still a bit bumpy.We are burning to throw more canvass at the wind to
make up for some lost time and will do so in the next few hours.Thankyou
for sparing a thought and a prayer for us during this testing few days
and sure you will enjoy our efforts to make it to Madeira in calmer
conditions.
Let me take you behind the scenes a bit,some inside info that I am sure
you will find interesting.At any one time throughout the year there are
at least 15 of these Leopard Catamarans on the water being delivered all
around the globe.You have some idea of how things work on this boat,the
trials and tribulations,the ups and downs,and at the end,triumphantly
reaching our final destination.Not as victors that have conquered the
oceans,but as driftwood that has reached the shore,shaped and at the
mercy of the elements.
And for every boat a competent skipper and crew must be allocated.As you
can imagine,characters from all walks of life.Some with egos as big
as,or no,rather bigger than the known universe,although I like to think
they are in the minority.I could be dead wrong.Some eccentrics,some
loners,some lunatics in the nicer sense of the word,some hell
raisers,some dreamers,some schemers,some wanderers.Some who wait for
things to happen,some who makes things happen and some who wonder what
happened.
Every boat has at least three crew members,and with every crew you also
have concerned parents or wifes or husbands or kids or girlfriends or
boyfriends,friends and other family.Yes,you get female skippers and crew
as well.One of the very best skippers I know is female and I respect her
immensily for various reasons.
And we all face storms and some boats don't have good crew dynamics.We
also deliver boats anytime anywhere.This is the nature of the work we
do.Cyclones and hurricanes,pirates,ships etc are all things we have to
deal with at different times.No,we are not expected to sail through
hurricanes,but we are expected to take heed and get out of the way and
run for shelter when hurricanes are on the way.
The person pivotal to managing this wild bunch of people and elements
and who is mother to us all is Nicky.We report to her every Monday and
Thursday,giving our position,distance to go,our estimated time of
arrival,the state of the boat and also how the crew is doing.She is the
one you when what looks like a potential pirate situation is
developing.Ask me.Towards the end of last year I delivered a boat to
India and somewhere along the route a ship similar to what the pirates
use crossed our path about four miles ahead and stopped.Not a nice
situation.My crew had different reactions,one of them really got scared
and started shivering a bit,my other crewmember changed his clothes in
case we get taken hostage.I knew there was not much we could do but the
idea of being in some Somali hide away for months not seeing my family
was not a pleasant one.I phoned Nicky and told her of our
predicament.She immediatly got in touch with Seychelles and within
minutes navy vessels were mobilized and on their way.Plan was also to
hide the epirb,a tracker of sorts and activate it should we be
boarded.She phoned us every ten minutes to check on us and keep us
informed of developments from her side.The situation really got tense
when the tuna boat dropped skievs in the water,exactly what they do when
they come to board you.It was with unspeakable relieve when we saw the
nest going out and saw that it was a legitimate fishing vessel.Close
call but proved that she will move the world to assist in any way she
can.
When crew don't stay in touch with their loved ones they phone Nicky to
find out what is happening.All she can do is give the last position
report and request the skipper to keep his satelite phone on at all
times so friends and family can stay in touch.There is not enough space
to even start touching on all the trouble she has to put up with at
times,and I only know a little bit from my side of the trouble she goes
to to look after her crew,spread across the oceans of the world,day and
night.She is the one when we get a bit lost at sea...ha ha ha...to point
us in the right direction.And when we all fly home after a delivery she
also does all the travel arrangements,and flying us in from all corners
of the globe is a huge operation in itself.And yes,she also sorts out
our payments before and after the trip.In our office in Cape Town there
is also Louis,but more about him some other time.
Nix,you are one helluva colleague,counsellor,friend and much more.And
yes,in many ways,no one of us will dispute that you are the leader of
the back.Like the Queen of old you send your boats far and
wide,fortunately not expecting us to come back with the loot,but come
back with boatpapers to say that the boat was delivered in excellent
condition.We salute you.
On our side we have now shaked a reef and flying over a still bit bumpy
sea,the aftermath of some rough weather.Our headsail is trimmed to about
third reef and we are starting to catch up on time lost taking it easy
through the rough stuff.Our position at AM 11:00 UTC
15*42'N/32*23'W.Barometer at 1018 mb/hPa.Wind about 22kts apparent,our
windvane mode on the autopilot set at 65*,rudder response on 2,and our
speed a steady 6.5 to 7 kts.Wave hight about 2 mtrs.
Should some spelling mistakes creep in,please excuse.I don't edit at
all,so what you read is fresh out of the oven which reminds me.Last
night Brad's pizza turned out extra special.One thin crust pizza with
mince and onion,lots of cheese and a touch of syrup.The other pizza was
a seafood pizza with mussels,oysters,olives,cheese and a bit of
chilli.Well done Mr.Cannon,you have outdone yourself,again.Specially
prepared to celebrate Pieter's birthday.
With that I bid you farewell till we meet again.Just passed another
sailing vessel and had some radio coms with them.They are on their way
to St.Martin coming from the Med.Nice to see another sailing vessel out
here.
Paul
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