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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Noon-to-noon distances:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Noon-to-noon distances :

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Friday 19th March Suddenly - peace & calm!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sat 13Mar

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mon 15th March

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Monday 15th March: Day 7 (continued)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

An African heron (... a bittern? .... or a squacco?) flew on board "Nereida" off the west coast of Africa on the way south in October....    And the poor puffer fish put itself on my hook when I saw lots of tuna jumping around "Nereida" much further south and felt sure I'd hook one...!
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Comment added Wed 20Jan: "The bird in the photographs is a juvenile Little Bittern (Ixobrychus minutus) . Know the species well, mainly from Spain, where my friend Viggo Ree ring-marked dozens of individuals in the summer of 1971 (caught in the net at night).  The breeding birds in Europe spend the winter in tropical Africa."
(Many thanks to Per Aa. Mandt who emailed me from Norway with the info.)
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If you see a bald woman walking around the Royal Cape Y.C. here in Cape Town - it's probably me!!!  I can't believe I'm still here - I've got nowhere so far with resolving my engine installation problems, other than lots of emails back & forth with details of measurements, all taking time & to little point ... and all the time knowing there's an identical engine here in Cape Town just waiting to be fitted in my boat in place of the present one - which makes it all the more frustrating....

Time is passing by... I've lost my weather window for rounding Cape Horn, since even if I leave soon, it'll take probably over three months to reach it (eastabout) - by which time the Southern winter will be starting, days will be getting short and the weather worsening. (I'm looking at grib files of the weather around Cape Horn now - and thinking I should have been approaching it around this time.... grrr!!!)   I'm considering the options for my next passagemaking, on the assumption that I'll be able to leave sometime soon - as usual, I'm trying to be optimistic!   I'm looking at the possibility of getting to the start line of the Single-Handed TransPac Race from San Francisco, starting in June.  Having had to miss the race start last time, having lost my boat on the way north to it, it would be fun to do it this year and would fill in the time up to the end of the year when I could make a second attempt at a nonstop circumnavigation - maybe starting from the Vancouver/Victoria area in British Columbia.  A big question is whether to head to San Francisco from here eastabout or westabout ... and that really depends on weather considerations -  how soon I'll be able to 'escape' from here.

People here at the Royal Cape Y.C. are being extremely kind and friendly - it's a nice, sociable place to be 'stuck' in, although I must admit to a feeling of being 'trapped' in the marina, having rarely got out anywhere else during my time here due to various boat jobs I've been trying to get done (more frustration there!) or waiting around for expected email responses that have often come several days late - so no touring or visiting, just the occasional food shopping with fellow-cruisers! But next Wednesday, I've been promised a crew place in the 'Twilight Series' racing here at the RCYC on 'Thunderchild' - so I'll get out on the water!  And I did get taken out on a 39ft racing catamaran just over a week ago ...  Wow! ... We all got totally, thoroughly drenched in the big seas breaking over the open deck...!!!  Winds were SE25-30 knots ... and we were making 25 knots and touched 28knots - I've never been so fast on a sailing boat....!  Great fun... and a real tonic for me!

The plan was to walk up Table Mountain today (I have yet to manage a visit there) and ride the cable car back down - but that hasn't happened since I'd been warned not to attempt it alone, due to safety issues, and my would-be companions didn't turn up last night as I expected - so that's been put off to another day, hopefully.  But tomorrow, I'm being taken out by new acquaintances to visit part of Cape Town and then make for a beach a short distance to the north of here - the temperature is expected to soar to 35C tomorrow in the present calm sunny conditions, after the strong wind of the last two days.

More friends on boats are leaving Cape Town this coming week, headed for points north... St Helena etc... That's always painful for me, emphasizing how I'm stuck here... But I've just heard from Dutch friends (on 'Jade') that they've arrived in Simonstown from Richards Bay - so we'll meet and catch up on news - I last saw them face-to-face in Hiva Oa in the Marquesas three years ago, having crossed over from Mexico at the same time.

So now I'll head back to "Nereida" where I'm trying still to clean ropes - the downside of being in Cape Town is that the strong wind brings lots of fine, black grit which gets deposited on anything above deck - so it's a constant, almost impossible, battle trying to keep the boat and all lines reasonably clean.

Thanks to those of you who've sent supportive emails,  asking for an update & concerned to know what's happening to "Nereida" & me...

Bye for now.....

I'd been delaying posting an update here in the hope that there would be good news before Christmas, or at latest before the New Year .... but holidays and lethargy have, unfortunately, got in the way of the hoped-for progress - so "Nereida" will be seeing in the New Year without any sign of a working engine, despite the fact that people here in Cape Town were willing to work on the new installation over the holiday period to help me get away sooner .....   Very, very frustrating for me - I should have been well on my way towards Cape Leeuwin by now....  on my way to Tasmania & New Zealand, with Cape Horn to be rounded in late February, towards the end of the Southern summer.

I've uploaded some photos here as part of my 'be positive' attempts at staying sane...

Whilst marooned within sight of Cape Town and the Cape of Good Hope for nearly 3 days, with the wind having become light or non-existent (and my determination to use my sails alone from Lanzarote all the way around meaning no engine power used), I saw lots of sea life ... and a marvellous sunset on the second unexpected night at sea (Tuesday 8th Dec) before my landfall in S. Africa:
 
On the Wednesday, the day started out the same - no wind...!  Overnight, we'd drifted around in a big loop so that, come morning, we were roughly in the same position as at sunset the night before.  But slowly, the wind filled in  & we made 1-2 knots, in 2-4 knots of wind, to begin with, but as I got closer to land, after midday, the wind picked up far more and I was able to make better progress towards Cape Town with Table mountain and the Cape of Good Hope at the entrance to False Bay in clear view all the time......

One job I'd been promising myself to do was carried out last week.   The Hydrovane rudder had become a garden, with gooseneck barnacles galore growing on it - since the Canaries, I think.  I thought they were only growing near the water surface but was amazed to see that they were growing happpily all the way down to the base of the rudder.  So I wasn't too surprised to hear from my Afrikaans neighbour Gerhard that the entire keel was also looking like a forest - he'd kindly volunteered to clean my hull of the few (as I thought!) barnacles near the water-line after he'd dived on his own boat...  Since I'm due to haul out (originally to reposition a through-hull fitting for the watermaker) as soon as the engine issue has been resolved, I stopped him - far easier to clean them off, especially in such numbers, when out of the water than when in!!  I should add that there was no antifouling on the Hydrovane rudder whereas the keel has antifouling - which the gooseneck  barnacles clearly love!!

           
Something else I like about the Hydrovane - it's really easy for me to remove and replace the rudder, unlike on my previous windsteering system where that was well-nigh impossible!

With my mind constantly on the engine problem, trying over and over again to get progress made on that front, other work was put on hold - but the new rod-kicker is in place, sails have been repaired with new, firmer battens in place (even the seemingly unbroken ones were shattered!), the aft cabin bedding & mattresses etc have been cleaned, some small but important instrument and electrical problems have been dealt with  and I'm finally getting around to installing the straightened stanchions - which job keeps getting totally side-tracked with time-consuming polishing and cleaning off the hard layer of salt over all the adjacent metal fittings and lifelines.  I'm even hearing that my gimballed coffee-mug holder for the chart table is well on its way to being completed!! 

So if only I had a working engine, with a good exhaust system, I could have been on my way well before now...  which made it that much more painful to see 'Berrimilla' get under way to Sydney last week .....    I was up at 5am to wish them 'Bon voyage'... only to see them come back in later that morning with a sticking tillerpilot... swiftly repaired (yet again!) so they could get back out that same afternoon, to catch the favourable W wind before it died:

Australian singlehander Jim on 'This Boat' (!!), who was, like me, trying for a 'nonstop around' also finally left (on Boxing Day)....  so all the other boats that came into Cape Town for repairs around the beginning of December, as I did (3 of them, if 'Groupama' is included!), have now left me behind.... stranded and rapidly losing my 'weather window' for the Southern Ocean around Cape Horn. 

I'm trying to keep a positive outlook by seeing to all the jobs I can find to do on board (anyone into boating knows that's never a problem!!) - at least "Nereida" can enter the New Year clean, tidy & well-polished!

All best wishes for a Happy and Healthy New Year 2010 to you all!!

Friday-Tuesday 11th-15th December 09 Bad news... repairs organized.... strong winds in Cape Town....

On Friday came the bad news - seawater (lots) in the engine .... Not the starter motor problem I was expecting - this was far worse... The new engine needs replacing....after only 75hrs of use! Looks as though water entered from the exhaust pipe, with the water trap not large enough to hold amount of water there and anti-siphon arrangement not high enough... Unbelievable.... I'm hoping that the problem can be resolved quickly, with a new engine of same type in stock nearby, so use could be made of a haulout scheduled for Friday, originally just for new through-hull fitting for watermaker to be fitted. But could now prove useful for damaged engine to be removed and replaced with new, although several days needed for the work..... Definitely not the happiest day of my life.... Warranty situation not clearcut as yet....

Sailmaker Mark came by and removed genoa and mainsail for repair. New battens to be fitted (top two were broken in 50+ knot winds on way here), also new reef strops for use in easing tension on reef lines, hopefully avoiding future chafe problems... Also looked at trysail deployment and arranged for new sailbag for when hanked on to its mast track and stowed on deck, ready for use.

Over the weekend, there were really strong winds... 75 knots were recorded at top of Control Tower at entrance to Cape Town Harbour - everything was coated in a thick film of fine black dust from smelter upwind. Hosed boat down but it was quickly coated again - horrible!! Difficult to get anything positive done, so was that much nicer to enjoy going out for a meal in the Waterfront area on Sunday with friends Andy and Alison - here from London visiting her chef brother. Earlier that same day, Rob had kindly given up his free time to reorganize the watermaker pipework and Clark pump / membrane arrangement and also looked at Raymarine instrument issues, to be continued on Friday when the boat is hauled out , enabling a crazy-reading log impeller to be dealt with.

Monday - lots of phonecalls trying to get people to boat. ... Riggers came early to change faulty rod kicker and it turned out that the boom end sent was the same as the one already there that had caused problems, so I decided to stay with the twin line reefing system I'd already organized on way here, with two more jammers for luff lines....

Early evening: Manuel came by to look at gelcoat repair, rust marks and other work.... also I discussed practical sailing issues with him... It's always useful to get other people's opinion, especially when they're so much more experienced than I am!

It was nice to welcome Baden on board a little later - an excellent stainless steel worker, and keen racer with his own boat, I'd met him in Simonstown two years ago where he did some work for me from his workshop beside the False Bay Y. C. He'll straighten the stanchions bent when the mainsail was backed as a front passed through and I've asked him to make a gimballing mug holder for the chart table - I had problems coming here with nowhere safe to put a mug of tea or coffee when working at the chart table!

Early Tuesday - Clive of IMS came by to look at the engine installation to make a report to Yanmar , also to see how the engine could be removed during the Friday haulout, usng a crane by the hoist . After that, the little diesel generator was given its first service and I discussed spares I should have on board.. Tom came by later - he's been sorting out how to fix the end of the emergency forestay in place under tension. I could well have to ask Baden to help with some steelwork in that connection when he comes by with the repaired stanchions on Wednesday - which is the final day of the Summer Regatta here at the Royal Cape Yacht Club - let's hope they have pleasanter winds for their racing then than over the last weekend!!

Thursday 10th December 09 I grab the chance to look over Groupama 3 - also here in Cape Town for repairs!

A lot of phone calls made, with Tom on board early to try to organize repairs to be done and fix times for people to come to the boat as soon as possible.

Later in the day, I met Manuel in whose boatyard, not far from the Royal Cape Y.C., Groupama 3 was berthed while repairs were finished and where they were waiting for their replacement generator to arrive by plane from France. I jumped at the chance to look over the boat when I gathered he was about to return to Groupama with the new generator's arrival imminent. In the absence of Franck Cammas, Fred Le Peutrec is skipper on the return sail to Brest from Cape Town and he very kindly showed me, together with Alex & Pete from 'Berrimilla', over the enormous trimaran - an amazing boat to be on.

I found the mast size incredible (along with the rest of it!) and looking over the interior accommodation, together with communications/weather/video equipment , was fascinating . While I was there, at the end of my guided tour, word came that the new generator had arrived .... everyone gathered around to admire it and Friday was to be spent fitting it in place, ready for a 4 a.m. local time departure on Saturday (4 'rubber ducks' and one tow boat to get her out to sea) to start her sail back to Brest, ready to re-start her world record speed attempt for the Jules Verne Trophy. (Their 'weather/time window' for the attempt lasts until the end of February)