October is fast disappearing - and still I've a list of work waiting to be completed on board....  (I'd hoped to be in Saldanha by now, relaxing and maybe writing...)

My latest on the slow pace of  work.....

Q: "Why is Cape Town called the 'Mother City'?

A: "Because it takes nine months to get anything done!"

The staysail chainplate was (with great difficulty) removed and re-bedded - clearly much-needed ...  that should stop the seawater leaking down into the forepeak as it has done badly so often when at sea.  The stern arch leakage was also dealt with - not so much the footplates needing re-bedding as the upright poles having a good-sized unsealed gap around their base, letting in seawater over the upstand inside, as the water washed the side and aft decks in big seas.  That took a long time to deal with - but now it's done, it has meant that the  wiring coming down inside the pole could be re-done and all the connections better made.  Some new wires have been laid from there to the chart table - that always gets interesting! - but it gave me the chance to clean a lot of bilge and floor areas! 

The radar has a new housing - the old one was letting in some water where a rubber was missing so I was lucky it still functioned OK.   The AP needs re- calibrating after some instruments and AP parts have been serviced or replaced - I'll need to go out sailing to do that & to make sure all is well once  all wiring and instrument issues are finished with.   The fridge is now working with a new digital thermostat, although it's waiting for some new pipe insulation and the light to be connected up. A new cold-plate was installed after being welded up once the copper pipework inside had been tested for no leaks.

My big news as of yesterday - I've been invited to meet the Queen at Buckingham Palace on 8th December...!   I got the message as I was on my way into Cape Town to enjoy the celebrations of the 'Opening of the Cruising Season' at the Royal Cape Y.C.  - a fun day and evening, with a short time on the choppy water watching the dressed boats parade past the Commodore, followed by plenty of socialising and dancing (on land!).

Earlier this month, I re-visited the Waterfront where the 'Clipper' crews were busy with final preparations for the Race start on Wednesday 5th... Many novices were among them, given jobs according to their available skills...  Lots of checking over of deck gear, repairing & servicing of winches and blocks, splicing where ends of lines had chafed, some washing of fruit & veg,.....  Weather bright and sunny...  SE wind forecast - not very strong and so the first day or more expected to be rather slow.

I helped take 'Lobelia' around to Royal Cape Y.C. from Simon's Town under a hot cloudless sky - motoring all the way from 0645-1400 in very little wind!   SE on the nose in False Bay and not enough wind to sail once we'd rounded Cape Pt - my 4th time around the Cape of Good Hope!   We kept fairly close in when rounding the point, as last time - but kept well away from Anvil and Bellows rocks!   Interestingly different to helm a light-weight race boat with its enormous wheel.  Lots of seals were seen lying on their backs, flippers in air....   also a whale and several dolphins came by.  My face got quite sunburnt while helming! 

The stern lazarettes' drainage was improved by altering pipework and I also want to improve the locking down of their lids.  A lot of time has been spent on the Internet and Skype, chasing items not available here and also looking for sponsorship....  still one or two possibilities...but generally, the answer has been - "No money available .... but maybe we can offer help in kind."  
 
I found space in the engine compartment to stow spare Hydrovane vanes, which gets those out of my way, and I also screwed in another steel restraint to stop plates falling about in rough seas.  I'm now looking around at improving stowage of food items on my long passages - I've been given three sturdy crates but the problem is where and how to fix them so they're safe but still accessible in bad weather.

  

I managed just one walk on Table Mt which started out along the walk up to Devil's Peak, but turned off along a contour path - a pleasant, easy walk - with lots of flowers, now spring is well- advanced.

I also drove up the W coast to visit Saldanha Y.C. (in the main port area of Saldanha Bay, with its many fishing boats), not far from the Bay entrance.
        

By the gate at the entrance to the Y.C. was a bright carpet of flowers:
       

 I stayed overnight at a lovely B&B on the beachfront in Saldanha, with a view over to the Bay entrance, fishing harbour and Y.C. moorings  
     
These gaily-coloured birds were unafraid as they splashed in the fountain.   Ostrich farms were plentiful - the big, black and white birds were unmistakeable!
 

     

From there, I drove on north to Paternoster - now full of beach houses and surfers, but clearly once a quiet little fishing village:

      A brief stop at the white-sand beach with small fishing boats and rocky outcrops in places - before heading on to the marina at Port Owen a short distance further up the coast.   My idea was to investigate places I was thinking of sailing to - I was given a very friendly welcome in both places and both told me I must take "Nereida" there!  My other reason for making the trip was to try to see the carpets of flowers I was told were so impressive in spring - but I was either too late in the season or, as someone later told me, I didn't go far north enough....  Up near Springbok was the place to be...  But I did wander mistakenly into  a private area with a string of beautiful racehorses being exercised amid some lovely open countryside - where I spotted a beautifully-marked, small tortoise. 

     
as I got out to photograph yet more, different flowers... 

     

The area around False Bay and the mountain drive over to Cape Town never fail to impress me with the  lovely  scenery.  I stopped off at Kalk Bay for a fish meal last Sunday - to find live jazz being played while the swell smashed against  and over the harbour wall close by.
  

 Last Tuesday, I enjoyed a concert at the old Klein Constantia wine cellar given by the Cape Philharmonic - mainly pieces I knew well but had mostly not heard live.
                                                            
I've also spent a little time helping Diana Doyle who has been working hard, trying to organize a worldwide cruisers' seabird count in December....
Are you a birder? Are you a boater?  Do you have a friend with a seaworthy boat? Go out for a sail or motor for the inaugural "SeaBC" Sea Bird Count! It’s like a Christmas Bird Count (as takes place in many different countries around the globe), but where you count birds at sea, rather than on land. Choose your weather day in December and count all the birds you see for a few hours or an entire day.

The SeaBC was created to raise awareness among long-distance boaters from around the world & to record their seabird observations. You may be a landlubber, but if you know birds, team up with a boating friend to add to the count!

 This will be the first ever worldwide seabird count, to our knowledge – be a part of it!

 "The SeaBC benefits seabird conservation by mobilizing the worldwide boating community to document ocean bird sightings, providing critical and otherwise seldom-recorded data on seabird numbers and distribution and on ocean migration routes." 
For additional information, including tally sheets, go to www.Facebook.com/Birding.Aboard    and select "SeaBC/Resources". 

A few more flowering plants on the contour Path walk:

    

Back to boatwork after a short visit to UK and the Southampton Boat Show
                         
My brief UK visit was just as hectic as expected, but I managed to see a few friends, in between several visits to the September Boat Show ....    Had good friendly responses from lots of people at the Show - but full sponsorship for my planned re-attempt at a nonstop solo RTW next year is not at all easy to get - hardly surprising with the present economic situation, but I'm still working on it.

The Show organizers were very helpful & gave me free entry whenever I attended.   Several firms have given me bits of equipment - Eberspacher UK gave me a better control unit for their diesel heater, incorporating fault-finding diagnostics - I'm in the middle of installing that.  Scanstrut have given me a new radar support and damper mechanism for their gimballed unit and IMP will be giving me some LED lighting strips for the engine compartment and some lockers.   Derek of 'Yachting Sports' also kindly gave me a 36mm deep socket - needed to enable me to tighten my keel bolts!   Raymarine are continuing to give me lots of help and support, which is much appreciated.

I've still no refrigeration - a new cold-plate is being fabricated after the old one corroded badly and I'm installing a digital thermostat control unit.   Several items are needing re-wiring from the SS stern pole, some back to the chart table - ugh!!   That work also includes installing a good wi-fi antenna with quality data cabling to pick up wi-fi signals from a distance.  I still need to re-bed the staysail chainplate and stern steelwork in an effort to eliminate leaks, the Hydrovane mechanism needs some minor attention and fibreglass work on the gas locker is starting tomorrow (Monday) hopefully - to improve water drainage in order to avoid rusting of steel gas tanks stored there.  I'm still waiting for the day when the main work is all finished and I can tidy up the boat to see what else needs doing!

I visited the Clipper fleet on Sunday at  the busy V&A Waterfront - interesting to see the heavy deck-gear needed to deal with their big sails.   Very little crew comfort down below...! I was hoping to see a member of the 'Gold Coast' (Aus/QLD) crew that I met in Thame recently - Taz is doing the next leg to W.Australia. They leave on Wednesday, after a crew-change and a week's pause for rest/, repairs and provisioning - they expect a 28 day passage.   (I wish them good luck! - weather is likely to be nasty this time of year....!   There was a strong SEer today!)  After looking over the boat, I had a photo taken with the British Consul for Cape Town who was also visiting the boat - all the gear is big, with an emormous boom and sails!  (My cousin lives in Cairns and the local radio&TV people greeted me on landfall there from Vanuatu in July '07, having taken 4 mths to cross the Pacific solo from Mexico, so I feel an affinity with the region - and 'Gold Coast' is also doing very well, so far, in the race!)

Sunday evening I went to Kalk Bay for a meal - and was fascinated by the swell breaking heavily over the rocks just outside the restaurant and a pair of Southern Right whales seen for quite a time just before sunset beyond the small fishing harbour entrance.   The whales are here in numbers in False Bay and all around this coast now.

Weather has been variable since my arrival back here - hot in the daytime, during the clear days when the wind has not been so strong (as it often has), but cold at night - my Ushuaia fan heater is continuing to be well-used!

A few photos - firstly of an English 16th century thatched house, with a high covered entrance for farm carts, in the old village of Long Crendon, not far from Oxford,

and then two photos of the 'Gold Coast' Clipper boat here in Cape Town at the V & A Waterfront complex (one with Christopher Trott, UK Consul General and the othershowing two of the crew members at the main winch)

'Nereida' spent quite a time on the hard while the rudder was being repaired.   Fortunately, the core was not one that held water so not much time was needed to dry it out before work could begin on reconstructing the trailing edge back to its original shape, using several layers of glass matting for strength.   While out, anodes were replaced, the keel was sanded and antifouled, a few marks & scratches were dealt with and the topsides nicely polished.   I spent quite a time taking the propellor back to shiny metal in order to re-coat with Propspeed - an effective non-toxic coating of smooth siliconised plastic which underwater life finds it difficult to stick to - so it stays clean for a long time...

I gave a talk to the Club soon after arriving - it was the first Wednesday of the racing season but the wind was not cooperating, so we waited quite a time for the last of the (becalmed!) racers to arrive before starting my presentation -which included lots of photos...  

The following Friday was party night at False Bay Y.C. - they were happily celebrating winning the Lipton Cup (by a close margin!) after a three-year campaign.  It's an annual event, held this year in Mossel Bay (close to Knysna Y.C. who were last year's winners), in which every yacht club in SA is able to be represented by just one L26 boat with a total-weight-limited crew - so it's a 'level playing field' in which tactics and skill (and a bit of luck if winds are flukey!) decide the outcome.

I like Simon's Town because it's a friendly, safe place with plenty of atmosphere and a cosy 'small town' feel.  It has lots of old buildings, due to it having been the main Naval Base for South Africa for two centuries.  The yacht club marina is adjacent to the docks of the naval base.

I was invited to look over a Fisheries Protection vessel docked across from a S.A. navy frigate and a short distance from a museum piece of an old submarine open to tourists.  The 'Lilian Ngoti' was preparing to go on a tour of duty - well-equipped with two big engines (I was very impressed with its 32 cylinders!!), floodlights, speedy RIB .... ready to challenge any suspect fishing boat:

A lovely Sunday morning walk with Judy, Jackie and her dog Benjy was on the 'Kloof Corner' path, leading up to the contour path winding its way all along the side of Table Mt for many miles:

     

There was a nice view over to Lion's Head mountain once we reached the narrow 'contour path' on Table Mt:
  ....
...... with good views along the coast S from Camps Bay:

and across to Signal Hill and Table Bay, lying calm in the warm sunshine:

The path wound its way beneath a high rocky cliff to beneath the cablecar leading up to the top of Table Mt:
   
Judy and Jackie were well ahead when we reached a stream tumbling down into a welcolme pool of cool water (I kept stopping to take photos of the many different flowers!) :

 -  a lovely place for a lunch-stop:
  
It was a lovely break from boat work ... and in the sunshine, many Spring flowers were coming out unusually early to join the late winter ones....  The weather was like a good English summer's day - they tell me it's been an unusually mild winter and they need more rain to fill the reservoirs - but I'm happy to have had so many good sunny days!

The following week, with 'Nereida' back in the water, safely tied to a marina dock, we had some really strong winds and rain .... I needed the protection of the new screen to stop the heavy driving rain from reaching into my companionway - it arrived the following week, after needing several adjustments - in time for the next front bringing a lot of rain...  That screen is going to prove very useful!

So now ... on to photos of the many pretty flowers (and eye-catching grasses!) that kept my camera busy as I walked...

              

  

                               

Finishing with yet another lovely protea...! 
 

The Cape of Good Hope with old LH high up:

Cape Point - new LH low down - where it can be seen in bad weather:

 Saturday was a beautiful, sunny, calm day - perfect for sailing the often-rough 40ml from Hout Bay to Simon's Town around the Cape of Good Hope.   The wind was so light that, despite the mainsail being fully hoisted, it was more a matter of motoring most of the way in a light, apparent headwind, rather than sailing - the genoa being unfurled for just a short time as we rounded the Cape.  We passed very close to Dias Rock, off Cape Point at the entrance to False Bay, before going on past Boulders Bay, with its many penguins, to Simon's Town, to tie up at the False Bay Y.C., adjacent to the Naval Base (the main one in South Africa).

N side of Cape Point, close to the new LH, old LH high up:

It was very nice for me to have company on board - Alastair and daughter Tanzi, together with Melvin - all of whom seemed to enjoy their sail, especially Alastair, who helmed a lot of the way, taking us well inshore in the shallower waters, to avoid the 'washing machine' conditions that are normal a short distance further offshore  ....  something even he admitted, with his 'local knowledge', was only possible because of the relatively calm conditions.  Although a big swell was running, making for spectacular surf crashing onto the beaches (the Kommetjie surfers were out in force, enjoying the day!), the waves were spaced quite well apart and we made sure to keep well out from the breakers!

As we came around the lighthouse, we made HF radio contact with it - today was 'Lighthouse Day' when all the lighthouses in S. Africa (and in many other parts of Africa and all over the world, I heard it claimed) were being manned by radio enthusiasts hoping to make contact with each other and with other 'hams' elsewhere.  Melvin made contact with several lighthouses, once he'd woken up sufficiently!

View of Slagkop LH, across the spray and breakers of Kommetjie surf beach, Chapman's Peak on RHS, across Hout Bay to Table Mt in the distance:

 
Melvin recovers from a very early start (he was up at  5am to be sure of getting to Hout Bay on time!):
 

.......while Alastair and Tanzi look after things in the cockpit (Tanzi is taking time off from keeping a lookout for kelp in the chilly early morning air):

I kept a record of our track (in red) from Hout Bay, passing close to the Cape of Good Hope and very close to Cape Point (only safe in extremely calm weather!):
 

Later, we all joined Alistair's family and parents for a visit to the Tibetan teahouse close by for lovely tea and rice-cake before ending up back in Hout Bay for a meal....  My drive back to Simon's Town in the dark over the Chapman's Peak toll-road went fine - I took it very carefully!!

Sunday was grey and rainy, although not as bad as forecast, and I met a few people at the Y.C. here.

Monday "Nereida" was hauled out for rudder fibre-glass repairs (resulting from it being knocked by the wind-steering rudder which came loose in bad seas while lying to the series drogue on passage from the Falklands) - very necessary and rather more extensive than I'd expected, but being dealt with by good workers here.   While on the hard, anodes are being replaced and the keel antifouled.

The swirling surge on the narrow approach to the haul-out cradle made for a few worrying moments but, with lots of helping hands, all ended well - with just one slightly bent stanchion to repair later....

Trailing edge of rudder in need of repair:

Views in and around Hout Bay harbour....

The fishing fleet, looking over towards Hout Bay entrance:

Fishing boat manoeuvring before tying up:

Jellyfish visited Hout Bay marina......

Hout Bay beach:

Kingklip, snoek, yellowfin and other fish ... at 'Fish4Africa' in Hout Bay harbour:

Hout Bay has been enjoyable - so different from Cape Town.   It's a busy, active fishing community and there are lots of friendly people regularly on board their boats here in the Y.C. marina ... a sociable place!  I decided to postpone my sail around to Simon's Town (now scheduled for this coming weekend) until after my return from Namibia .... but then found myself having to abandon that trip - a great shame, but it turned out I could well have had a major problem crossing the S.A. border either way - so, unhappily, I felt obliged not to take the risk....  I'll try to do something later in the year perhaps.

The sun has continued to shine with quite a lot of heat during the daytime, although the temperature still plummets at sunset with the cold air and lovely clear skies.   We've had very few rainy days - a problem for the region since the reservoirs are not full and by now (in winter) they should be ... but I'm enjoying the blue skies and sunny weather.

After last Friday night (live music at the RCYC), I spent an enjoyable, relaxing weekend with Judy at her house in Table View, with a lovely beach walk one morning, exercising her two dogs, lots of Internet time spent finding out a bit about how my website works and a couple of nice meals in company.

Clive came by to replace a faulty engine tachometer which was itself a replacement for the original one, whose hours display kept failing, but the original turned out to be far better than the faulty replacement in that at least it showed the engine revs consistently!!

The new clear screen attachment to the sprayhood was finished, but details on the attachment points to the sprayhood have had to be adjusted several times - I think we might be on the final lap now!

Today's my birthday - it's been a beautiful day and I'm looking forward to a meal out with friends tonight.  I've just received a long-awaited TeraG hard drive and LED screen for the computer (replacing a screen damaged by my January knockdown W of Cape Horn) - so I'm beginning to 'play' with those!  I was supposed to be changing a faulty immersion heater on the hot water tank - but that job is being postponed to another day since I prefer to 'play' and relax today, rather than do anything less pleasant!!

I've just been able to hire a cheap car for a fortnight or so, meaning I'm far more mobile & independent now.  (Many people have kindly been giving me lifts.) So tomorrow, I'll visit Klein Constantia winery - it's only a 15 minute, very pleasant drive away from Hout Bay, just over Constantia Nek.   I'm looking forward to that.

Thursday 18th Aug

I'm writing this update in Gabriella's coffeeshop/restaurant not far from the harbour, after a delicious curried prawn & avocado lunch .....  Gabriella has just opened here - she deserves to do well .... a good atmosphere and great food!

 

Had a lovely meal at 'Maestro on the Beach' last night with several friends... back late... and up late this morning ...to drive to Klein Constantia for a guided tour of the winery by Adam, the winemaker there.   Lovely protected valley with flowers, views of the mountains nearby (Vlakkenberg!) .... with a wine-tasting at the end .... & a birthday gift of a bottle of champagne...  In addition to its good white and red wines, the winery is famous for its dessert wine - a lovely, light, not-too-sweet amber liquid.... 'Vin de Constance'  - Adam recommended it with some blue cheese.... sounded good!  (Napoleon had it shipped regularly from here to St Helena and many other famous people in the eighteenth century enjoyed it also!)

Photos of Klein Constantia winery, vineyard flowers and surroundings:

Tues 9thAug .... Women's Day - Public Holiday in S. Africa - beautiful sunny day - I moved to a more protected berth with plenty of help from the many friendly people on the marina.

A beautiful small shrub seen frequently on my walks:

Recent boat work has included replacing a pair of shrouds after one was found to be  damaged (two strands broken) - which involved motoring over to the crane by the haulout area in the RCYC yard for unstepping the mast so it could be taken ashore (Table Mt in the background):
 
That meant it could be doubly checked and more easily worked on.  All toggles etc were checked & serviced and, while it was easy to do, I took the opportunity to tie twine between the shrouds and mast steps to avoid the main halyard fouling on the steps as it was otherwise inclined to do at times (I still need to go up the mast soon to tighten a few of the lines).  The spinnaker halyard and second reef line both needed replacing due to chafe.   A day later, the mast was stepped again and the mast-light cables were reconnected.... All wires and connections were checked over and some corrosion  (due to seawater having got to them in the knockdown) dealt with.

A clear screen attaching to the sprayhood is being made to protect the companionway and sliding hatch area from rainwater in an effort to stop the water from getting down below in bad weather from astern.   The theory is that I'll also be able to sit on deck in its lee and stay reasonably dry at times!

A week or so ago, a replacement for a faulty replacement shore-power control unit arrived from the Netherlands and last week RCYC member Paul kindly brought a replacement electric immersion heater element with him for me from the UK - after a lot of organizing on my part and help from Yachting Sports at Hamble Pt - many thanks to Paul and to Derek.  I'm looking forward to dealing with the heater element and maybe enjoying hot water on board soon.... but the ongoing fridge repair is proving more difficult, with a corroded cold-plate looking as though it's in need of replacement - yet another item not immediately available here in S. Africa....   The corroded cockpit locker light switch has been mended, the new solenoid switch on the galley gas supply and the gas sensor system are both now working, the isolating transformer is in position and working and the prop anode has been changed (nothing was left of the old one..) ... so some positive things have been achieved....   (I also did some necessary clearing up before moving around to Hout Bay!)

With regret, I decided I had to move from the Royal Cape Y.C. in Cape Town due to the cost of berthing.  It's very expensive for visitors compared with members (for both berthing and yard services), has just increased a further 7% with their new financial year and with my having been there for three months was set to increase even further with the addition of a so-called 'membership fee' (with no benefits!)....   With all the repairs I've needed to see to, it was getting too much - especially since I cannot sensibly leave S. Africa to head East towards Australia and N.Z. etc until the summer weather arrives in a few months' time.

I've enjoyed some more Friday night live music and many more lovely sunny days (although the air is cold and temp drops like a stone at night) but the very day (last Thursday) I wanted to sail the 20 ml around to Hout Bay, to give a talk that evening to the Yacht Club, it was blowing a hooley with nasty short seas that really knocked us about & the autopilot regularly dropped into 'standby'.    As I approached Hout Bay, visibility dropped to near zero in heavy rain but with the help of my radar I got in safely and my talk that evening seemed to go down OK...  

I shall stay here in Hout Bay, with its very friendly Y.C. (and highly reasonable charges) and active fishing fleet, for a short while (I'm going to see something of Namibia next week, ....camping!) before heading the 40 ml around the Cape of Good Hope/Cape Point to Simons Town.   There I shall haul out for a rudder repair & to clean the keel & antifoul and then I shall stay on at the False Bay Y.C. to finish with outstanding boat work.   In October-November, I might explore the coast to the N of Cape Town,  possibly stopping at Saldanha Y.C. for a while, in Saldanha Bay (there aren't many places along the coast to choose from to stop at, in fact).

My Sunday walk a week ago with Lee-Anne and Amanda was in company with quite a large group of walkers to Vlakkenberg - literally a 'flat mountain', but nothing like as large as Table Mt. which it is near to.   It was approached from the Constantia wine region with its large houses and many vineyards and the views over Constantia, False Bay and towards Hout Bay from high up were, as always, stunning.  Some of the many varied 'fynbos' flowers have been coming out earlier than usual, I'm told, due to the lovely sunny weather we've been having, even though the air temperature is well down - it's definitely chilly out of the sun and especially at night.

Start of path up the Vlakkenberg:

View S over Constantia vineyards across False Bay to Hang Klip:

View N to Table Mt:

Typical worn stone outcrops at the top of the mountain:

Lunch stop by top beacon - view W to Sandy Beach on far side of Hout Bay:

 

Last Sunday, I climbed the Lion's Head for the second time - this time with Judy and daughter Dominique (Olympic sailor!) and Amanda.   It was fun to climb up the 'chains' - put in place on a short vertical section of the rock-face to make it a lot easier and safer....   but with the warm sunshine bringing out hikers galore, there was a major 'traffic jam' of people waiting to use them - strictly 'one way traffic' with no 'passing'!   I didn't take my camera on the walk, thinking there'd be no need for it - but was surprised to find more several plants in bloom (bulbs, bushes and succulents) that were new to me.  One large N-facing slope (facing the sun in the S-hemisphere...!!) was a lovely mass of flowers!

At the RCYC, some Russians visited regularly from a couple of diamond rig boats, there in the harbour for maintenance and repair .... and we got chatting.  They looked over 'Nereida', took my 'repaired' wind-vane away -  it came back two days later - far more professionally and sturdily repaired...!!

Dimitri, Valery & Alex decide they can improve on my wind-vane repair:

 

Time to go hiking and see more of the lovely mountains and other scenery (and flowers) in the Western Cape province around Cape Town.   Some boat work is being done - but at the usual slow pace, so I decided it was time to accept invitations to get away ... hiking up beautiful Chapman's Peak, .... a day excursion along the coast to Hermanus, seeing Right whales and a large pod of dolphins with young along the way, with a return over the mountains,... and a trip out to the pretty wine-growing valleyof Franschhoek, returning along the SE coast of False Bay, with a walk in some woods the next day and a quick visit to the nearby Klein Constantia winery.  Many thanks to Amanda, and also to Penny & Nicholas, for the highly enjoyable days out.

Boat work has included dealing with mast lights, instrument problems, refrigerator and the gas supply to the galley, but the bad news was a rig check showing up a damaged shroud, which means the mast needs to be un-stepped to fix a new shroud, and a diver checking the main rudder - and finding it to be damaged and in need of a haulout to mend the fibre-glass... more delay before finishing the work on board...  but all necessary for the boat to be safe to continue on eventually.  So it's been good to get away at times - and the scenery is often stunning:

Proteas flowering on Chapman's Peak

Chapman's Peak Hike above Hout Bay, 17th July 2011

  

At the top of Chapman's Peak with Lee-Anne and Giovanna...!

And the view down to the sea with the distant road showing how far up we'd climbed...

Day outing to Hermanus last week with Amanda ..... A pair of southern Right whales were cruising along the coast south of Gordon's Bay, on the E coast of False Bay:

... and slightly further on, near Hangklip, at the SE entrance to False Bay, a large group of dolphins with several very young ones were circling in an enclosed, shallow, sandy bay - with what look suspiciously like sharks keeping them company!!:

The deceptively peaceful, sandy beach below Hangklip - I wouldn't dream of entering the water here for a swim.....!!

On Thursday, out  from Diep River with Penny and Nicholas for a mid-morning coffee with cheese-tasting at the Fairview estate with its goats ....

Later, a lovely meal with a spectacular view over the Franschhoek valley with the old village set among its vineyards, followed by a visit to a berry farm with lovely views over the mountains around Franschhoek:

 

Sunday 10th July

Another beautiful sunny day feeling just like summer - we've had nigh on a week of this weather, which has been really nice, although the temperature drops a lot at night, especially with the clear sky.

Climbed up Platteklip Gorge this morning with friends Lee-Anne, Judy and David - felt like quite an achievement on reaching the top of Table Mountain after nearly three hours of a tough, steep climb, often scrambling over enormous stone 'steps'.   The start of the path up shows how it was all the way up to the top - steep and full of stone steps, many far larger than those shown here!

Fabulous views and lots of other people also attempting the climb on such a lovely Sunday.  Quite a few dassies were seen lying out in the hot sunshine at the top...

 
and there were great views along the coast and over to False Bay from the top of the mountain ... before catching the cable car down and driving back to the yacht club for a late dinner.

Photos show Lion's Head mountain and general view over Cape Town and Table Bay from the Table Mt cable car:

 

Saturday was also thoroughly enjoyable, with a lovely, sunny sail in the afternoon on board 'Lobelia' out in the bay, taking part (for my second time this year) in some club racing - excellent wind conditions and we had a great, fun race - first over the line, well ahead of the rest of the fleet!

Later, I was delighted to get some useful help from club member Gerhard in dealing with a problem I've been having in updating my 'Articles and Interviews' website page.  I'd spent easily three days last week, struggling to learn how to upload files and text myself and had made good progress, except for a few items which had me beaten - but all is virtually now in place, except for one recent magazine article and two TV items from 2009, still causing a slight problem which should be resolved very soon.  (If you want to check out that section, click on this link: http://www.svnereida.com/article/my_rss_podcast.php )

Earlier in the week, even though expected, it was upsetting to hear of the death from cancer of Ed (K7UEN) in Pt Townsend - a good friend to so many people in the 'Pacific NW' and B.C. and a keen Ham.... He will be missed.

Work on board has been typically erratic and not very productive since my return from the UK, with a continuation of the frustrating problems of getting people to keep to expected time-keeping.  A replacement compressor for the fridge didn't solve the problem there - there seems to be a possible blockage in the refrigerant circuit; the wrong version of a replacement tricolour and anchor light fitting was sent from Denmark a..nd I'm still waiting to hear if a replacement for a faulty shore power control panel has arrived from the Netherlands.   In the meantime, electrical work is on hold, so the boat is still topsy-turvy down below, but at least progress was made on some stainless steel work with a good fairlead now in place for retrieving the Jordan series drogue next time around and a fitting for a stern anchor also in place, along with some useful improvements to fittings in the galley area.  The steel arch is to be lifted next week , to re-bed the base plate and bolts through the deck with sealant in an effort to prevent seawater ingress down below.... similarly the staysail deck fitting, which has been leaking badly into the forepeak.   Once that has been done, the rig will be checked over by a good rigger here.  

There still seems to be quite a long list of outstanding work to be done... so I'm having to extend my visa here so as to avoid possible complications.   Time was needed on Friday to start organizing that (including a medical and x-ray!) and tomorrow I'll visit the Home Affairs Dept again, to submit my application. I'm hoping to assist in a scheme to get youngsters sailing as a way to help them develop in a positive way and overcome a variety of problems due to their impoverished background .

With such slow progress on work, I had plenty of time to watch some Wimbledon, which I've not seen for several years -  that was very enjoyable.  (Usually, the Club TV screens are full of rugby and cricket...)

I was also taken by car to Hout Bay Y.C. by Alistair and family soon after my return -  a pleasant ride along the coast and it seemed a very friendly club, although the boats on the dock at Hout Bay are often very exposed to strong wind and swell and there's not much racing.  Afterwards, we went to the Eastern Market for a meal - it's a great place for good but cheap food of all types - Indian, Chinese etc.  Here at the RCYC, there's been good live music on Fridays and it's continued to be a very sociable place to be in while I try to get work finished on board.     I'm looking into exploring a bit of S.Africa when the boat work is finished, since I seem to be 'trapped' here for the present.....  

Cape Town Report 3

'Chunky', Dockmaster at the Royal Cape Y.C., very kindly placed me conveniently right in front of the Clubhouse - I can get wi-fi to the boat without a problem and have no distance to walk to the restaurant and Bar .... and on a sunny, warm day, the view of Table Mountain can't be bettered!

Work has gone frustratingly slowly - but I've also been relaxing and socialising a lot - often in front of the lovely log fire lit in the Club of an evening now that the winter cold weather has arrived - I'm glad to have a small fan heater in the boat to take the chill off  the air quite often... and it's nice to be able to play my iPod music through the radio speakers at last. 

Present jobs in hand include sails, series drogue bag, transformer, instruments and autopilot problems, watermaker, gelcoat repair, windsteering adjustments and vane replacement, tricolour replacement, stainless steel work ... and I've probably missed some items....!

It was lovely to be invited to join Leeann and Giovanna for some Sunday walks in a group - good exercise, beautiful views and some delightful flowers and plants to be seen to add into the enjoyable company!

Sunday 29th May 2011:  Climbed up the Lion's Head mountain on a rather damp day - luckily, it hardly rained at all.   It was so nice to get away from the Yacht Club to get some fresh air and exercise!.

View along coast beyond Camps Bay, with the 'Twelve Apostles' shrouded in cloud:

Pretty but tiny flowers were frequently seen beside the path up:

The top of the mountain looms high above us - not too far to go now....

A steep climb in places, over the rocks - but lunch beckons...

The obligatory 'over-the-edge' photo (with Leeann), Robben Island in the distance, under the overcast sky with the sun trying, but mostly failing, to shine through..

The cloud closed in a bit as we made our way down....

Lovely giant proteas, typical of the Cape area, were flowering near the end of our descent:

Some proteas were just about to open:

On Friday 3rd June, I gave a short after-dinner talk and slideshow about my sailing to the Officers of the Royal Cape Rifles (Duke's) in their Mess in the old Castle of Cape Town - an area not normally visited by tourists and full of old memorabilia.   A very enjoyable evening and an interesting insight into a different aspect of S. Africa.

On Sunday 5th June: I got away from the boat again - this time to climb Table Mountain itself.

Start of climb from Kirstenbosch Gardens - we're headed up to the top, right up there!!

Giovanna and daughter Beth rest on way up steep waterfall - section of the steep scramble up Skeleton Gorge - definitely not a relaxing amble through the woods...!

Lovely, often vivid, flowers, often very small... But with eyes constantly looking down to see where feet had to be placed for secure footholds, there was little trouble spotting them!

Lunch was eaten under this craggy, worn overhang near the top of Table mountain, before the descent:

Interesting wind-eroded rocks at the top:

We girls do the 'over-the-edge' photo-shoot at the top!!

Looking over to False Bay on descent down Nursery Ravine on Table Mountain - It was this steep all the way down!   The climb up Skeleton Gorge was easy by comparison...

These tiny little flowers needed a touch more sunshine for them to open up fully:

More of the beautiful flowering plants in the Kirstenbosch Gardens:

A visit to the Cape area wouldn't be complete without seeing some of its dramatic Proteas - these magnificent blooms were on display in the Gardens' entrance, but we'd passed lots of the plants near the bottom of Nursery Ravine and on the slopes above the Gardens:

...................................................................................................................................................................................................
13-27 June:  
Flew to London while work was stopped on dealing with electrical and instrument repairs/problems with Robert taking a 3-wk holiday (I'd hoped his work would have been finished beforehand, but some problems were rather time-consuming to sort out ... and a lot of TIA-type delays also didn't help....) 
Brought some items with me to UK for testing/repair/replacement - took them down to Portsmouth and  Southampton for a speedy turnaround - Raymarine and Navico both being very helpful, as usual, and made a useful stop at a couple of chandleries.   Pauline, at Force 4, was her usual very helpful self. 
Have been catching up a bit with family and friends, plus getting dental and medical side of things sorted out.   And have spent a lot of time on paperwork - being away for long periods means lots of post to catch up on ... and tax returns can't be avoided...  
ITN wanted me to visit their TV Studios in central London for a 'live' News item on my successful RTW completion and resultant record-setting....  Eventually managed it on Monday 20th June - was very relaxing to be chauffer-driven there and back through the busy London traffic - and no parking problems either...!  Was very interesting to see the studio production side of TV - lots of people crammed into a relatively small space!  
Summer weather in England is very similar to winter weather in Cape Town, with Cape Town a little colder and often needing heat in the evenings and overnight, but the days in England, being around Midsummer's Day, are noticeably longer, of course.   It's still light well after 10pm in London, but dark by 6pm in Cape Town.
I'm hoping to complete all work on "Nereida" within a fortnight of my return, so I can sail over to St Helena and Brazil for some warmth and relaxation, until the seasons change later in the year....  But my plans, as always, are 'made in wet sand at low water'...!

Tuesday 24th May

"This is Africa" .... or TIA...!!    Translates rather like "Manana" or "This is the Caribbean"... or "This is S. America" !!  In other words, don't expect too much to happen too quickly.... or too soon.... despite any promises or 'appointments' ....   grrr!!!

No sails removed for estimates for repairs - neither yesterday nor today (nothing heard either) ..... ditto no sign of steelwork I would like done being thought about, let alone started (I know it'll happen eventually, but that's little consolation right now!)....  Nothing achieved yesterday or today on outstanding electrical work, although lots of emails and discussion.... and nothing further today on aligning of alternator (although at least engine and genset were checked over and oil changes etc done last week, in addition to gearshift mechanism being replaced - It was totally corroded and actually broken so no wonder I had problems when I was trying to dock on arrival here!) .... So I'm feeling just a bit frustrated with lack of progress..... especially having felt on Friday that finally the ball was rolling...
 
Definitely having to relax positively, so as not to get stressed out waiting around for people not to show ....   And getting other work and/or estimates organized is also proving difficult......  Knowing the TIA syndrome here, I knew better than to fix a time when I could think about leaving....  "How long is a piece of string??" is my usual response to the question!   So I'm trying to get on with what I can do in the meantime .... and, apart from getting on with boat cleaning and tidying, that includes the pleasant but lengthy task of replying to lots of emails full of good wishes  - and trying to raise funds for charity, now that I've finally completed a solo RTW.  That's taken a lot of effort and time.

What else...?   Plenty of relaxing and chatting to friendly people here in the evenings...  good music last Friday....  All very nice but I'm tied to the boat and not getting out much although I was taken out by friends on Saturday - nice to drive out of Cape Town and see the rugged peaks of the Stellenbosch mountains in the distance.

  View down to Cape Town from near top of Table Mountain (taken February last year, on steep climb up Platteklip Gorge) 

Wed 25th May

Feeling much better!   Genoa returned repaired and stays'l taken for repair from flogging caused by knockdown and mains'l to be removed for repair tomorrow first thing...    Radio replaced and iPod connection now good.    Fridge looked at and 'expert' coming by on Friday to deal with it (compressor or pump seem to be the problem areas)....   Autopilot drive unit removed for testing/checking/servicing... temp sensor in depth transducer seems to be definitely faulty.....  Need to improve rigidity of rudder reference unit support... too flexible at present.   Trying to organize replacement under warranty of tricolour and anchor lights at mast top - neither are working.

Alastair (who I met on Saturday with his family, while with friends Melvin & Shama) spent a lot of time this afternoon and early evening, looking over PC problems and software and advising on changing items to give less power consumption and more reliable system.   Confirmed old PC and  separate screen were totally 'toasted' by saltwater but sorted out independent GPS 'dongle' to PC which I'm using now - so that's working to give back-up position, course and speed input...finally!  Ordered new 12V PC charger, digital thermostat for fridge, trying to sort out new stand-alone LED replacement screen & also TV software for PC to replace TV function of damaged screen.   Just as he was leaving, he asked if I'd like to help him bringing his boat around here from Hout Bay tomorrow - sounded like a good idea so that's possibly happening tomorrow, if weather is OK.

Alternator alignment .... Philip and Welcome of Southern Marine came by - seems only solution to alternator alignment problem is to replace present pulley with new aluminium one to resolve problem of misalignment .... replacement motor clearly very slightly different from old one replaced last year, hence the problem.

Being now evening, I relaxed and had a meal with the usual friendly Wed evening crowd in the clubhouse - no racing tonight, but people still come by to chat and get together.   Hoping to join a small group on a possible walk up the Lion's Head mountain  this coming Sunday morning - if weather OK.

The only other cruiser here beside myself, Ron on 'Reckless' (a Nic 32), is finally trying to get ready to leave after many months here....He'll be making for St Helena and then on to Brazil, which is possibly the route I'll be taking from here once all my work is finished, but he's finding it difficult to leave after being here for so long...!
 

Saturday 14th May 2011

It's been made to feel like a real 'homecoming' by the friendly Royal Cape Y.C. members - so many of whom I know well from my stay here last year....

I've been totally relaxing - almost unwilling even to think about all the work that needs doing on board...! I've had so many emails with good wishes from people - all very much appreciated and nice to receive - thank you all! It'll take me a time to respond to them all but I hope to quite soon....

Friday I finally got to Immigration & Customs to Clear in .... and got some S.African rands (local currency). The RCYC driver Brian kindly took me there and back to enable that, including a quick visit to the Waterfront complex for a SA simcard for my mobile phone - so as well as being solvent now, I'm also contactable - which was made use of during the afternoon by the local radio station here in Cape Town for a 'live' chat on CapeTalk Radio. Early in the evening, I also had a 'live' telephone interview with Geoff Holt on BBC Radio Solent's 'H2O Show' which will have gone out in the 7pm programme that evening.

After refuelling, "Nereida" was pushed around the marina and in to a new berth in front of the clubhouse on Friday afternoon by Edmund and his team of helpers..... without incident!

Live music and more socialising over Friday evening ... nice to get in a bit of celebratory singing and dancing... I missed my music on board after the iPod connection to the radio (and its speakers) went down during my knockdown...

Today there should have been a major regatta so it's been very busy in the clubhouse (more catching up with people!) but the water has been like a millpond - so it was finally postponed to tomorrow, in the hope of some breeze then....

Wednesday 11th May 2011

Highlight of early today... a WHALE breached well astern ... Wow!! What a great welcome to S. Africa and Cape Town!! And a bit later, I caught sight of some dolphins - nice! Still a few shearwaters and petrels .. and a little storm petrel again... Even an albatross until surprisingly quite close to Cape Town.

Table mountain and all mountains ahead clothed in cloud/mist .... The sun tried to get out in the afternoon... a few blue patches...

By afternoon, better views of the coastline - but still lots of cloud .... The Lion's Head was eventually visible, with only a small amount of cloud around its top, but Table Mountain stayed well covered in its 'Tablecloth'!

Close to Cape Town harbour, we passed through a large stretch of water where there were amazing numbers of seals and birds in a frenzy of diving - there must have been a really big shoal of fish there!

As I passed through the main harbour breakwater, I called Port Control to announce my arrival and had permission to proceed.... as I watched a vast number - hundreds and hundreds! - of cormorants flying low over the water past us in the dusk - headed out to sea from within the harbour ... They clearly knew of the fish that were out there!

I knew that I needed to check my astern gear to see if it was working - I can't slow the boat down without using it. So as soon as I'd dropped the mains'l and secured it, I tested out going astern ..... we immediately picked up speed ahead ..... Oh dear!! No reverse gear - as I'd suspected since trying to back up on my anchor off Gough Island....!!

That left me with a problem when coming in to dock at the Royal Cape Y.C. where I was headed. I decided the only plan that might work, having already got lines and fenders ready, was to come in very slowly, in neutral, from a long way off and hope to have slowed down enough by the time we approached the fuel dock that I could step off quickly with lines and stop the forward motion - and hopefully, there would also be someone around to help (I'd emailed in advance, alerting the Club to the possible problem and giving my hoped-for ETA of around 5pm)....

So I went into neutral well before the marina entrance.... but we didn't seem to be slowing down as fast as I expected - if anything, keeping up a speed of around 3 knots - was there a current of some kind? ... surely not....? This was not going according to plan.... far too much speed .. with no reverse to help, what to do? I couldn't understand why we weren't slowing down as we should have been once in neutral.... I spotted someone near the Fuel dock who was running down to help me in, calling out to the Dockmaster as he did so - and I called out to him that I couldn't seem to slow down..... Nightmare....! I tried to bring us really close in to the the dockside and threw the bow line which was caught by Alan and secured ..... but we still had too much forward momentum and we didn't slow down so very fast, the rope being only partly-secured and giving way somewhat.... our anchor caught in the metalwork ahead - TG!! We finally came to a stop, with Dockmaster Ian ('Chunky'!!) holding our bows off to prevent damage and me stepping off smartly to secure the stern line before we swung out too much - what a way to end my RTW!!!! It turned out that Alan (of 'Moonshine') knew from my website log report of yesterday that I was hoping to be coming in around 5pm - Thank you for being there, Alan - saved the day...!

I decided to leave celebratory drinks to later - tidied up the cockpit, checked the mooring lines, made a final log entry and went for a lovely, hot, long shower - bliss!! Then over to the Bar where there were a lot of people I knew well from last year (no Wednesday night racing tonight but it was still a sociable evening for them). Once they realized I'd just made landfall, it was drinks all round, starting with some celebratory 'bubbly' ... and more throughout the rest of the evening.... Very enjoyable welcome ...

Thursday 12th May

I have no memory of making my way back to the boat, although I clearly did, since I was woken up around midday (the plan was to be moved to another berth this morning) - "Go back to sleep!" Ian called out to me - I did!! Having only had 3-4 hours sleep the night before landfall, and the excitement of coming in to land at the end of my passage from the Falklands to conclude my RTW, added to a few too many drinks last night ... I finally got up around 3pm - to find the sky was clear and blue and the sun was hot!! I'm looking to do a lot of repairs now - mostly left over from my knockdown - before deciding what to do/ where to go next.... Just now, I really don't know .... but there don't seem to be many realistic options....

(Listen to the 'H2O Show' on BBC Radio Solent tomorrow night 7pm BST- 'live' interview, by satphone, with Geoff Holt. If you can't listen, it will be posted to the www.bbc.co.uk website under 'H2O Show')

Tuesday 10th May 2011

Great surprise! .... Found a flying fish (and a squid) on deck soon after dawn!! Didn't think we were far north enough, in warm enough waters, for flying fish ....

Had to motor-sail from 6am - just a touch of engine-power to help make sure we arrive in daylight on Wednesday, rather than arrive after dark or wait overnight for daylight entrance on Thursday morning... Still not sure if my astern gear is working or not - I'll find out inside harbour, before I make for the marina entrance. Might need all my fenders ... and a very slow approach (preferably with a nice headwind!) ....should work out OK.... especially if someone on shore to catch my lines to stop me!! Wind now only 7-8 knots and boatspeed 4 kt - just not quite fast enough, since need to average 5 kt if to arrive before dark.... Hopefully, we can finish with a nice sail - that would be nice...!

Midday
3 white-chinned petrels nearby and one yellow-nosed albatross soaring in distance on long, dark, fixed wings. Sunny with quite a lot of cloud.

Rolling about a lot at times in long swell from SSE - partly due to having boom well out with wind from well abaft the beam.... Still motor-sailing due E in 10 knots of W wind ... not a lot of help in making a good speed towards CT! Just checked fuel level, yet again - plenty there...!

1400GMT report:

LAT: 33-58S LONG: 015-45E COURSE: 089T SPEED: 5.9
WIND_SPEED: 7 WIND_DIR: W WAVE_HT: 2.0M WAVE_PER: 7
SWELL_DIR: SSE SWELL_HT: 4.0M SWELL_PER: 9
CLOUDS: 60% BARO: 1010 TREND: 0

24hr DMG: 110 n.ml. Distance to Cape Town (RCYC): 134 n.ml.

3pm
I can't get over how warm it is - I've discarded my thick fleece trousers and a top layer - too hot! Downside of sunshine and warmth is I seem to have lost my faifhful birds - no more great shearwaters and only the one albatross seen earlier... Did see a flock of birds (prions?) busy nearby a short while ago - they'd clearly found some fish - and a gannet (or similar-looking black and white booby...) flew past.

Enjoyed the last of the fresh eggs, with fresh coffee afterwards, in a sunny cockpit... reflecting on my last few months of sailing... Would have been so nice to have been closing on the B.C. coast right now, as intended .... Have to admit that's been a huge disappointment to me... but sailing is so often unpredictable - that's one of the things I've always liked about it, although it can also get frustrating at times...... I've been celebrating pre-landfall today in my own way... enjoying being at one with the ocean & storing up good memories!

Quite a lot of shipping now - have 2-3 boats near me most of the time - mostly cargo vessels headed around S. Africa to the Indian Ocean, some to Singapore and beyond.

7pm
Always good to watch the sun setting although nothing extraordinary tonight. Clear sky overhead, line of grey cloud on the horizon...and the bright, waxing half-moon high up. Possibly my last sunset at sea for a while, since I'm hoping by this time tomorrow to have berthed at the Royal Cape Y.C. in Cape Town harbour. Wind down to 5 knots from NW - if it were a bit stronger, we could sail nicely...! Hopefully, as it veers more to the N tonight, it will strengthen.

Monday 9th May 2011

11am

Bright, sunny day, almost clear blue sky overhead - but low, misty cloud lurking on horizon - waiting to drop as fog come nightfall? Seeing ships regularly now on A.I.S. - none too close but two this morning two ships (to Ningbo - where's that? China? - and Singapore) passed just 2ml and 3ml away - saw their lights on the horizon close by.

Still not had b'fast - got sidetracked, sitting in the warm (!) sunshine, watching the birds around - and trying, mostly unsuccessfully, to get good photos of them ..... SO difficult to frame them!! So often, as the shutter clicks, they wheel off in the opposite direction... While watching the Yellow-nosed albatross (2), Great shearwaters (lots!) and White-chinned petrels (2), I suddenly spotted a small, white-rumped storm petrel, flitting about as they do, really close to the water. Going to need to spend a long time at the computer, going through my shots - no doubt deleting most of them .... but hopefully, there'll be one or two worthwhile ones! It would be nice to have a record of my companions on this passage!

Having to motor-sail and the wind has just gone back into SE from SSE earlier - only 7 kt so not a lot of help from the sails - but we live in hope.... The swell is really big from SE, at easily 4-5m if not more, but well-spaced at around 8 seconds, so majestic... powerful... but not threatening! (LATER: Wind down to 4-5 kt at 11.20)

Time for a late breakfast before the S.African M.M.Net soon.

1400 GMT report:

LAT: 33-57S LONG: 013-33E COURSE: 091T SPEED: 5.4
WIND_SPEED: 14 WIND_DIR: SSW SWELL_DIR: SSE SWELL_HT: 5.0M SWELL_PER: 8
CLOUDS: 5% BARO: 1009 TREND: -1

Distance to Cape Town 244 n.ml. 24hr DMG 62 n.ml. - made a right-angled turn...

4.30pm Sailing along beautifully at close to 6 knots under sunny, blue sky.... with birds for company... no motor... What could be nicer.....? Just had the last Ushuaia grapefruit - lovely and juicy inside still, after two months.

Wind will probably die and veer further W soon (presently SSW-SW 15 kt) - but for the moment this is just great! Have been sitting in a warm cockpit and enjoying it all!!

Later - Well I just gybed the mains'l and goose-winged the stays'l.... On a very broad reach in wind from W at just 12 knots. Still sailing nicely .... not very fast, but good enough to take us into Cape Town by Wed afternoon, hopefully. Beautiful night sky - bright stars, Milky way strewn across, crescent moon, path of bright moonlight to the boat across the water.... lovely sailing... NOT cold...! An excellent way to end a long passage - pity the wind might well die further tomorrow and overnight into Wednesday for landfall - we can but hope the wind stays up!!

Sunday 8th May 2011

Thanks to the many people who have sent very kind emails with good wishes after I 'closed the circle' on Friday - definitely helped to buoy me up, despite the still very 'boisterous' and frustrating conditions which have not allowed me to get much closer to Cape Town over the past day, with such strong (20-24kt) ESE winds!!

Sun has been shining this morning, which is nice, but I'm looking at my distance from CT - presently about 300 miles. The N-flowing current, combined with heading very close-hauled into big seas giving low boat speed, means that I'm only able to make a course of around 020-030T at best, whereas CT is on a bearing of 086T - almost due East of here...

The only good weather news is that the Low off Cape Town tomorrow is set to move slightly S and then dissipate, giving rise to light SW-W winds over tomorrow and then to light variables, mainly from W, for the next few days. So, hopefully, despite the still-present swell, I may soon be able to sail (or motor-sail) towards Cape Town - and a delayed landfall on Wednesday .....

1400 GMT report:

LAT: 34-20S LONG: 012-23E COURSE: 025T SPEED: 3.8
WIND_SPEED: 19 WIND_DIR: 100 SWELL_DIR: SE SWELL_HT: 5.0M SWELL_PER: 8
CLOUDS: 80% BARO: 1017 TREND: -2
COMMENT: 24hr DMG: 96n.ml. Dist.to CT 302 n.ml.

3.30pmGenoa just blew out... have had to furl it in - using just staysail now - but wind set to diecdown soon and until in to Cape Town - possibly no wind on last two days anyway ... so will wait and not try to mend it in present bumpy conditions for time being - It's a long rip all down from halfway...

5.30pm
What a to-do!! .....The wind just went around and around in circles - I couldn't figure out what to do... whatever I did, it was wrong each tIme - because the wind promptly changed.... and not just once .... several times.... Quite weird!! 23-24knots of shifting and circling wind.. There were some odd-looking long lines of grey cloud stretching from a point on the western horizon ... we weren't under but more between two long lines of cloud - I wondered if they were the cause of my problems... Lasted for well over an hour and had me quite concerned...!

Later: Wind dying down and slowly veering, as forecast .... Waiting for wind to drop further and go more S before trying to motor-sail towards Cape Town ... Deliberately not increasing sail so as to stay sailing slowly and not go further north than 34S - latitude of Cape Town. If wind dies right down, may have to motor last stretch .... grrr!!

Saturday 7th May 2011 - Rough seas continue with strong winds from ESE

Wind got up to 27kt at 3.30am ... then finally down to 19kt in a long lull at 5.30am.. rough seas .... back to my bunk for some sleep...

9am
Lovely bright sunshine, with lots of broken white cloud. ... and plenty of birds, as yesterday - but many more! Including the inquisitive, immature black-browed albatross, with grey 'collar' and dark tip to bill, seen two days ago. Along with the pair of adults, that makes three soaring around majestically, among all the other birds close by...!

Close-hauled in ESE true wind of 23 kt, dropping to 20 kt every now and then. We're banging often into the frequent, big (4m, 4 sec) seas - so not a very comfortable ride! Seas crashing regularly over the decks ...

We're not having much choice of course - can't do much better than what we're making now - varies a bit due to the wind swinging around somewhat and the seas often knocking us off course, but we're averaging 035T which is OK. Hoping the Low will eventually allow us to head towards Cape Town before we get too far N - otherwise we'll have to heave to and wait it out...

1400 GMT report:

LAT: 35-43S LONG: 011-25E COURSE: 030T SPEED: 5.7
WIND_SPEED: 24 WIND_DIR: ESE SWELL_DIR: ESE SWELL_HT: 4.0M SWELL_PER: 4
CLOUDS: 100% BARO: 1029 TREND: -1

24hr DMG: 107 n.ml. Direct distance to Cape Town: 363 n.ml. ETA 10/11th May.

Evening:
Not much change from earlier - we're still banging into the seas, close-hauled, making 030T at around 5 knots and getting tossed around a lot... makes for slow speed but so far wind strength not too bad... around 20-23 kt, dropping to 16-18 kt from time to time... Expect conditions to worsen overnight and during tomorrow, before easing slowly overnight Sun/Mon.

Friday 6th May 2011 Difficult weather ahead - but today we finally completed a circumnavigation - we 'closed the loop'....!

10.30am
Been spending an age downloading and looking over weather info and options and plotting points/routes on chart to see Implications.... none very good or pleasant!! Basically, although it's pretty rough now, it's going to get even rougher - ESE gale is very likely, offshore from Cape Town on 7th-8th May (later Sat into Sun) with 5-8m seas possible.... Even trying to avoid that area means a bit of a detour to the north and west of my preferred course and still probably getting strong winds, although hopefully not as strong, and bigger seas than at present but, again, hopefully not as big as in the gale area..... All the result of a Low coming S down the coast and squashing against the High I'm in at present, which will have moved further S.

I've decided to go for the less severe option, expecting even then to have to heave to again sometime tomorrow and overnight into Sunday possibly, when the winds increase and/or swells get too much for comfort.... or simply to avoid going too far north. It should only add less than a day, frustrating though that is...!! To add into the equation is the fact of the strong N-setting Benguela current - up to 6knots, I've been informed. Even though the 6kt sounds to me like an extreme (an eddy, maybe?) the current is still strong enough not to be ignored... The prevailing wisdom is always to approach Cape Town from the SW so as not to be swept too far N by it ... My ETA into Cape Town will hopefully be no later than 11th May... all depending on the exact weather conditions encountered, the route I end up taking and how long I heave to, if I do...

Time for a late breakfast after a peek up on deck to how we're doing and to see what birds are around ..... I think I've exhausted looking at all possible permutations and combinations of options on my route....!

Around 11am GMT, under a bright sunny sky, witnessed by a pair of circling albatross, several petrels and a pair of shearwaters, we crossed our December 2nd 2009 path south from Lanzarote towards Cape Town - so we've now well and truly circled the globe .... from Cape Town, around Cape of Good Hope and Cape Agulhas, past Cape Leeuwin, through Bass Strait and Cook Strait to Kauai, on to Cape Flattery (Pacific US/Canada), S from Victoria, B.C. to Cape Horn, to Ushuaia, on to Falklands, .... and back now towards Cape Town - weather gods permitting .....

1400 GMT report:

LAT: 37-08S LONG: 010-02E COURSE: 040T SPEED: 5.5
WIND_SPEED: 20 WIND_DIR: SE SWELL_DIR: S SWELL_HT: 4.0M SWELL_PER: 4
BARO: 1030 TREND: 0
COMMENT: Wind killed to 12kt by cloud, then picked up again to 20kt! Distance to Cape Town 453 n.ml.

Just around sunset, we left the rainclouds behind and the sky overhead cleared completely ... to show a lovely crescent moon hanging above the sea.... some bright stars.... and the wind even died down a bit for a time, giving some relaxing sailing in less swell, for a change! The swell seems to be mainly from the
SE, making us lurch often when a crest hits, but also sometimes from the SW (astern).

The wind should stay around 20kt or so now, until around sunset tomorrow, when it's expected to start increasing to give strong conditions overnight and over Sunday- I could well heave to then to maintain position and/or make life more bearable if it's getting too rough! We'll see then what that Low gets up to... If I'm really lucky, the weather people have got it all wrong and that Low will dissipate or head S out of my way quickly so I can get in to Cape Town more directly ... and sooner... (In my dreams!)

Thursday 5th May Decided to heave to this morning - for sleep!

Well, the expected Front passed by around 3am, as shown by a fairly quick wind shift. Heavy rain ahead of it just before 2am, backing of the wind from NW to SSW and then slowly on to S.... It kept on raining and the seas were really big and rough, with swell from more than one direction. I gybed the sails once the wind had backed enough for us to keep on the same course without a problem, so we're now on starboard tack - which we haven't been for a long while! It's the first heavy rain for ages - so couldn't really complain at having to don foulies several times over to go on deck for sail trimming..!!

I found it very difficult to sleep overnight, with the AP misbehaving and in the rough conditions, with speeds of 7.5-8kt and a beam wind consistently around 23 kt, gusting 29kt. So eventually, after looking over the weather forecasts for the next few days (NOT looking good for my approach to Cape Town, with several days of strong easterlies and very big swells forecast), I decided to heave to .... and despite really rolly conditions in the short but large swell, I finally managed to sleep for a couple of hours until my 11.30am radio 'sched' with the S.African M.M.Net.... and then slept some more...

By dusk, having stood in the companionway for quite a time watching my albatross (immature, inquisitive, black-browed among several others), petrel and shearwater companions flying around this 'island in the sea', the now SSE winds to have abated somewhat, so I got underway again - heading more downwind, so a slightly better 'ride' with the seas, still big, more on our quarter...

There's not much point just now in making too much speed directly for Cape Town because of the headwinds forecast close by for over 8-9th May. I might need to heave to again, just to let that system pass me by - assuming it doesn't 'stall' and stay around for a few days ... I hope not!

1400GMT report:

LATITUDE: 38-16S LONG: 007-59E COURSE: 070T SPEED: 1.5
WIND_SPEED: 24 WIND_DIR: SSE SWELL_DIR: S SWELL_HT: 4.0M SWELL_PER: 4
CLOUDS: 100% BARO: 1020 TREND: 3

Hove to.

24hr DMG: 123 n.ml. Distance to Cape Town 569 n.ml.

Wednesday 4th May2011 - Excellent sailing - but getting bumpy again. Another Front expected overnight...

3pm
A dull grey start, but by midday, all cloud had cleared away to give lovely sunshine ..but a lumpy sea - swell from three different directions - long slow from WSW, and shorter, rougher swells from N and WNW !! When they combine, the seas hump up and we really get knocked about if caught by one of those...

Two albatross seen this morning, .... a Yellow-nosed and a BIG Royal..... Otherwise, several white-chinned petrels and Gt shearwaters and occasional prions - I think we may have lost the spectacled petrels - too far from Tristan, possibly.

We've been making good speed - often 6.5-7 knots - always nice to see! But seas have definitely got rougher now with the stronger wind and mix of swells - and with the next Front expected soon after midnight, there'll be the usual backing of the wind from NW to SW - hopefully, not too suddenly!

Report for 1400GMT:

LAT: 38-44S LONG: 005-26E COURSE: 078T SPEED: 6.4
WIND_SPEED: 18 WIND_DIR: NW SWELL_DIR: NW SWELL_HT: 3.0M
CLOUDS: 5% BARO: 1016 TREND: -4 AIR_TEMP: 18.0C

24hr DMG:150n.ml. - nice! Distance to Cape Town: 691 n.ml.

The sun set well before 5pm - definitely feels like winter when the day is short like that, but soon (once we''ve crossed 007:30E - probably around sunrise tomorrow) we're due to change the local time by one hour - forward to GMT+1 - so sunset will be nearer 6pm LT! With such a clear sky, suddenly there was Orion hanging brightly, if upside down, in the western sky.

The autopilot keeps going down - from 'auto' it has frequenrtly dropped into 'standby' with hardly a sound today.... useful! And when in 'Track' mode towards our next waypoint, it has several times decided the route has finished or it has 'no data' - with vigorous beeping noises - or it has simply decided, yet again, quietly to drop into 'standby' .... I'm usually alerted by sails flapping like mad if no beeping has sounded and I've been busy, away from the instruments..... Means I might well have to sleep at the chart table to be on hand to deal with problems immediately...... lovely thought...! In fact, I was thinking anyway that I'd have to stay awake quite a lot tonight, to keep an eye out for the Front to pass by with what could be a sudden backing of the wind, meaning we'd have to gybe to stay on course.... Think I'll try to get in some short naps this evening....

Tuesday 3rd May 2011

Had an excellent sleep after late/disturbed night.... Was up for 8am check around and log entry, didn't bother to set alarm for 11.40am 'sched' with S.African M.M.Net, thinking I didn't need to - and slept right through until 1.30pm! Clearly needed it! So had a (very!) late breakfast as I entered details in 1400 GMT position report:

LAT: 39-08S LONG: 002-16E COURSE: 081T SPEED: 6.3
WIND_SPEED: 11 WIND_DIR: WNW
SWELL_DIR: WNW SWELL_HT: 2.0M
CLOUDS: 98% BARO: 1029 TREND: -2
AIR_TEMP: 17.0C

We're East of Greenwich Meridian now - local time is GMT. Distance to Cape Town: 839 n.ml.

3.20 p.m.
Grey and murky now but it's been nice to see plenty of birds around - as usual.... except they're slightly different ones today, apart from the usual group of Great Shearwaters - very gregarious, often doing 'synchronised flying'(!) or resting on the water together in groups. A Black-browed albatross - thought it was Yellow-nosed until I saw the bright yellow bill - unmistakable, .... a Cape Petrel flew around us.... a big brown skua came by and had a good close look around .... a few prions...

Still very little wind, so have been motoring gently when wind right down, to help us sail along in the increased apparent wind.... It's highly variable at the moment, sometimes 6-7 kt, other times 10-11, and occasionally, as just now, briefly up to 12-13kt... with direction anything from NNW to WNW. The wind should be increasing from now on , as we get a Front arriving over 5/6th, followed by a High again... but this time I'm likely to be headed by quite strong East winds, since likely to find the H to S of me - and an almighty deep, deep depression, with 9m/30ft swell, to the SW and heading this way to complicate matters - just as I'm trying to finish...!!! That's sailing for you! Murphy's alive and kicking.... and always laughing at us...!

Nice to have motor off for peace and quiet ... speed not too bad - clearly have a good current helping us along since when wind is only 6-7 knots, we're making around 5 knots SOG! Boatspeed then is supposedly around 3 knots - but I've my doubts about that display - ever since being hove-to on Saturday, with instrument problems, the boat speed display seems way down - maybe the calibration factor got changed/re-set? Boat speed showing as too low would make system think we've a lot of current, of course...!

7.30pm
Just finished my meal, as we sail sweetly along at 6.6 kt, in around 12 kt of wind from NW: ham and egg, fried potato and sweetcorn. Followed by mandarin - out of a tin, but I just fancied and remembered I had one or two stashed away - so dug it out - lovely and refreshing! One last egg left.... They were clearly very fresh (and unchilled!) when I bought them in Ushuaia, so just turning the box in which they're kept, every few days, works fine for keeping them for a long time, out of the fridge. Still several potatoes and apples from Canada left.... mostly OK, although the potatoes are all beginning to sprout well now...!

This time last year ... I was in the Tasman Sea on Day 56 from Cape Town to Nelson, New Zealand, direct . Arrived Nelson on 10th May 2010 (with repairs needed!), after a 63-day passage via the Bass Strait- that's exactly the day that I've been hoping to make landfall in Cape Town this year! (But the weather gods may have other plans.... That depression to the SW looks nasty and the High will definitely head me....)

About to settle down to email-answering - have lots just now... Keeping an eye on the wind (as always!) - probably have to reduce the (full) genoa before sleeping tonight.

LATER: Wind often up to 20kt, close-hauled, reefed down somewhat, seeing the occasional ship on AIS ... nothing too close ...... a dark night with overcast sky and no moon!