totally run out of spare line now...! But the outcome is that if, tomorrow, I can remove the boom aft end, retrieve the 1st & 2nd reef cars from inside, untie the reef lines from them & discard the cars - I've ended up with a slab reefing system workable from the cockpit.. IF I can remove that boom end .. this evening I couldn't budge the one screw I tried of the three... 'Law of the Lever' needed again...??

We've been sailing gently, the last two days - I've not wanted to release the 2nd reef without a 1st reef available, just in case the wind picked up suddenly ...We've been making over 5 knots anyway, with mainly full genoa and stays'l, which is fine, in the circumstances. This evening, the wind is really shifting around as we approach the centre of the St Helena High... I hope it stays down, for that reef lines job to be possible tomorrow .... The sea has lain right down with the lighter wind of today.

DMG to noon today: 119 M - remember, that's in a straight line, noon to noon.... our actual course has varied a lot with the wind shifts.

Thursday 5th November - Guy Fawkes Night! Day 27 from the Canaries ..... Anchor off bow-roller....

Success!! Realized it was fairly calm around midday - so I set to, organizing a halyard and other lines to help me take the anchor off the bow-roller. First had to remove all my lashing and the removeable bowsprit, detach the anchor from the chain, tension the halyard, undo the pin - and then the fun & games began..!
I'd attached two other lines to the anchor so as to manoeuvre it better, but it's a big (25kg) awkward item, and the last thing I wanted was for its point to make a hole in the boat from swinging about - as it was trying hard to do while I moved it about, trying to get it up & over the pulpit and onto the deck..... Anyway, it's safely stowed now in the cockpit locker (with no great damage to my body parts or the deck!)... we may have a slight starboard list, but that's fine. While I was in that locker, it gave me the thought that now, in calm conditions, was an ideal time also to attach the bridle arms of the Jordan series drogue to the two strong eyes at the stern - and wire the shackles in doing so ... another good job done..!
By now, the wind was up a bit, and the seas a little to, so the boom end will have to wait to tomorrow (we're definitely heading into light winds for a day or two) I'm just finishing with the watermaker - re-making some connections and replacing another short length of pipe... all yet to be tested under pressure... keep fingers crossed!!

A lovely sailing day today! I'm storing up these nice, sunny, DRY, fairly calm days in my memory - ready for the nasty weather all too soon to come...!

DMG: 134 M but less tomorrow, with the calmer day today...

Tuesday/Wednesday 3/4th November 09

The wind might be dying.... 12knots now... or maybe because we're near a big cloud, as happened earlier tonight. Wind died completely soon after sunset with heavy rainfall well downwind and a mass of rainclouds around, but then picked up again. But this seems different - we're sailing more & more gently, with the big swell of this afternoon, helped by winds of 17knots, having died down also to just a gentle, regular rocking of the boat. I wasn't expecting the wind to die quite this soon - several days more, I thought.... as we approach the St Helena High, which latest grib files showed as being across our path with its E-W axis at around 25S. (We're only at 17* 40'S now) But maybe this is a temporary dying down due to the pressure gradient easing overnight - and then, with a deep depression coming up from the S over the next few days, there'll be a 'squash' effect - and winds will pick up again ... until we really do get close to the High centre. Time will tell... I'm still waiting to do important jobs in the calm zone...

I spent a lot of time this afternoon upside down, being bounced around while trying to wind PTFE tape with great difficulty around a hose fitting I could barely see, in a very confined space under the aft bunk. If only bodies could be bent in a few more places, these jobs would be so much easier!! But to my surprise, I managed it, (I was convinced I couldn't, at one point - before I took more of the bunk to bits...)

One lesson I learned early in my recent boat-maintenance career has been to use the 'Law of the Lever' (as my totally impractical father grandiosely termed it - he was OK on the theory!). To help tighten the jubilee clips well enough, I would normally have looked for a muscle-bound friendly guy nearby and asked for an extra bit of help, but when that can't happen, an extra bit of leverage, if it can be arranged, works wonders - doubles the effect of these puny muscles easily.....in this case with a screwdriver poked sideways through a hole in the main screwdriver handle to help twist it that much more - so simple, yet so effective!! Even more to my surprise, when I (reluctantly) tested the system - my hose connections were bone dry... unlike several others nearby - and two hoses bulged ominously when I pressurized the system to make water.. Not good news... But I was pleased enough with my handiwork to award myself a big slab of rich fruit cake to go with my mug of tea later..

I left the system running for a short time to fill the tank but don't dare do that again - so much water was eventually leaking out & a bulging hose is going to split very soon.... It turns out I've still enough hose to replace one of the lengths - but not two... I'll try re-making the leaking connections, using PTFE tape, when I replace the worst-looking hose tomorrow - "In for a penny, in for a pound", "If a job's worth doing, it's worth doing well," etc, etc. I just wish I'd more of the replacement hose to change them all... Why couldn't the installer have done the job properly, to save me all this unnecessary hassle??

Yesterday was spent checking over my storm preparations... a cover over the big hole under the cockpit coaming above the engine panel (don't want water getting down below through there if the cockpit fills with water), fixing a closure on the galley dry locker lid (too many tins of food in there to allow them to fly around), checking cabin sole openings were fixed, checking the bolts on the fridge lid and a long time spent on the lockable perspex storm washboard for the companionway - sticking lengths of sealing strips on either side of the opening and below, to make a snug, water-tight (or nearly so) fit. And more checking of staysail leads...

The wind, as of yesterday, has been either east or just north of east, and mainly around 17 knots. We're still close-hauled & made good speed on both days, the wind only dying for short periods of time. Both afternoons (or what I saw of them!) were very sunny and pleasant and we were not under-canvassed with the two reefs in the mains'l.

DMG: Tuesday: 126 M Wednesday: 137 M (Foul current still around half to one knot.)

Sea and air noon temperatures are down: 34 and 33 C respectively on 20/21 Oct (at around 11N)... now 29 & 28 C

Wed noon position was 730M E from nearest Brazilian coast, 285 M ENE from Ilha da Trinidade and 1190M due west of St Helena - did you know they refer to each other as 'Saints'?!

Mon 2nd Nov As the sun set, a BIG full moon rose ...among lines of fluffy pink-grey 'Trade Wind' clouds...

I put problems to one side this evening and sat in the companionway to enjoy the sunset as we sailed along nicely, bouncing occasionally in the swell of a fairly calm sea, the wind having increased a touch compared with earlier in the afternoon.

I'm feeling a bit more relaxed, having achieved a few little jobs today, among them, removing the split watermaker hose from its end fittings (not as difficult as I'd feared it would be) and replacing one end of the new hose - the easily accessible end! I've left replacing the other end for the time being - as the wind rose this afternoon, so our 'bouncing' increased - and to fix that end, I've to turn myself upside down awkwardly to see & get to what I'm doing... so I'll hope to complete that in calmer conditions over the next day or so... (The wind seems to increase often, as evening falls, and calm down a bit as midday approaches)

I spent some time trying to find additional hose end clamp fittings (jubilee clips)... to no avail. I'd wanted to put two at each end, rather than one, because my replacement hose is a tad on the large side .. I hope the jubilee clips will hold tightly enough not to leak under pressure. If they do, I'm stymied... And if another of the wrong hoses gives way elsewhere in the system, I've no more hose to replace it with.... Keep fingers crossed!

A job completed today was taping over the cabin heater chimney covers on the coachroof with both sticky electrical insulation tape and then amalgamating ('pressure') tape over that... I've been getting concerned at the thought that if either one of those got taken away with waves sweeping the deck (as they have often, over the last few days) then I'd be in big trouble.... with one big hole in the coachroof..! I feel much more comfortable now. And I'll be able to see if that has solved the very slight leak occurring inside around the chimney pipes where they enter the saloon coachroof.

Another thing I did today was to 'play' with the sheets, cars & blocks for the staysail leads - I needed to experiment there to see what would work for different wind angles - the shrouds get in the way.... I've added a third sheet...! Looking ahead, there's filthy weather forecast approaching the Cape of Good Hope very soon - a typical Southern Ocean deep depression, giving the strong Sou'wester the Cape and East coast of S. Africa are renowned for... so I could well be using my staysail if I get those same conditions on my approach there (end of November). (They're forecasting 8m seas...and that's an average.. so I'll also have my Jordan drogue 'ready to go', from there onward)

Have finally heard from Selden in Sweden on practical 'solutions' to my reefing problem (actually had a reply of sorts on Friday, which maybe I should have mentioned, but it did not answer my main, urgent queries & was definitely not useful - I had to email again, on Saturday). Trouble is, they've now sent me the really useful info several days too late to prevent my present problem - i.e. whatever happens, to keep the car inside boom from being 'lost' (when line chafes through and breaks..) since otherwise it will almost certainly jam the main (leech) 1st reef line inside the boom. So now I'm told I have to remove the boom end to retrieve the car, untie reef line from it and then I'll be able to tension the leech using a winch...!!! SIMPLE... in the middle of the ocean .. child's play!!

That definitely sounds like (yet another!) job for calm weather since I'll need to release the outhaul, topping lift, preventer lines and all reef lines running through the aft end of boom in order to remove it and I'll need to undo completely, & then tie in again, the first reef line .. Sounds as though I'll need to drop the mains'l while doing it... I'm glad now that I'm headed into the St Helena High, which is presently stretching right across my path, so winds should be dropping more - already they lessened over today (although tonight they picked up again).

Think I'll sign off - it's getting late.... But before I do, ... 'Berrimilla' (Brolga 33) is a UK yacht behind me (about a week, 730ml today) with Alex Whitworth ad Peter Crozier on board ... We'd hoped to stay in SSB contact - but their radio has packed up - so we've had minimal Iridium and mainly email contact.. They're having to pull into Cape Town to get the radio fixed. Otherwise all seems fine on board - they're on passage to Sydney, Australia from Falmouth. With the wind keeping their newly-repaired wind generator working hard, they, like 'Nereida', are having no electrical power problems just now!

DMG ....to noon Monday 125M (490M off nearest Brazil coast, 640M off Bahia de Todos Santos)

Days 22 & 23 Seas mainly calmer - less falling off a wave into trough beyond!!

I sat out in the companionway Sunday evening having my meal and watching a bright moon rising over the sea, forming a path of silver light towards the boat, after the sun had set. It was good to see some threatening grey clouds nicely downwind of us... with the sky above and to windward clear! At that time, the seas were fairly calm so it was very pleasant just sitting there, enjoying the scene & being mid-ocean.

I really must thank some of the Winlink guys who give up a lot of their time to running the Winlink amateur radio stations I connect into, using my SSB(HF) radio, to get my emails and weather info as a free service (I have an amateur radio licence). Further north, I was frequently making use of Philip, HB9MM (near Lausanne, Switzerland), Andre, ON5FS (Kluisbergen, Belgium) and Daniel, who runs DA1BT & is the custodian of the Bitburg American Radio Club (Germany). When connections are difficult, I often find one with either VE1YZ (Neil, Halifax, Nova Scotia) or VE2AFQ (Andre, Le Reseau du Capitaine, Montreal, Quebec). Most recently, including today, Bud, N0IA, in Deltona, Florida, has bent over backwards to help me to connect, ... to quote an email I got from him on Friday:

Came in during your 15M link
2009/10/29 21:30:50 {Range and bearing to KC2IOV: 4201 sm @ 114T}
Noticed you struggling about 21:45 GMT
That was off the back of the beam. Turned beam to you ... brought your speed up to 1400!
Sorry I can't be here every time!
73,
Bud N0IA

Basically, he came to his computer while I was in the middle of a slow connection, and turned the antenna my way - to speed things up dramatically! Very kind of him - and he's done that several times... Notice, he's over 4,000 miles away!!

It's becoming increasingly difficult for me to make connections as I sail south. Most stations are getting so far away that I only have a very short period of time each day, on a restricted number of frequencies, when connections are theoretically possible - but in practice often don't happen. So help like his is very welcome. My 'fall back' position is to make the direct Internet connection using my Iridium satellite phone - but that can get wildly expensive so I try to avoid that if possible.

I'm now almost in radio contact with the South African Maritime Mobile Net - run by amateurs who keep tabs on boats transiting the seas around, help them with weather info and keep the S. African Coast Guard informed of boat details etc in case of emergency. I heard Graham, ZS2ABK, today - but I'm in the 'skip' zone for the 14316 kHz radio frequency we're using, so can't make clear voice contact until I get slightly closer. Alistair, ZS5MU, also runs the Net - I met him and wife Davina at their annual 'braai' (BBQ) at their home S of Durban after I'd sailed to S. Africa from Australia in November '07. I've already been invited to this year's event - on 6th December - but regretfully, I've had to decline!

The good news on the watermaker front is that I have found a good length of the right kind of hose among my spares for the repair - but I'm waiting for the waves to calm down before attempting it... Access is difficult enough in a confined space under the aft bunk, without the added complication of being thrown around as we fall off a big wave into the trough beyond...! (I was sitting at the chart table this afternoon when I got hit by apples and oranges - netting had given way with the boat's motion...! And later, a glass of cranberry juice I was treating myself to jumped off the gimballed stove top, where it should have been safe, and spilled... grrr!)

Generally, today and yesterday, we've made fair progress in often variable, gusty conditions but with a definite foul current of well over a knot, especially today:

DMG Saturday: 118M; Sunday: 121M

Day20

Finally able to edge E of due south with the wind just S of east.. would be nice to make a bit more easting but need the wind to back even more for that to happen.

It's a good thing we aren't a lot further south just now - the St Helena High is spreading right across the S. Atlantic and looks set to stay there for several days - I'm hoping that doesn't happen again when I get down there in a week's time.

The wind has been varying a lot in strength - I'd left the 2nd reef in overnight - but it really could have been shaken out a lot sooner than 9am when I finally decided we were not making enough speed - we promptly increased speed from around 5 knots to 5.6kn, despite that ever-present foul current of over half a knot..

Spent most of the day dealing (or trying to!) with problems...

The bow-roller anchor pin is persistently coming loose and having to be replaced and tightened.. I'm waiting for rather calmer conditions to make a decent lashing around the head of the anchor, adding to the lashing presently in place around the shank -a good thing that's there!

Looking forward to the first reef line breaking at the luff where it's presently chafing, I've run a line from the same luff cringle down through a block at the base of the mast to lead back to a jammer near the cockpit that's presently being used by the mainsail outhaul. (Fortunately, I had a good spare length of the right kind of line available) I shall take the outhaul back to the mast since there's a jammer for it at the boom forward end. (I insisted on that jammer being provided, when I was queried, along with 3 boom jammers for the reefing leech lines, in case I ever needed to revert to traditional slab reefing.. a good thing, as it turns out! Fortunately, I was keen to provide 'back-ups' wherever possible, when the boat was in build...)

The third problem I tried to overcome showed itself when I tried to run the watermaker.. no water, as yesterday, despite both pumps running. As I played around with the pump switches and the pressure control, trying to clear a possible air block, I heard sudden loud 'hiss' - and saw water spurting from a hose - it had split ... closed the seacock quickly....! I tried to mend the hose with amalgamating ('pressure') tape - spent an hour-and-a-half at least, playing around with that... all to no avail. It was fine, after several attempts, when NOT under pressure, but as soon as pressure came on - it gave way again.... So Friday's job is to see if any of my spare water hose is the right size and length... If I'm lucky, my next job is to replace the entire section - but I know I'm short on plumbing parts....

Friday... Day 21 - almost 3 weeks at sea!

Good wind, especially in afternoon, although rather variable during the night and morning so speed (& DMG) suffered, increased seas later, mainly sunny, although with plenty of clouds around much of the day...

Had to go and fix the anchor pin - how I hate going forward to do that! I have to really force myself... It's not just feeling exposed and continually getting doused in the waves washing over.. (I wore my harness & tied myself to the pulpit so I was safe while working there) - it's partly, I think, knowing that whatever I do (with great difficulty!) won't be good enough to stop the anchor jerking about, however slightly, because of the tremendous forces on it when the bow crashes into the seas.. And if the anchor can still move, it can work itself free again and/or cause damage. It's not too bad now in the warm water and air, but won't be so good working there when it's colder... The seas have built up to about 4m now with the wind having got up a bit more since midday. The only real solution is to get the anchor off the bow and stowed down below - and that is no easy job, being a 25kg weight, such an awkward shape & because of where it is - off the bow. I could only consider moving it in really calm conditions because it's going to be such a difficult job for me to do alone.

Before that, I had to put in the 2nd mains'l reef with the increased wind - and, coincidentally, the first reef line has finally parted where it was chafing (because the wind got up?) - as I've been expecting it to. So I've now taken away the mainsail outhaul line from the jammer near the cockpit and replaced it with the spare line I had already tied onto the 1st reef luff cringle. I still haven't heard back from several people in reply to my urgent queries, sent some days back, relating to the single-line reef system on board... I'm not at all impressed by their lack of urgency or concern in replying.... It's unfortunate, perhaps, that it's school half-term week in England now so at least one person that would normally have helped me is undoubtedly away... but others don't have that excuse...

I've still yet to look at my spare water hose, in the hope that I can fix the watermaker by replacing the split section, although if it weren't mended immediately that wouldn't matter since we've plenty of tank water just now. The only real problem is the membrane deteriorating if not used regularly.

Time to have a nice big mug of tea.... and some biscuits, I think...!!

DMG to Thursday noon: 122M .... and to Friday noon: 120M (420M from the nearest Brazilian coast)

Wed 28 Oct 2009

Yesterday was a definite 'high'! Really good sailing in relatively smooth seas and a really enjoyable day! There were two unbelievable events - the first being crossing the Equator only just short of midday - the timing was amazing! The second was going to turn on some music to celebrate the crossing ... and finding, purely by chance, that I was listening to 'Brazil!' (by Pink Martini) - a great samba (I danced to it, of course!) and incredibly appropriate, since Brazil was the nearest mainland shore (not counting Fernando de Noronha) - roughly 500 miles away ...

By comparison, this morning the wind was up quite a bit and the seas with it so, & since we're still headed upwind, they were crashing into the boat fairly often - not too badly, but I had to be careful to be secure all the time... I had to go forward into the bow to deal with the bow-roller anchor pin which had come loose again, so needed to be repositioned and tightened to stop the anchor moving about.... Definitely top of the list of my least-favourite jobs just now... guarantees a head-to-toe dousing in seawater every few minutes... More lashing of the anchor shank turned out not to be needed. Can't see how to fix that pin in place any better, unfortunately .. can't 'mouse' it since no hole in the pin to use for that... a difficult one!

The watermaker has stopped making water - it was OK when I first switched on, but only on just the one pump, but now it's stopped producing water completely - on either pump. Both pumps are actually working, but the Clark pump isn't working, so no seawater is going through the membrane. (We've plenty of water in the two tanks, so it's not a worry for the moment.) Also I'm still trying to sort out, and waiting for answers to queries on, my first reef line chafe problem...

The good news is that we're continuing to be able to head roughly due south because the wind has stayed ESE. It would be nice to edge a bit further east... but that depends completely on the wind backing more into the east than at present. We're close-hauled as much as possible while maintaining a fair speed, and I put the second reef in the mains'l this morning. (Apparent wind was around 22 knots, with true wind of ESE5, 16-17kn) I also unfurled the staysail and furled in a lot of the genoa - I need to 'play' with the staysail more to get to know it...! Later in the day, I unfurled the genoa - but with still quite large seas, I decided to leave the reefs in overnight - we're making a boatspeed of 5.5-6 knots with the foul current reduced to around half a knot - not exactly fast, but acceptable for overnight...

DMG to noon today: 138M (Still that foul current over last 24 hrs, reducing speed by up to a knot)

At noon, we were 475 M off the Brazilian coast and 280 M off the lovely Brazilian island of Fernando de Noronha - which I stopped off at to refuel last year as I made my way north from Cape Town, Namibia and St Helena, on my way to Trinidad. Memories... It was on that last leg that I was forced to hand steer solidly for the last 10 days, when my electronic autopilot and (Windpilot) windsteering both failed. With the ever-present swell trying to knock the boat off-course, I had to be at the wheel to make our course, or heave-to if I wanted to eat, sleep, etc... 7-8 hrs 'on-duty' and 4-5 hrs 'off' continuously for 10 days... Chaguaramus Customs Dock was a very welcome sight to tie up to late one night and I had a really good sleep! (See my 'blogs' for that period - end of March-beginning April '08) I still have vivid memories of being over-canvassed one night in a Force 7 squall and struggling to cope with the resulting big seas that quickly built up...!!

Tues 27th Oct09 - Day 18 from Canaries

Crossed Equator today just a few moments before midday - so close in timimg, was unbelievable!! Beautiful, sunny, sailing weather with good ESE wind and just a medium-sized (2.5m) SSE swell - no great crashing about!

I'm sitting now with music playing, munching on olives and crunchy 'tostadas' with a creamy dip, sipping cranberry juice (!) - as given also to Neptune/Poseidon by way of thanks for a safe passage!!

Boat speed regularly up to 7.5 knots - pity about the foul current! And we're finally managing to head roughly due S - wind has backed just enough.

Had a call via the satphone from Gary Burgess of BBC Guernsey for a quick 'live' update at 9:10 am, and then another from WRI to discuss weather over next few days. Seems these conditions are set to continue for a good 3 days or more - but then I could find the St Helena High spreading right across my path - we'll have to wait and see!

Two more flying fish on deck this morning - and occasional sightings of a solitary petrel, gliding so close to the waves, its wing tips touch the water...

Our consistent good speed since yesterday of around 7 knots, giving SOG of 6 knots, was reflected in today's noon-to-noon DMG: 138M

(If it weren't for that foul current, it might have been well over 150M...!)

At noon, we were 550 M NE of Brazil (Garcas) & just over 100 M ESE of the St Peter and St Paul Rocks - used by sailors in olden times to check their calculated position on their way up and down the Atlantic.

Went to pick up two flying fish from beside the cockpit Sunday morning - and spotted a long, thin bolt - 7cm long, 3mm diameter ....not something I recognized.... now where did that come from?? I'm trying to convince myself that it was dropped by someone working onboard and has been lodged somewhere out of sight until the biggish seas we've had ...

Early on, I put in two reefs and came off the wind slightly - that helped a lot for speed but not for our course....(never fails to amaze me how you can reef down - and the boat not only sails better, as in more upright, but at least as fast, if not faster...!) With a SSE 4-5 wind, there was no way we were going to make anything like the 180T course we made yesterday... and there was a definite unfavourable (foul) current - from half to one knot against us. Wind and seas got up even more ... and later, I realized the anchor was moving & banging when buried in seas- I saw from a distance that the bow roller pin had come out .. I sat up in the bow and tied myself on (to prevent myself from being washed out under pulpit when waves washed over bow !) and replaced it & tightened it with pliers.. I also lashed the shank down after trying, unsuccessfully, to use shackles for that job ... Felt very exposed and was continually getting drenched by the waves splashing over me. Had a lovely fresh shower afterwards to get rid of all salt I was covered in. Had a haircut (more of a chop, really!) but declined the offer of 'Styling, Ma'am?'..!

Felt much better after that, especially with clean hair... and went on to cook myself a nice meal... pork, potatoes, onions and petits pois - yummee! Sat enjoying it as I watched a lovely sunset - but no green flash....

I just hope the anchor stays put - I must keep an eye on my lashing and that pin. It would have been nice to have been able to stow it down below before starting out, but I felt I'd never be able to get it up on deck and into place in the bow in an emergency situation needing its deployment...

A booby circled around for some time near sunset ... clearly looking for a roosting spot - but thought better of it... good... Occasionally see a (Leach's?) petrel - small, graceful, dark bird with fine wings and white rump.

Monday morning, I spotted the (same?) booby again - but it didn't stay around.

By 4.30 am, the wind had dropped a little and backed to SE - I was able to shake out all reefs, sailing was much calmer, no squalls around... and coming off the wind a touch more meant we were now making 6-7 knots of boatspeed, although losing a knot (by mid-morning, one-and-a-half knots!) to foul current... curses! Putting in a reef again mid-morning, and the wind backing further to ESE meant lovely comfortable but fast sailing all day long, despite the wind dropping a bit during the afternoon, to pick up by evening... Even as I write this, later Monday evening, we're still making 7.3 knots of boatspeed (giving 6.1 SOG) with a single-reefed mains'l.

I had a satphone call from my 'weather routers' - they confirmed what my downloaded 'grib' (weather) files have shown - SE/SSE winds (SE Trades, in fact) settled in place quite strongly, becoming more easterly the further south I get... and the ITCZ ('Doldrums') left behind me now - as I'd suspected from the lack of grey rainclouds around now...

I'm expecting to cross the Equator early tomorrow (Tuesday) since our latitude now is just over 1 degree N and our heading is 200-210T.

DMG:
To noon Sunday: 107M
To noon Monday: 117M (675M from Brazil; 830M from Guinea-Bissau)

Note: Squalls overnight Sat/Sun, so reefed down for those, with variable winds, often dropping right down, around the squalls, over-keen all Sunday and into early Monday trying hard to make course of near 180T - so too close-hauled for good speed - and increasingly foul current on Monday...!
Remember also: DMG is along a straight line, point to point, not the actual course run over the 24hrs, which varies with wind, especially since we're sailing on a close reach with wind-steering, reflecting every little change of wind direction, with speed dropping dramatically when we get too close to the wind!

What a difference in these two days!!
Overnight, Thursday into Friday, I was expecting squalls and was thinking of taking in a reef,just to be prepared but, in the event, with stars overhead and no lurking squall clouds to windward, and since we were only making 3.5-4 knots in E-ESE3 (7kn), I didn't reef - and we had a lovely gentle sail all night, with occasional lightning flickering well off to the north. We did get one rain cloud passing over - at 5am - but it brought no strong wind with it, although the wind did back into ENE for a time after it.

By midday, we had almost reached longitude 025W & we changed course to head due S towards the Equator and beyond.... for the coming fortnight, winds permitting! Around that time, the wind increased a touch - we now had a true wind of E3-4 on the beam - to quote Slocum: "She picked up her skirts and ran!" We were sailing at around 7.3 knots in E-ESE4 all afternoon and on into the evening, when the (true) wind increased to ~14 knots - I took in a reef - we were still making 7.1 knots or more! Absolutely fabulous sailing under a clear sky.... until gone midnight.

At 2am, a small raincloud with veered wind headed us off to the WNW but eventually we were able to make SSW closehauled & then S again as the wind backed to its previous ESE, but now down in strength - and continued so, into daybreak & on through Saturday.

We were clearly seeing the effect of the Tropical Wave passing through. All Saturday, I was continually making course adjustments & trimming the sails, as the wind shifted with the clouds..... frequent long lines of dark grey rain clouds ... line squalls, I believe they're called... with big wind shifts on the approach, under them (often in heavy rain!) and afterwards. It was getting a bit bumpy now with upwind sailing into a SSE swell. At midday, a squall came through with really heavy rain that completely killed the wind - I took the helm to keep us sailing in the flukey wind but could only, for ages after, at best make a W course, closehauled in the strongly veered S wind, at all of 2.5 knots! It wasn't until sunset that we were finally able to get back onto a S course with the wind back into the ESE from the SE of the afternoon. (At which point, writing this, I noticed we were on a COG of 220T, not 180T ... Oops!....Yes, we were under a dark cloud.. & about to get wet! .....And shortly after, yet another, with heavy rain and wind shifts.... )

Oh well.... As the sun was setting, I'd seen a nasty-looking line of big grey clouds dead ahead .... and the night is yet young...!

DMG:

To Friday noon: 107 M (light wind all night) (700 M due W of Sierra Leone, near border with Liberia)
To Saturday " : 135 M (reflecting good sailing Fri pm - I'd hoped it would keep up overnight to give a really superb DMG!)
(900 M NE of Natal (Brazil), 920 M due W of Liberia, but closest land is Guinea-Bissau: 620 M!)

HOT sun around midday - I got slight sunburn on my lower back, despite keeping well out of sun except when unavoidable working on deck.

We're going relatively well, in wind that's a lot better than over Mon & Tues. I've tried to head to where the 'best' wind looks to be over the following few days, by downloading daily grib files for the next five days. Contact with my 'weather routers' is useful - mainly for keeping an eye out for nasty weather to warn me (such as the Tropical Wave presently just to the south and likely to bring more squalls my way), rather than actually 'routeing' me - I prefer to do that myself, assuming I have sufficient information, although I must say that on Thursday we seemed to be in total agreement (not many options, really!).

I was making a log entry just before midnight and had noted ENE 3-4, looked again - drat! - changed it to E... and then to ESE. We were sailing well under full canvas and genoa poled out. "Must be under a cloud," I thought - looked out - yes, the stars were obscured above ... and then the rain started ... and the wind got up... big time!! I had to force myself to stay calm - we were way overpowered & my heart was racing!.... I reefed down and handsteered for some time in heavy rain until things calmed down - as they always do eventually! I definitely had a very good shower and fortunately the air was just warm enough to be acceptable until conditions got better and I was able to go down below and towel down...! The wind returned to ENE - and died down to 5 knots. We had a near-miss about 7.45 am - the wind veered into the ESE again and I could see the grey cloud causing it - but it went on its way harmlessly. I took down the pole and by 9am I shook out the first reef (my whipping seems to be doing its work at present)... and then spent most of the morning cursing the varying winds - lots of windshifts, making it difficult to maintain a steady course without the continual handsteering and change of sail trim I had to do....

On the subject of weather information, I've been talking to the Winlink Development Team (Lor, W3QA, has been really helpful) about the possibility of adding a few more weatherfax 'products', if it can be arranged, to the present very useful, but restricted, listing in the Winlink Catalog - such as for South Africa, Australia and New Zealand (and something for South America?). It would be really great if they could be added - I'd find them really useful and would use them for sure - and they'd be much used and appreciated by a lot of cruisers either when on passage or for planning.

I'm hoping to cross the Equator at 25W, then head towards 20S, 25W unless winds dictate differently. I've been studying grib files for the S. Atlantic for last two weeks, to get an idea of where the St Helena High is likely to be as I get closer - it moves around a lot and I don't want to get headed.... (so going SE direct from here to the Cape of Good Hope is definitely not an option!) I think I must head S for quite a way before turning SSE and then ESE to pass the Cape. Adds a lot of miles to the 'direct route' - but that's pretty well unavoidable for a sailing boat.

Spent more time on the Jordan series drogue - finding a strong swivelling shackle (stolen off the unused Delta drogue salvaged from my old boat!) was a big bonus... that means I'll be able to use it to attach the two bridle arms to the main drogue line so that the bridle can be fixed in place 'ready to go' quite separately from the rest of the gear - which will be kept in the cockpit locker. The main drogue is now flaked nicely into its bag and I have the chain (acting as a weight, attached to the far end of the drogue) stowed separately in a bucket, ready to take to the stern when the drogue is deployed - it makes the bag a lot lighter not having the chain and bridle plus shackles in it! Then all I have to do is to open the locker, take out the end of the main line with cones & use the swivelling shackle to attach it to the end of the bridle (which I think I can keep safely secured in the cockpit, ready to hand) and then make my way to the stern with the bucket to deploy the chain etc! Think I should attach bucket to boat also!! I spent some time on Thursday afternoon, going through the motions, after using wire to 'mouse' the swivel shackle holding the two bridle arm ends together. (Many thanks to Coryn and Tony Gooch, who've deployed theirs several times, for their extremely helpful emails on the subject)

Early evening Thursday - after a good day's sail, we've slowed right down to 4 knots in just 6-7 knots of ESE wind now.. and we're surrounded by lots of grey clouds..... Feels rather eerie and threatening, especially knowing that they're likely to turn into nasty squall clouds as soon as darkness falls and it becomes difficult to see anything!!! Chances of being hit tonight are rather high....!

Later (2000 GMT): Still ambling along at 4 knots... lovely crescent moon high up and sky clear to windward ... Think I'll eat now - yesterday cooked last of aubergine, peppers & courgettes with some meat, potatoes and tomatoes (they're going off fast)...mmm! So far so good.... but I'll put a reef in the mains'l quite soon - and definitely before I start my night's sleep routine...!!

DMG .... to noon Wednesday: 94 M (very slow overnight Tues/Wed) 480 M due W of Pt Kamsar in Guinea, W. Africa;
.... to noon Thursday: 114 M (reflecting better sailing much of the time) 630 M due W of Sierra Leone, W. Africa

Mon 19th & Tues 20th October (Days 10 & 11) Lots of drifting with current... whipping..one lost bird...chute flown... drogue checked out... one poor puffer...

Several useful jobs done:
I decided to protect chafe area on 1st reef line by whipping it with strong twine - I'll have to keep an eye on that & maybe replace the whipping regularly.
Flew 'chute - good thing since furling line had got quite tangled from the abortive attempt to fly it off Puerto Calero... I did it in calm conditions on Monday,to try it out and see how it compared with genoa - it didn't give as good a speed as genoa but at least I've flown it and tested how it all works - and I know it now furls fine. Seeing a dark grey cloud ahead, I stowed it quickly...!
Saw tuna jumping (being chased) Mon afternoon...so let out line on rod....Much later, heard it running out... a beautiful deep blue and black good-sized 'spiny' puffer fish with bright white underside was reeled in ... poor thing - I tried to remove the hook from its mouth to release it - really difficult - it had puffed itself up into the size of a football!
A bird that flew onto boat on Sunday afternoon was still on board....but I made it fly off late Monday afternoon, there being no future for it on board 'Nereida' . Looked as though from dry grasslands (savannah?) but colour apart, I'd have said it was like a small heron with its long legs, big feet and long, dark, pointed beak, but it had green-yellow legs and feet, was striated brown & cream, with dark area on top of its head and a yellow line on each 'shoulder'. When disturbed, it held its head up high, neck stretched and thin, beak pointing up... looked camouflaged well for dry, yellow grassy places. I hope it made it to the coast.... Guinea-Bissau was 300 mls away... but we were headed even deeper into the Atlantic..

Winds have again been variable... from E/ENE 3 to WNW 1-2 - we averaged 1 kn over 7 hrs from noon Monday .... WITH a favourable current of 0.6kn helping!! In fact, without that favourable current we'd have gone NOWHERE Monday! But by lots of handsteering, I managed to keep us heading in roughly the right direction. I spent most of Monday afternoon & evening in the cockpit with 4-5 knot winds, also overnight and early Tuesday when, with wind shifting to ENE2 from NNE we gybed... Taurus & the Pleiades were high up in a DARK sky.....Dawn was beautiful and calm...clear sky above... Then, soon after 0730, wind picked up to 12knots... & suddenly we were moving... making over 5 kn.... but now with speed reduced by a foul current of half a knot... an unexpected and sudden change.

By 9am, it had died again... but a grey cloud started developing overhead .. and gave us wind... - we picked up speed again .. and kept a reasonable speed for rest of day until early evening when it dropped well off.

In the early evening, I came on deck, hearing the throb of an engine as I was sewing on the drogue bag attachment. I spotted a boat not far away... on a roughly parallel course and not going much faster... NOT a fishing boat... and not on AIS,... It had a red, pointed, fast-looking hull & had me concerned - especially when it then seemed to be getting closer.. but it kept on going harmlessly as night fell... By which time I'd nicely flaked the Jordan series drogue into its bag, having sewn tape onto the bag for securing it to a newly fixed strong point in the cockpit locker (electric drills are so useful on a boat!!). I also checked out my procedure for deploying it in nasty conditions, as a result of which it now has a new home, and I've put the chain (end weight) into a bucket for ease of handling. A very useful job done this aftenoon!

This evening saw a lovely new crescent moon as the sun set..but it soon went down ... leaving a DARK sky... but later full of stars...

DMG to noon Monday: 50 M!! (3mls in 5hrs yesterday evening and generally light winds of only 5-8 knots overnight and morning.
DMG Tuesday: 58M (reflecting light winds again overnight and morning...)
We're back to 3.4 kn boatspeed, 3.0 kn SOG tonight.... making for another poor DMG tomorrow. But at least we ARE mainly moving - better than I was expecting - I'm trying to head us into the less light winds, based on grib files - not always the most reliable information! And I'm also looking ahead to crossing into the S. Atlantic & considering where is the best position, with regard to winds, to head south there.

Sat 17th Oct (Day 8) Midday, we were 240 nm West of Dakar (Senegal, W. Africa) and about the same distance E of the Cape Verde Islands.

Quite early in the day, I shook out the reef in the mains'l - and spent a lot of the day trying to figure out what to do about the chafe on the line near the reefing point on the luff. I fixed a block there in the hope it might ease the lead of the line down into the boom where it had been rubbing - we'll see if that helps.

The day was calm, hot and humid - I got very hot and sticky and enjoyed a shower late in the afternoon, as we were sailing along very peacefully and gently at just over 5 knots.

I inspected all the shackle pins after noticing that one (on a running backstay) was almost out - close thing!
Jan of Navalectrics in Puerto Calero has been really helpful via emails over my watermaker problem - hopefully, that's all resolved now... Thanks, Jan!

24 hr DMG to noon: 136 nm

Sun 18th Oct (Day 9) 250 nm due W of River Gambia ... and a long way due E of Barbados!!

At 2am, I had to take the genoa off its pole and over to starboard - the wind had dropped right down to ENE3 (8 knots) but we were sailing fine. The sky was overcast, except for hazy stars showing directly overhead, and clouds in the E and S were lit up frequently with lightning & there was occasional faint thunder. I'd been warned a Tropical Wave would pass over with a lot of wind changes but no great problems expected.

Within half an hour, the lightning was very frequent and the grumbling of thunder was constant. The wind backed into the NE and I adjusted the windsteering (Hydrovane) to keep us headed SSW - it was still very humid and calm, with almost no waves or swell. It all felt quite weird in the darkness, with the calm sea occasionally lit up by the brighter flash of lightning.

Another hour passed - HEAVY rain started! ... and the wind veered from NE to ESE. It then backed quickly ..to E2... (boatspeed 1.4 kn!)...NNE 1-2...NNW 2...NW2-3(SOG 1.4kn)... W... WSW ... the rain stopped ... just half-an-hour had passed!
Only 5 mins later, the rain started up again with the wind veering to NW1-2 - heavy, with lots of lightning & loud thunder around ... boat speed 0.0!! Ten mins later, the wind had backed again into the WSW .. and one hour later, all was calm, I'd stowed the pole, sorted the mess of lines & sheets but there was NO wind. Lightning continued to flicker for a time and soon after 6am, we were making over 1 knot in roughly the right direction but with the wind anywhere from WSW to NW.

0730 - heavy rain again! I finally needed a jacket to stay warm in the wet, windy and highly variable conditions and by 1130, realized it was time I had some breakfast!! Thinking things had settled down, I relaxed - only to realize the wind was swinging all over and dying ... the story of today!! According to the log, we made 3 mls in 5 hours this evening.... so we're not exactly breaking any speed records!!

Not surprisingly, today's DMG is down from the last few days: 93 nm (mainly due to the reasonable sailing conditions yesterday and some strong wind in the rain this morning)

I hate to think what tomorrow's 24hr DMG will be - I'm told (and gribs also indicate) that the very light winds will continue for two or more days .... patience...!!

POSTSCRIPT: Don't you hate it when you've worked hard writing - only to lose it without trace due to a PC glitch?? I'd written my 2-day report in full early this afternoon and was about to connect in to post it early when, to my horror, I saw the sentences disappearing rapidly of their own accord.... Why?? I don't know... and then, to make matters worse, a chunk of unsent (and sent) emails went the same way - irretrievably..!!! It was as though the 'mouse' had a mind of its own - I wondered if the lightning around overnight had somehow sent it crazy?? All that definitely sent me crazy (:o).... and gave me a lot of unnecessary work tonight!

PS2 A lovely, favourable current is still working for me (has been S-going over most of the day) - boatspeed: 1.9kn; SOG: 3.1kn!! In SSE 4-5kn of wind, we're managing to make a course of 230T.

It's early afternoon Friday and we're making excellent progress in good NNE-NE 4-5 winds - up to 19 knots. The wind got up yesterday soon after midnight and I had to put a reef in the mains'l but soon after lunch, with the wind down to 13kn, I shook it out - only to have to leap out of my bunk just before dawn today to put it back in with the wind up to 17-20 knots again! I'm trying to head more S than SSW so that when headed by winds, as I expect to be in the next few days at some point, I can go west a touch without that taking me too far off my preferred route S.

By all accounts, I can expect this good wind to continue for a day or so, diminishing from later tomorrow if not sooner, and then on Sunday and overnight things might not be quite so pleasant - the wind is likely to veer into the SE and a tropical wave is expected to come through - likely with the odd squall and wind all over the place!

By Monday, I could well be getting close to the Doldrums (ITCZ) - and running well and truly out of wind for several days... The only sure thing is that no matter in which direction I sail over the next 2-3 days, whether S, SW or W, it looks as though I can't avoid going through an area of little or no wind next week ...for at least two days, probably more.... time will tell!

The good news from yesterday is that there is no longer any problem with the second watermaker pump - not sure how it got fixed, since all I did was to check the connections inside a switch and check the wiring below the aft bunk. Did moving wires around fix it? Somehow I can't believe so! Anyway - it's fine and all connections are looking good, so that's one item off the job/worry list!

The not-so-good news is that the occasional drop of oil is still leaking from the rod-kicker - that is definitely something to worry about and keep an eye on - nothing to be done here and now, since the gas strut needs replacing, I hear. If all the small amount of oil in the seal disappears, the gas will escape meaning it will no longer support the boom and I'll be relying on my topping lift when reefing - at least I have one (some people with a rod-kicker don't bother - I was actually asked if I really wanted one...). It's been way too useful an item not to have and if nothing else, it's a spare halyard.

Just went to look again and take a photo of the oil drops on deck. While there, I looked at the first reef point - it's chafing again.... The line down from the shackle on the sail is being pushed out by the sail fabric and it's rubbing on an edge by the goose neck where it enters the boom to run to the aft end... With single-line reefing, I can't afford that end to break ... that's going to be difficult to sort out - I can't keep on cutting line away by the shackle - I'll soon run out of line.... LATER: Well, I've just cut & fixed a piece of clear tubing around it where it's rubbing, having released the reef a tiny bit - but that won't stay there for long, I'm sure... And I'd have to do that every time the first reef goes in... and take it away before shaking out the reef - not very practical.... Any suggestions??

With that, I think I'll close.... I'm not feeling a 'happy bunny' right now.....

LATER: Just to add to my woes... went to turn on watermaker when running generator because batteries too low to send this report ... NO water came out... flicked switches... nada!... upped aft bunk..checked seacock and pipes - all looked fine... realized pumps were running when switched on.. turned off and de-pressurised system, turned on - nada... re-pressurized - YES!....WATER finally.... Phew!!! Not a good evening - but at least that problem ended happily... Was there air in the system...? If so, is there a leak...??

'Distance Made Good' (noon-to-noon positions):
Thursday 15 Oct: 138 M ; Friday 16 Oct: 142 M 150 M ENE of Cape Verde Islands

Air: 29C Sea: 32C!! 70% humidity Quite cloudy.

Dark, dark, dark...! No moon, just a few stars in a hazy sky. Some dew dripping off the boom. Very few 'diamonds' of phosphorescence. Then suddenly, a small pool of intense white light in our wake - and then another. Every now and then they flash on just below the surface of the sea.. and go just as quickly - seemingly relatively large beings - big jellyfish? I'd love to know but have no idea...

It's Wed night and we've picked up speed over the evening from the leisurely daytime progress we were making in gentle NE Trades under full canvas and quite a few clouds. Occasionally, we'd get up to 6 knots when the wind teasingly picked up for a short while .. and sometimes down to 4, at which point I'd be feeling guilty for not bothering to get out the asymmetric. (Interrupted as I wrote this - just had to get up on deck hurriedly to take in a reef - wind had picked up & we had turned more upwind, & off-course, with the Hydrovane struggling to keep control against the over-powered mains'l. It's large & fully-battened. All fine & calm now!)

I'm making for East of the Cape Verde Islands since that route seems to offer the best wind, with a large high pressure area to the west killing the wind there. But I don't want to go too close to the W. African coast since there's a chance of losing the wind ... I'm trying to keep a middle course while keeping out of the way of the coastal traffic .... of which there's LOTS!! So many ships.... I'm so pleased to be transmitting on AIS, since I'm sure that's why they seem to be keeping well out of my way!

I'm spending a lot of time pondering routeing across the Doldrums and down into the S. Atlantic towards the Cape of Good Hope - won't be easy to get it right, with both the ITCZ and St Helena high pressure area constantly moving!! But I'll probably have to get fairly close to Brazil to keep favourable winds and not get headed. I'll probably have to head quite a way S before I can turn E towards S. Africa, keeping a look out for depressions coming up from Cape Horn as I do so....

Tuesday's main news event came after a day of mainly gentle, often very slow, sailing after I'd gybed in the late afternoon to make a more southerly course. I was looking up at the mains'l, on the side that had previously been hidden from me, and spotted that the second reef line was badly chafed not far from the shackle holding it to the luff of the sail. I had to lower the sail to reach the shackle, remove it and cut away the section of line before I could re-tie onto the shackle & replace it. Sealing the end of the cut line was difficult in the wind and it all took a time.... Before hoisting the sail again, I checked the first reef point carefully - a similar problem, although nothing like as bad, right by the knot onto the shackle - better to deal with it now than regret it later... "Manana" is not a good attitude on a boat...!! I just managed to hoist the sail finally before dark. I'm suspecting the hard sail fabric as the cause - and I'm not too happy about this particular problem showing itself so early in my journey since I expect to reef a lot ....

The other problem showed up on starting the generator that evening to charge the batteries, when I put on the watermaker. (Not that I need the water, but just to keep it running well - "Run it often & it'll give no trouble," I'd been told.) I found only one of the two pumps was running.... I'm hoping it's just a wiring/connection problem which will be simple to find and fix.

Wednesday's problem was the kicker - I saw spots of oil on deck below its lower end - and have emailed for advice. The gas-filled rod-kicker is good in supporting the boom, but I do have a topping lift as a back up - although that's also supposed to be the halyard for the trysail.

But the good news of the day was - a FLYING FISH!! We're definitely in the Tropics! I found it on deck in the morning when I checked around.....

Fruit - is rapidly ripening! I'm having to keep an eye on it and I'm eating lots (enjoyed papaya for breakfast!.) Soft fruit won't last much longer, but apples and citrus should be fine, along with potatoes and onions. Eating well while fresh food lasts!

'Distance Made Good' (noon-to-noon positions):
Tuesday 13 Oct: 125M; Wednesday 14 Oct: 122M
Not too bad considering downwind sailing in rather light winds (mainly NNE-NE4, ~12knots) under windsteering...
Getting warm and humid: 28C both daytime air and sea! 66% humidity Mainly just a few clouds.

DMG (i.e. direct distance) between noon-to-noon positions:
(From Puerto Calero, on sailing out of marina entrance at 0645 GMT, to noon Sat 10th Oct: 29M)
To noon Sun 11th Oct: 139M
To noon Mon 12th Oct: 127M
Total DMG so far: 295M, compared with 314M from log readings.

Discrepancy due to mix of calibration error, occasional gybing, current effects and general 'wandering' off straight course due to wave action, wind steering and electronic autopilot steering (used until Hydrovane was set to work on Sunday to save power - it keeps a surprisingly good course and I'm really happy with it).

I'm not pushing the boat too much, partly still getting used to how she sails, and partly bearing in mind I've a long way to go so don't want to stress the rig. But tomorrow, if present light winds continue (which is very likely), I'll get out the as yet untried asymmetric and try that for better speed - it'll be a useful experiment - new boat, new sails.... I'll try to make sure I don't make the same mistake hoisting it as when we tried it a week or so back, out of Pto. Calero!!

NE-NNE winds should continue, maybe swinging to NW for a time over next few days - almost certainly light for several days, but better E of Cape Verdes than W, because of high pressure W of here.

I'm writing this as I heat up my favourite beginning-of-passage meal: a 'ratatouille stew' - thanks to Sally for chopping everything up so it could be cooked in advance of leaving - enough for three evening meals, easily!! Yesterday's squid (or cuttlefish? - can someone tell me the difference?) - was delicious! - cooked in green olive oil with plenty of lemon juice... mm!

Outside, it's calm but very dark- cloudy and far too early for the waning moon to have risen. Nothing and no-one out there - just me, the boat and the dark sea & sky.... 'Nereida' is like a small cocoon in the middle of the ocean - safe and familiar. Tonight, there seems not to be any phosphorescence in the disturbed water - unlike on the way down to the Canaries from Guernsey, when it was like hundreds of diamonds sparkling in the water!

Amusingly, after the nasty Capt of 'Jigawa', I had a pleasant chat overnight with the guys on watch on 'Rofos' - a tanker headed to Cotonou in W. Africa - typically nice, friendly Phillipinos who were clearly intrigued by the thought of a woman sailing alone - I'd seen them change course to pass astern of me as they crossed my path without my needing to contact them to ask their intentions...

This morning, I was getting breakfast after having looked around on deck (no squid this morning!)... went to poke my head up again - and to my amazement, found a small yacht sailing very close off to starboard & crossing my path. Seas were quite big at the time and the wind had suddenly strengthened so we were both moving around a lot... There was no-one on deck and no response initially when I called on the VHF... I steered to pass her astern as her skipper came up on deck - he hadn't realized I was there until hearing me on the VHF ... a close call! Bob, of 'Sylph VI', was also single-handing and was now on his way back home, after cruising around the N. Atlantic for a few years. He planned to take his time and stop in places en route to Adelaide via Brazil & the Magellan Strait. We had quite a long chat and arranged to do so again later in the day - but I pulled too far ahead of him, his boat being smaller, and by mid-afternoon, when I tried calling on realizing he was out of sight, we'd lost radio contact.

Time for food ... There are no ships around at present and we're over 100 mls off the W. African coast - hopefully, way too far for small, unlit fishing boats.... Goodnight from 'Nereida'....