Food for thought

A few darker clouds was around when I started my watch at 6 this
morning. Just before my watch we were blessed with a soft drizzle. The
sun is clearing the clouds a bit and we have slightly stronger winds
pushing us along. The last few days we have fallen just a little behind
our schedule with gentle winds, testing our faith somewhat, and now we
are busy making up for some lost time again. The natural ebb and flow of
things which one becomes acquainted with after years on the ocean. I
sometimes smile as the younger ones start asking questions about worst
case scenarious and ETA's when the going is a bit slow. I also used to
stress about these things, but everything happens in it's own good time.
As long as we do our best and keep at it the rewards will come. We have
about 1200nm to Fortaleza and it looks like we could still arrive there
on Wednesday next week.

Yesterday was Eduan's turn to prepare supper and asked for some
suggestions. I suggested rotis and it was eagerly accepted. It turned
out to be a team effort. Nick volunteered to help with some of the
ingredients and Steven took it on himself to show Eduan how to make
rotis. I gave them the recipy which is simply flour, water and a bit of
salt to make the dough. Make little balls and roll it flat and fry it
dry on a pan. We had a good chuckle as Eduan used maize meal instead of
flour to make the dough. I think this is where Steven realized he will
help Eduan more closely. Nick prepared some butternut and small blocks
of potato. We also had strips of carrots to add a bit of crunch and some
fresh tomato slices. As a main filling we prepared soya beans with a
tin of mixed veggies and cabbage. There was a lot of activity in the
galley as I am sure you can imagine. A little bit of everything topped
with mayonaise and/or chutney, then fold it nicely and Bob's your uncle.
The end results were delicious on all accounts. Steven managed four
rotis and the rest of us could only eat three. Afterwards Eduan had a
lot of cleaning up to do as just about every pot and pan was used but it
was worth it.

Now for a bit of soulfood. To recap and if I may make some comparisons,
body I would compare to earth, mind to water, spirit to air and soul I
would then compare to fire,in a way. Sunlight, moonlight and starlight.
That part of us that was there from the beginning of time and will be
there into infinity. That part that will never die and also binds
everything and everyone together. That little spark of life that makes a
seed buried in the ground reach out towards the light. As the journey we
are on proceeds I will share some of my ideas how it all works and fits
together, it is certainly not a linear process. Not A to Z or ABC, but
there are certain patterns that form, certain mechanics. And like a car it
all works together to stay in motion.

We haven't had a little original nautical term that has found it's way
into everyday speech for a while. Today it will be 'Colours'. The national
flag or ensign was known aboard ship as her colours - and a very important
issue when ships engaged in battle as the survival of so many of today's
expressions explain. True colours, false colours,show your colours,nail
your colours to the mast, go down with colours flying,come off with flying
colours, etc., etc.

Our current position is 08*10'S/019*15'W. Steven is making stirfry for
supper, Nick ois taking over watch in half an hour and Eduan is blissfully
asleep. We have both our lures out and once again the menu might change
depending on what Neptune may send our way.

Hope you have a marvelous day.

Captain Paul

Trying to catch the wind

It's been 21 days since we casted off in Cape Town. 2 days in St.Helena
and 19 days at sea. Mixed fortunes as far as the wind goes but no
complaints, we know what we lose now we will catch up later, such is
sailing, things always change. Our little plant we brought along on the
trip is an indigenous type of aloe plant, hottentots vy as it is known
by some. Seeing as Nick's sign says he has a natural way with plants he
was appointed as Minister of Agriculture and Enviromental Affairs. The
plant was busy withering away,but since Nick started taking care of the
plant there is a marked improvement in the plant. The reason we brought
the plant along, oh yes, it has a name now, Herbie thanks to the
minister, is that it has amazing healing qualities, Any cuts, little
spots on the skin etc heals much faster with a bit of this plant juice
than any pharmaceutical product can. It leaves no scars, take the pain
away immediatly and disinfects as well. Since the 1400's woman were
burnt at stakes for having this kind of natural knowledge. Since then so
much natural knowledge was lost in favour of pharmaceutical products.
But it is making a comeback, and knowledge is being freely shared across
the globe. But this is a subject all on it's own, vast fascinating.
People believed plants had spirits, then was taught differently and now
again starting to realize that there is spirit in everything.

The word spirit is such an interesting word and can be used in all
manners of speech. Once again you van probably come up with 12 different
ways of expressing something using the word spirit. The spirit of the
place, in the spirit of reconciliation, free spirited, a spirited
performance and you can add as you wish to the list. And then us, we are
also spirit. We know what is body, we have an idea what mind is, how
would you describe spirit? Is it that part which cannot be contained,
which lives on forever, that is outside our bodies. Perhaps all of these
and perhaps not. In a natural sense I would compare spirit to the wind.
You can see the effect of wind on trees, in the clouds,just about
everywhere, but you cannot see the wind. It is air moving caused by
various factors. I don't reaaly know how else to describe spirit.
The moment you try and put a word to it it slips away, takes on another
meaning, like trying to catch the wind. Wind comes in many shapes and
sizes, from the gentlest of breezes to full blown hurricanes. It can be
utterly refreshing and it can be utterly devastating. And as air is in
everything so is spirit. Air is in the water, in the soil,in fire, just
about everywhere. It is a basic requirement of life. A fact that cannot
be denied, disputed or wished away. We are spirit and I believe that we
will become more and more aware of what it is all about.

Tonight is Eduan's turn to prepare supper. I suggested rotis and it was
accepted immediatly.It will require a team effort and Nick volunteered
to assist Eduan. Steven will show them how to make the rotis and they
will take it from ther and also do the other goodies that will go into
the roti. Our position currently is 09*15'S/017*47'W. We have two lures
out, flying fish taking off every now and then but I think we are going
a bit slow to entice a strike. Nice sunny weather, scattered clouds
around and we are now three hours behind SA time or UTC + 1.

Over and out

Captain Paul

In your mind's eye, what do you see

When I was very young we watched movies like Enter the Dragon - Bruce
Lee and Zorro, the masked sword yielding hero that used to carve a Z
with his sword as a trademark. The next day all of us kids would be
imitating our hero's moves and sounds etc. We imagined enemies
and bad guys everywhere and were ready to save the world or defend
ourselves. Thinking back about those days it is very amuzing, nowadays
when I think about these things it is also somewhat disconcerting. All
the mental pollution that we are bombarded with on a daily bases. I
wonder why bad news travel much further and faster than good news right,
and why subliminal and repetitive advertising is used to control our
buying habits. All about controlling your mind.

What is mind? There are so many sayings with the word mind in it. I am
sure you can come up with a dozen in under a minute. And then we also
differentiate between the conscience and subconscience mind. The mind is
a most powerful, most colourful part of the human being. Not saying that
animals don't have the same facilities. Our minds are as individualas
our fingerprints. There are basically three mainstreams of
conscienceness. To understand it better we can give colours to them,
blue, red and green. Blue is the calculating part,red the communicating
part and green the creative part. We all have these abilities but in
different proportions which makes us all different. What is also
interesting is that we use only a very small portion of our facilities,
not even 10 % according to scientists. And to think that every sound,
every impression,every taste, every feeling you have experienced since
you have been in your mother's womb is stored somewhere makes it even
more amazing.Some can access this info easier than others for various
reasons, but there is much room for improvement for everyone. It is a
good thing that we are not all clones, instead we all follow our own
paths.

With the new conscienceness shift that is taking place the thin veil
between the conscience and subconscience is starting to part a little.
We are starting to realize more and more who we are, what we are and
what our purpose on this planet I call Gaia is. But that is starting to
move into the realms of spirit and we will leave that for next time.
Just know that it is a most exciting time to be alive, at this
particular time in the history of mankind. More and more insights are
coming through, we are busy not only retaking what we have been robbed
of, our natural abilities, but we are evolving into seeing old things in
a new light and finding a new way. In a nutshell, be aware of what you
let into your mind, and know that you are far more than anyone of us can
conceive at this stage.

Back to the boat, we had a good laugh this morning waking Eduan up for
his shift. We take turns to scrub and clean the decks in the morning,
the person on the 6 to 10 am watch is responsible for this. We sometimes
help each other and I helped Steven this morning. Basically soaping the
deck a bit and then scooping buckets and buckets of seawater to rinse
the deck with. A little scrub here and there and sweeping the rest off
with brooms leaves our boat white as a swan. Eduan was supposed to start
his watch at 10 am but Steven did not wake him as we were still busy.At
about 11 am Steven was calling for Eduan who did not respond. Some
stronger measure was called for and we grabbed the foghorn and video
camera, Steven on the trumpet and me behind the camera. I call this REM
to RBM, rapid eye movement as in when you are dreaming to rapid body
movement as you are woken up with a foghorn blowing in your ear. We got
the desired effect as his arms and legs involuntary swayed around trying
to protect his head as the foghorn went off. Captured on video it caused
all of us a lot of good laughs as we watched the video over and over.

Our position at ten this morning was 10*21'S/15*42'W. Wind is a bit slow
and last night we motored quite a bit to keep our average up. Fortaleza
is 1400nm away. At the moment Steven is making some flapjacks, Nick and
Eduan just found our stash of maple syrup, we have strawberry jam in the
fridge so soon we will be having a little feast. Last night Nick
treated us to a pasta dish, boerewors cut into small sections and with
all the other ingredients we had a meal of note. Tonight is my turn to
cook and soya and maizemeal with tomatoes, onions and chilli could be on
the menu. Our lures are out and should we land a fish that will change
our menu considerably.

Hope you have a super Sunday.

Captain Paul

A return to innocence

We've been having a taste of trade winds and combined with a bit of
assistence from the South Sub-Tropical Current and a wee touch of
motoring early yesterday we are keeping up our required average. Late
yesterday afternoon we also had a strike on our fishing lures but
somehow the fish came off, lucky fish. Nick was salivating describing
how he would sear the tuna steaks to perfection. Last night Steven
treated us to potato bake and corned beef and not a morsel was left
over. This morning we have our lures out again and who knows, maybe
today is the day and we get lucky. Little puffs of cloud filling the
sky, a sure sign that we are now in the trades, a constant speed and
direction of wind caused by the earth spinning on her axis.

About thirty years ago I wrote a poem and in a nutshell it was about
playing guitar in front of a huge audience, and afterwards slipping out
of the back door to go and sit on the rocks at the seashore to play for
the ocean. In the poem my lover was washed off the rocks at night and I
was sitting there every night trying to play well enough for the ocean
to take me as well. It pertains to that which we once had, and lost.
Innocence. I often wonder what we are as human beings. Body, mind,
spirit and soul, but what does this all mean. And in relation to the
above where we come from, where we are, where we are going and what is
the whole purpose of this experience we call life. Most of the time we
are mostly trying to make a living and don't have much time to consider
much else.

The body itself is a most amazing organism. Starting as a sperm cell we
first go through an amphibian stage and from there progress and nine
months later we are born as babies. Interesting too that in general the
salt content of the ocean is the same as the salt content in your blood,
sweat and tears. And somehow the cells multiply and by some miracle the
cells know excactly what to become, which organs to form. Most of this we
all know, but I hope to show you something else about your body you may
not know. Electrical fields run through your body and is visible to the
naked eye. Hold any two fingers together, and where the fingers don't
touch it forms little gaps. Hold your fingers in front of you in the
light and look at one of the little gaps. Soon you will see a thin blue
line forming on both ends and meeting in the middle. Come on, give it a
go, see with your own eyes. Light energy is what we are and what every
other creature in the cosmos is made of. We vibrate at different
frequencies, animate and inanimate objects all share this same
vibrational light energy. I am not asking you to make quantum leaps of
imagination, simply to face the evidence at hand.We are bio-electrical
creatures, fact.

To borrow from some other research on this matter, another very
interesting phenomena was dicovered by NASA. I will try and condense it
but if you want the full report please let me know and I will forward you
the source. A giant breach in the earth's magnetic field was discovered
recently.The magnetic fields shields the earth from the solar wind which
consists of plasma energy transmitted from the sun.This is part of the
many ancient cultures foretelling that we are moving into the next solar
cycle during 2012. For the entire duration of the next solar cycle,
especially during it's peak, plasma energy will pour in through the
breach which is four times larger than the earth. Each individual's
bio-electrical system will become increasingly charged as the sun ramps
up it's outpouring of plasma for the Solar Cycle. In essence it will up
our vibrational frequencies as we are evolving to a higher level of
awareness. And this is where our bodies which act as vessels start moving
into matters of the mind, the spirit and the soul.

If you haven't fallen asleep yet, well done. Tomorrow I will explore the
colours of the mind.Our current position is 11*21'S/13*42'W.We just had
another strike on the lure my daughter picked. Sharpened the hook a bit
and who knows, perhaps Nick will treat us to some seared tuna steaks
tonight. Eduan is trying to give up smoking and doing well. Any tips in
this regard will be appreciated, we will deal with the edginess that may
surface. He also prepared a lovely bacon and egg on toast breakfast for
us.

Have a stunning Saturday.

Captain Paul

Back in the day, on the day and the days ahead

Back in the early 70's I was already drawn to studying all manner of off
beat subjects, including the Mayans. If I had to choose between bying a
loaf of bread or a book I would buy the book. An insatiable thirst and
hunger for knowledge would find me in the library, starting one side and
ending the other. I had two library cards, and instead of three books I
would take out six books. And a few days later I would be back for more.
Studying the life and works of the greatest artists, ancient
civilizations and their ancient books, philosophy, psychology, psycic
phenomena and the list just goes on and on.I have been an ardent student
of astronomy and astrology and some other pseudo sciences. No tv then in
our country so we had to look elsewhere for knowledge, unbiased and
without an agenda. We listened to rugby etc on the radio, the theatre of
the mind. I also tried my hands at many many things, pottery,
leatherworks, beadwork, learned to play classical guitar although I also
love playing the blues. During my school years I also attended
theological studies at night and by the age of 18 I was a fully ordained
minister, thinking about becoming a missionary.I have owned and employed
20 people doing building and renovations. I have also travelled far and
wide, have been to all the continents and sailed almost all of the
oceans and seas on the planet, having sailed more than four times around
the globe if I calculate all my accumulated nautical miles which has
given me lots of time to think. I was married for twelve years when my
late wife passed away, and got married again two years later. And now,
at the age of 47 I have an 8 year old daughter. You may wonder why I am
boring you with all this personal stuff. Simple really. In the coming
days I want to share a lot with you pertaining to 2012. Some heavy
stuff, some really light stuff. And I hope it will lift your spirit.

'A Blind Eye' is the term with nautical origins on the menu today.
Turning a blind eye stems from the famous incident during the Battle of
Copenhagen when Admiral Nelson, as second in command, complained he
could not see the flag signal from his superior which ordered him to
break off the bombardment. He had deliberately placed the telescope to
his blind eye, and proceeded to ignore the order, with glorious results.

Turning a blind eye to what is happening to our beloved planet Gaia will
not change the outcome of events, so rather keep your eyes wide open.

Our current position is 12*33'S/011*35'W. our weather predicted a bit
lighter winds for today and it is fairly accurate.Enough to keep the
sails filled but not enough to keep up our required average. A good time
to motorsail a bit and charge the boat batteries, run the freezer and
refrigerator, charge our laptops, our i pads, cameras and so on.

Take good care till the morrow.

Captain Paul

Fair winds and following seas

Yesterday was the first time in quite a while where we experienced fair
winds and following seas. We have a certain schedule to keep to and wind
plays a big factor in not falling behind. The swell from behind is
building and what a lovely sound, nearly hypnotic, as the boat lifts up
and speeds down the swell, the props humming in unison. At night in my
cabin I can gauge the wind and the boat speed by the pitch of the props;
and like any cat, our cat shows her happiness by purring away. I wonder
what it sounds like if a tiger purrs.....I have heard the rumble of an
elephant, and whalesong really takes me away.

Last night all four of us were sitting and making smalltalk and for a
laugh checked our Chinese signs and how we should get on or not get on
with each other. Both Steven and me are dragons, Nicolas is an ox and
Eduan a goat. Very interesting to see the different dynamics. I always
check this out before a trip, and certainly don't choose crew on their
particular Chinese sign. I just try to better understand each of my
crew, their particular strenghts and weaknesses and take it from there.
The aim of being respectful and considerate towards each other and
ourselves makes life on boards just that much conducive to a happy boat.
And we each bring our own qualities and experience to the table.
Irritations and frustrations to come around, but properly managed they
don't find a nesting place here and is soon blown away. If a snigh
comment comes my way best I reflect where it comes from before I react.
That is just my way, and certainly not the only way to deal with
conflict. We've had very little and I will step in and squash it if
necessary. A bit of being an even keeled person formed over the years.

Our nautical term for today is "Between the devil and the Deep Blue
Sea".The devil was the name given to a seam between two planks which
every so often had to be 'payed' or repacked with oakum and pitch to
prevent it from leaking. All seams need this routine treatment but the
devil seam was the most difficult to do and so called because of it!
There remains some conjecture as to which seam it actually was, devil in
this context is not a word which has survived and nobody can remember
any old hands ever speaking of it. Some believe it lay next to the keel
and suggest that the seaman who 'payed' it would have to hang from a
rope, suspended between the devil and the deep blue sea. But the more
likely explanation is that it was the outside seam of the deck planks
next to the scuppers. This would make it the longest seam and also the
most difficult to do due to the spray coming over the side. It also
gives more sense to the expression because in bad weather a man knocked
over by a sea would be washed into the scuppers to find himself
literally between the devil seam and the deep sea. Another expression,
the devil to pay, supports this. Originally it ran 'The devil to pay no
hot pitch' and refers to the misfortune of either running out of pitch
while paying while paying the longest seam, or having it cool too
quickly in what must have been a most exposed and draughty position. The
word pay is from the French piox meaning pitch.

Our current position is 13*40'S/009*13'W

And with that I salute you till next time.

Captain Paul

On the wings of a nightingale

As was predicted we have 15 kts of wind from behind. Trying to squeeze
every bit out of our sails we are just touching 6 kts here and
there. When you have 15 kts from behind and doing 6 kts you have only 9
kts of apparent wind, the wind that actually comes into the sail. Both
headsails are out, finely tuned and shaped to make the most of what we
have. We are hoping for the true trade winds to show their colours, a
constant 15 to 20 kts south easterly winds. The skies will then be
filled with scattered little puffs of clouds, day and night. Our boat is
a fast boat, but only when there is wind. The run to St.Helena was a bit
slower than anticipated, having been becalmed for a week. We therefore
don't have any reserves in the bank so to speak in keeping to our
schedule which requires 6 kts. A little bit of current also comes in
handy, and especially up the Brazilian coast it plays a big factor.

For supper last night we had some leftovers from the braai at St.Helena.
Chicken drumsticks on a bed of rice went down very well. jane from Ann's
Place also gave us some chilli bean mince,she never lets us go without
something for the road. Tonight's my turn to cook and it will be the
first time we try some soya beans with spaghetti. We have all quickly
settled back into the motion of the ocean and the nightskies was once
again ablaze with stellular delights.Nick downloaded Stellarium on his i
pad and what an amazing little device the i pad is. You hold it to the
sky and it shows you exactly what planetary body you are looking
at. Stellarium has many other great features like the artwork which
gives you a very clear idea of all the images in the sky if you connect
all the dots. Then it also has the astrological imqages from many other
cultures i.e. the Chinese, Astec, Polynesian etc.If you have the
slightest interest in astronomy download Stellarium today.

Bearing Up is our expression for today. One of several colloquialisms
which describes a sailing ship's heading relative to the wind, or to
another vessel. A ship is said to bear up when she brings her head
closer into the wind; when she bears away it means she is steering
further from the wind. To bear down is to steer towards an object - and
frequently this meant an enemy ship., hence the suggestion of a threat;
while overbearing meant simply to come to close.

Our position at 10 am is 15*02'S/007*46'W. We are now also on UTC time
which is two hours behind SA time. We are 1 950 nm from Fortaleza in
Brazil and expect to arrive there on 08/02. 9 500 nm to Tahiti and we
will try our utmost to arrive there well before 08/04.

Take good care

Captain Paul

Chinese New Year

I will post another blog later today. This bit of information courtesy of my
wife in light of the Chinese New Year.

Subject: >*Learn how to embrace the Dragon*

*By Eileen Wacker*

SUMMIT COUNTY — While some pessimists are expecting the world to end this
year, nearly half the world's population is looking ahead by celebrating
the Year of the Dragon starting Jan. 23, considered one of the most
fortuitous signs in the 12-year Asian zodiac cycle.

The dragon is the only sign in the Asian zodiac that is mystical; the
others are all real animals — the rat, dog, pig, horse, tiger, snake,
monkey, rabbit, ox, chicken and sheep.

Asian dragons are benevolent, charismatic and powerful. They are known for
their sincerity and trusting natures. They are often free spirits who are
passionate, creative and self-centered. In China, Japan and Korea,
throughout time many believed the emperors descended from dragons.

Based on these beliefs, many predict 2012 will be a dynamic, innovative
year, when individuals are encouraged to make bold moves and leave humble
behind. Across Asia, artificial insemination has been on the rise since
May, as parents seek to give birth to children this year. In Taiwan, a 20
percent increase in births is expected. In Korea and China, people are
planning weddings and having babies.

Supposedly, people born under the sign of the dragon are the luckiest and
wealthiest and everyone wants in on the dragon's legendary rewards.

Many millions of households are busily preparing for the New Year. In
Japan, China, Korea and other Asian countries, houses are being swept
clean. Windows are opened to let in good luck and flush out stuck energy.
Special flowers are placed carefully to invite and impress good luck and
opportunity. This happens every year to get ready for Lunar or Chinese New
Year.

The power of the dragon is undisputed in Asia and its image is pervasive.
Bruce Lee's stage name was Li Xiaolong or little dragon. In Japan, one
often sees the seahorse, which is a baby dragon, as well as dragon emblems
everywhere. And the dragon is the symbol of the emperor in China and Korea.
Dragons are beloved and admired across Asia and this year there will be
massive celebrations.

If nearly half of the globe's population believes in and will celebrate
this phenomenon, should the average person try to win the attention and
empathy of the Black Water Dragon?

Five ways to embrace the energy of the dragon, just in case…

- Seriously de-clutter your home or a part of your home like your
office. You need to make room for good fortune to settle. The extra space
will become filled with new, exciting things. If you can find a sweet pea
plant, put it out prominently or by a door or window. This is the favorite
flower of the dragon.
- No matter how cold, open your windows for a period of time each day
leading up to the New Year and then throughout January 23rd. The stale air
of the past will exit and new opportunities will be swept in. On New Year's
night if you are awake at midnight open every door and window briefly.
- Black is back as "the new black." The Dragon loves Black this year and
feel free to accessorize with bright colors. The dragon loves extravagance.
Take a walk on January 23 in your black outfit, accessorized with bold
colors and breath fresh air.
- On New Year's Day, share a meal with someone and talk only about the
future and its possibilities. This is a year for innovation and big
projects. Do not talk about the past at all. For your meal on the 23rd, eat
at a table adorned with lit candles. The food should be well spiced and if
possible include seafood and pumpkin.
- Give a gift. The Dragon can be self centered and impetuous but it is
also very generous and benevolent. Give small gifts to people (love is a
gift) and it will be returned in some form with greater richness. Since it
is a water dragon, some gift ideas are– a dragon pen, dragon cup, game or
anything to do with water. Little pouches with small money are also lucky
for children. These gifts bring luck to the recipient as well as the giver.
Donate items as you de-clutter; these are gifts to others as well.

Do not confuse the dinosaur with the dragon. Dinosaurs are negative where
dragons are wealthy, lucky and smart. So no dinosaur gifts to little boys
this year.

And remember to wish your Asian friends and neighbors a successful dragon
year. They will appreciate your sentiment and be impressed with your
cultural prowess. When we lived in Korea, we observed and then started to
participate in these wonderful New Year's customs.

If a billion people believe there is something to this, why not join the
festivities and see what luck the water dragon may bring in 2012? The
dragon has survived and evolved as even more powerful today, so many covet
its charm, charisma and prosperity. Embrace your inner dragon and
celebrate a second "Happy New Year" on January 23.

*Eileen Wacker lives in Honolulu, Hawaii, with her husband and four
children. She is the author of the new children's book, Black Tortoise
Samurai and the Dynasty Dragon (Feb. 2012), the fifth installment of the
award winning Fujimini Adventure Series. For additional information on the
series, please visit www.oncekids.com.*

St.Helena fading in the background

It was awesome as always watching St.Helena growing bigger in the early
morning light. We were also welcomed by a huge party of dolphins riding
in our wake, heralding An hour before we reached the anchorage at
Jamestown we radiod Radio St.Helena to announce our imminent arrival.
Radio procedure with them is always so correct, repeating your station
and the station your are conversing with three times everytime you call.
A little sing song but always a pleasure to hear a familiar voice on the
other side. They would normally ask one to stay aboard till Monday as
Port Control, Customs and Immigration is only open during weekdays.
Radio St.Helena made a special exception and contacted Port Control.
Barry, the Harbour Master knows me very well and we were granted
permission to go ashore.

Stepping foot on terra firma after nearly two weeks at sea is always
interesting. You sway around a bit and it looks and feels as if the
island is moving until you get your landlegs.Our first stop was at Ann's
Place and we were just one day too late for our friend Richard's 42nd
birthday. But we celebrated his birthday nevertheless again and last
night we had a proper birthday celebration and were invited for a braai
or bbq, whichever takes your fancy. Before we started his first belated
birthday Nick and Eduan had to scale Jacob's Ladder while Steven and
myself were started to get into the swing of things at Ann's Place. Both
newcomers enjoyed doing Jacob's Ladder, Eduan beating Steven's record
substantially and Nick taking just a little longer, steady but sure.

Our first priority was to get connected to the internet so we could
skype,email and do some research. It was also real good to call home
from the call box without the delayed speech and sometimes weak signal
we get on the sat phone. We spend most of the day there and later
proceeded to Donny's, a little establishment on the wharf with a pool
table. I first won Eduan, the Nick and had the pleasure of giving Steven
a whitewash, apparently his first ever. He had to break the pack and
that was his last shot. Some signs of a misspent youth on my part you
may think, perhaps. We had a special arrangement with the ferry and 9pm
we were ready to go back to the boat. Behaved a bit like hooligans and
had a midnight swim in the ocean. The next morning we made our
apologies to our neighbours at the anchorage.

I also tried to arrange for a tour of the island for Monday but both my
friends were otherwise committed.Instead we hired a car from them and
explored the island ourselves. A map of the island from the tourism
office came in very handy. Before we could start our tour we first had
to clear in and pay our dues to the queen. The immigration officers were
in a meeting and delayed our tour for some time but at about noon we
could start exploring. Three hours later we had covered all the main
attractions which included a meeting with Jonathan, our 200 years +
friend and made our way back to Jamestown again. At Ann's Place we could
once again skype etc. Richard impromptu decided to have a braai and we
were all once again treated to the incredible hospitality that is always
bestowed upon us when we visit. We arranged for the ferry to fetch us at
10pm and soon we were all sound asleep.

This morning a quick last run to the island to fill all our water tanks
and drums, say our farewells to all our friends and at 11am we have
lifted our anchor. As predicted we have a good breeze from behing and
sailing off into the sunset. As I look back St.Helena is growing smaller
and smaller. Looking ahead we should reach the Brazilian coast in two
weeks. Looking up the sun is shining bright on us and looking down the
deeppurple blue of the ocean is mesmerizing. We feel a bit sad for what
we leave behind, excited for what lays ahead, thankful for our blessings
from above and great to be back on the big blue.

Monday the 23rd was also the beginning of the Chinese New Year so happy
new year to you, again. Thanks for sharing a little bit of our doings
and undoings with us. Take care.

Captain Paul

St.Helena just over the horizon

What a beautiful morning we are having out here, less than 24 hrs from
St.Helena. The wind is tentavily, or should I say shyly, starting to
cause a bit of a ripple on the water. And we, in turn have our headsail
out, still motoring but going just a tad faster with the sail out. The
sky is filled with scattered clouds. As a kid we used to lay on our
backs and imagine all types of images in the clouds, and that has never
changed. I still see the dramas that take place above us, and are still
enthralled by the charactters that are conjured in my mind.

Last night I was once again mesmerized by the stars above. There is so
much to see up there, and if I may recommend, search for and download
Stellarium on the net. But beware, it will astound you endlessly having
an idea of what is out there. And when you are feeling a bit under the
weather and the usual diversions like tv and magazines don't do it
anymore, expand your mind and your horizons, and hopefully it will lift
your spirits sky high, naturally.

I was feeling a bit down last night. A bit is an understatement and all
my own fault. I phone my family twice a week for five minutes or so and
when I phoned last night I only had five minutes airtime left. Just
enough to send a mail or two, so I hopoe this one goes through. I had to
tell my daughter that daddy can't speak tonight as I need the last few
minutes to request more airtime . Nicky, our operations manager in Cape
Town, the best in the business, needs to be informed and she will place
an order with our server. Not sure if it can happen on a Saturday.

Fortunately we are close to St.Helena and will skype my family, which is
miles better than a phone call. Still,my heart was torn as I call home
every Monday and Friday and always count the days, the hours, the minutes
and the seconds before I call. The calls are prohibitively expensive from
a satelite phone, so we have to exercise great discipline. So if you
don't receive mail from the crew on board you know why. Nick placed a bit
of perspective on the matter by saying that it is a privilige for the
crew to have email on board in the first place and that did take some
burden off me, thanks Nick. Most other yachts don't have this privilege.

Nautical term today Beam Ends. A ship on her beam ends is one about to
sink, i.e. laid over on her side so far that her beams, or deck supports,
are in the water. It was an expressive way for the sailor to say he was
broke and the expression still means impecunity. Good name for a country
cottage.

The loom of St.Helena will become visible sometime tonight and grow bigger
and bigger. Tomorrow morning I will instruct Steven to drop anchor and
Eduan and Nick will enjoy the island of the Saints for the first time. Hope
you have a most wonderful weekend.

Captain Paul

Forgot to mention

Forgot to mention on the previous blog that Nick's bread came out quite
ok. Falling apart a bit as we sliced it, but it tasted divine and within
twenty minutes of being out of the oven it was gone.

Deafening silences

This morning I am on the 6 to 10 watch. The sun isn't up yet and sitting outside
I thought I heard doves singing as you
would sometimes hear on land. I also love hadidas when they take to the air in
the morning with a great buhah and same when
they come to roost again at night. It then dawned on me how silent it is out
here, just the sound of the hull being softly
caressed by the water. The water is flat as anything ,just a gentle swell
rolling through. A slither of the moon is visible
as she is rising upfrom the east. Soon it will be the new moon, strange thinking
that we call it that, as it has been around
for probably as long as the earth has been around. On Monday the new moon also
heralds in the Chinese new year, and 2012
will be the year of the dragon.

Last night we once again had a rare sight. We switched off all our lights as we
could see quite a bit of bioluminescence and
shined our powerful spotlight into the water to light up these incredible little
group of creatures that can produce their
own light. Apparently it is a defence meganism. When a predator approaches the
movement lights up these flashing little
green lights in the water in an effort to bamboozle the predator. Once again
strange that in an effort not to be eaten they
actually all light up, eat me, no, eat me ,hey, what about me. We aslo spotted
some small fish darting around in the light
and to our utter amazement we also spotted a seasnake, just under a meter long,
black and red sections from head to
tail.Beauty is all around us, if we only will make the effort to look around a
bit. As calm as the ocean is here by us today, just as wild she can get at times,
a beauty of another kind, another time, another place.

Nautical term today is Beaker. Spelt barrico. From the Spanish barrica, a wooden
water keg found in a ship's boat. Shoreside
, it has become a 'beaker', another name for a mug or cup. Probably where the
Afrikaans word 'beker' also comes from. Our
cup runneth over is an apt description of how blessed we are to experience a bit
of silence.

We are very much on schedule to arrive at St.Helena at first light on Sunday
morning, 240 nm to go. Our position right now
18*22'S/002*18'W. May your cup also runneth over today and may you have a
fantastic Friday.

Captain Paul

Becalmed but not perturbed

At about midnight last night, as we crossed into the western hemisphere,
the wind died completely on us. We dropped the mainsail, furled in the
headsail and since then we have been completely been becalmed. Not
perturbed by this at all as we have our iron maidens propelling us
towards St.Helena, albeit a bit slower, but steady for sure. Our ETA at
our island of the Saints is now Sunday morning, and so be it then. Our
weather report predicts better winds on Tuesday again, so we will have
time to top up our water supply, tour the island, visit our friends and
pay our dues to the queen.We will hopefully visit Napoleon's house, meet
Jonathan the over 200 year old Aldabra tortoise, the oldest living
animal on the planet, yes , you can google and check it out; and Nick
and Eduan will do Jacob's Ladder, the tallest man made ladder in the
world. Loads of interesting facts about this vocanic rock in the middle
of the Atlantic. It was first discovered by the Portuegese 500 years
ago. They charted it but couldn't find it again for another 100
years.This charming island has been lost in a time capsule as you can
only reach it by sea, but this is soon to change. November last year an
airport has at last been approved by the British goverment. What it will
do to the island is the age old question of the pro's and con's of
progress. 201 million pounds have been budgeted for the building of the
airport and another 40 million pounds for the first ten years of running
costs. The contract was awarded to Basil Read of South Africa who
tendered against a French and an Italian company.

Yesterday just after supper Steven and myself caught a rare glimpse of a
sunfish basking in the sun. We turned the boat around as fast as we
could but could not find it again. Courtesy of my precious wife Lizette
who googled and send me some info on this weird looking creature we
learned that they grow up to 3m long and can way up to two tons. They
live on jellies, are not considered edible, are the most fertile fish in
the ocean hatching up to 300 million eggs at a time and a load more of
other interesting facts. Really so much out here and we look forward to
much more.

Nick decided he wants to learn how to bake bread. This was inspired by
him looking at a tin of strawberry jam yesterday. At the moment we have
Nutty Wheat flour kneaded dough outside in a bowl wrapped in a black
plastic bag to rise for 45 minutes. Heat the oven 10 minutes before the
time and 45 minutes later we should have Nick's first attempt at baking
bread.

Nautical term for today is Barcarole. A song with a slow tempo and sad
refrain of Venetian origin. It comes from the Italian barca, a small
boat and barcaruoli which was the name given to the men who sang and
rowed the gondolas through the canals of Venice.

Our position at the moment 19*25'S/000*53'W. We are just under 10 000 nm
from Tahiti. Ten weeks give or take a few days. The oven has just been
switched on. Ok, the dough has risen beautifully and is now being
transferred to our silicone baking pans sprayed with Spray and Cook. I
normally paint a little bit of water to make the crust crispy , some
people use a raw egg to paint on. Nick wants to use sunflower oil and so
be it then. Tomorrow you will know how it came out.

Until then have a terrific Thursday.

Captain Paul

Baptism in ice

Yes, we are completely becalmed, and the weather report for the next few
days does not predict any change in the weather, until at least next
week Tuesday. Fortunately our iron sails keep us going and with the good
current we have we are doing ok at low refs, trying to conserve fuel but
also trying to keep to our schedule. It seems that we will arrive at
St.Helena Saturday night or early Sunday morning. Which means we will do
our tour of the island on Monday and depart Tuesday morning first light.
As stated in the previous posting, these things cannot be cast in stone.
There are elements which are beyond our control and we have to make the
most with what we get.

Last night we had a spectacular display of stars again and this time I
showed Nick and Eduan a cluster called Pleiades through the binocs. They
were astonished and were glued to the night skies for a long time. For
supper last night Nick treated us to Chicken ala Nick. Ingredients
consisted of chicken breast fillets cut into a small bitesize pieces,
fresh onion, garlic, green pepper, chilli, butternut, tomato and
complimented with a tin of mixed veggies and Nando's Mediterranean
Tomato Peri-peri sauce.Spices were freshly grinded premium Atlantic
Ocean Sea salt from Woolies,freshly grounded highest quality Malabar
pepper,also from Woolies,Robertson's Italian herb and Ina Paarman's
Masala Spice.All this he infused with a secret ingredient I thought was
saffron but it turned out to be something called a touch of Amber and
some of his own good energies.This masterpiece was mixed with Tastic
rice.Obviously mom's influence also shined through and with a 360 degree
seaview we had a feast.A colourful Itaian connection called Manuel also
had some influence in this inspiring creation. As you can see, food is
an important element in our day to day existence out here on the big
beautiful blue.

Our position is 20*17'S/000*49'E.Soon we will be crossing into the wild
wild west as you can see by the 000 degree 49 minutes South.At our
current heading we should cross into the western hemisphere at about
midnight. St.Helena is 430 nautical miles away.

Our nautical originated term today is Bamboozle The word first appears
in print in the early part of the 17th century where one authority
suggests it was the name of the Spanish custom of hoisting false flags
to deceive or bamboozle their enemies. Certainly that was the general
general understanding throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, although
the word also made it's appearance in fairgrounds where it was the name
of a betting game in which the showman placed a pea under one of three
jugs and players had to guess which.

Due to the calm conditions we stopped the boat for ten minutes and dived
into the ocean. Very refreshing, exhiliration cold and our endorphins
was pumping through our systems. We had so much fun that Eduan
pronounced that this has been his best watch since we started.Steven the
hooligan out here did a backflip for the camera. We have two underwater
cameras and one underwater video camera on board, so we are looking
forward to this little ritual often.Baptism in ice.

Take good care and we will also take good care.

Captain Paul

Stealth mode

Greetings from the deep big blue.Yesterday evening we had our first
tasting of soya, mutton flavoured. Steven conjured up a shepherds pie,
smash, soya, mixed veggies and some fresh chillies. Surprisingly it went
down very well. Tonight it is Nick's turn to man the galley and we are
looking forward to see what he comes up with.

Yesterday we had an awesome day of sailing. The morning also started with
very little wind, but as I have learned over time, things change. When it
is going good, it will change, when the going is bad, it will change. And
so it did. By about 10 am yesterday the wind started building and it
wasn't long before we were sailing fast and smooth. We don't hope for
anything, we are thankful for what we get and make the most of it.
Otherwise our emotions would get the better of us.

Just after supper we decided to reef the sails a bit as we were on the
edge of our sail configuration and to sail like this through the night was
not necessary. Instead we opted for a little less sail, moving from 8 kts
to 7 but in turn we also had some peace of mind that if the wind got a bit
out of hand we were ready for it.

To save our batteries we also went into stealth mode,sailing with all the
nav lights off and all the instruments covered, pitch dark with no moon.
The skies were scattered with an amazing display of stars, planets,
galaxies,clusters, satelites and other heavenly bodies. One can get lost
when staring upinto the night skies with binoculars, similar to the
otherworldliness of snorkeling or scuba under the water. Time takes on a
different dimension and one realize how small and how big we are, how
incredibly blessed to be alive. Apologies for getting so into our
surroundings, we don't have tv or other diversions out here. It is both an
outward and an inward journey for us. We are free to explore the inner and
outer reaches of our minds,our bodies, our spirit and our soul. A bit off
the beaten tract and this is what sailing is about in many a way. The
incredible lightness of being. To be carried along by the breezes. I
should stop before this turns into poetry, so suffice to say,we are having
loads of fun out here. There is a lot more in this regard I would love to
share, but all in good time.

At the moment it is a overcast, just enough wind to keep us moving but it
should build during the course of the day as it has the last few days. It
seems that we will arrive at St.Helena on Saturday, hopefully early.
Saturday night at Anne's Place, Sunday a tour of the island and depart
again on Sunday afternoon.That is the plan but it is not cast in stone.

We are 600nm from St.Helena and our position is 21*27'S/03*04'E.We have
moved into the next time zone which means we are 1 hour behind SA.UTC+1.Put
in another way, if it is 12h00 in SA it is 11h00 by us.

Our everyday expression with nautical origins for today is Back and Fill.
From the long and tedious operation of getting a large sailing ship to
change tacks in light or fickle winds when the crew would have to back the
fore and aft sails so that the wind could fill on their reverse side and
help to blow the ship's head around.Systematically backing and filling was
also used as a way of holding the ship steady in position.

Take care and catch up again on the morrow.

Captain Paul

Our first week at sea

Yes, can you believe it, a week since we've left Cape Town on our
journey to Tahiti. And somehow we have managed to do our first 1000 nm
as well, meeting our target spot-on. The weather files we have received
have been a little less than accurate, but we are thankful for what we
have recieved and made the most of it. This morning it is overcast
again, like yesterday morning, and we have to motorsail to keep up our
average. But, as yesterday and many times before, things will
change.After a slow start yesterday it wasn't long before we were
sailing fast and smooth with the wind building more and more. The skies
opened a bit towards the afternoon and early hours this morning Steven
and myself decided to reef our mainsail to second reef as the wind was
starting to peak at close to 20 kts.

Quite a few sailchanges took place during the day, starting with twin
headsails. Then the wind started backing a bit and we had to bring the
one headsail down and hoist the mainsail. The wind direction eventually
settled and remained at a broad reach,where it is still at. On your
watch that would mean the wind is coming at us from about 8 o'clock.

Eduan had his turn of preparing supper and we had pap and wors with hot
chakalaka, coleslaw and some beetroot salad. Filled our tummy's nicely
and we were ready for our night watches.

Our original nautical term for today is "Aloof". From the old Dutch word
loef, meaning windward. It was adopted by the English sailors in the
16th and 17th centuries, and in books of old voyages it is written
variously as aluffe, a-luff and aloof.Describes a vessel which is
sailing along a lee shore with her head pointing high into the wind to
prevent her being set inshore; also said of a vessel amongst a fleet of
ships which sails higher into the wind so that she draws apart.Thus it
has come to mean 'one who stands apart'.

I wish you a magnificent Monday.

Captain Paul

Fwd: [Pro Yacht Deliveries] New comment on Sunday morning coming down.

>James Gorrie has left a new comment on your post "Sunday morning coming
>down":
>
>THANKS CAPTAIN PAUL - EVERY DAY IS A RUSH TO SEE WHO IS FIRST TO READ THE
>BLOG - PETA OR I !!!- ONE QUESTION : EAST OF WALVIS OR WEST ??
>

Hi James Thanks so much for lunch at Bascule and taking the time to meet all
the crew before we departed from Cape Town. And yes, you spotted the error,
we are west of Walvis Bay, at the time of writing about 480 nm.I always tell
the crew when we are plotting to measure twice and cut once, an old
carpenter's advice. Looks like I should also take heed of my own advice. We
also appreciate your regular comments, and tell Peta that Nick's chicken
pasta was absolute superb !

Sunday morning coming down

Yesterday morning the wind started to come in more from behind us and
for the first time we could throw our twin headsail configuration to the
wind. It carried us well for about 24 hrs till this morning when the
wind shifted back to west a bit. Steven and Nick proceeded to drop the
one headsailand hoisted the mainsail and genoa. Sound a bit technical I
guess but in a nutshell we changed the way we harness the wind, which is
coming more from the side than from behind. Changing from windvane mode
to autopilot gave us a little more surefootedness over the swell and we
are once again smoothly making way towards St.Helena.

Last night was my turn to cook and we had some potato wedges and some of
Nick's Yellow Tail deepfried. A good serving of coleslaw rounded the
meal of nicely. Nick fell for another T trap and we finished the evening
with a nice warm cup of tea. The T trap is getting someone to say
something with a T in and then that person has to make tea. Tricky at
times, but so far Eduan had three turns, Nick two turns and Steven once.
I also make tea now and then, but not by being tricked into it. For
example last night I asked Nick how many shirts he brought with. He
started by saying three T - shirts when I jumped up claiming victory and
he made us tea, good sport that he is. Eduan had similar traps laid,
fell for everyone and everytime vouched never again. I told him my
daughter who just started gr 3 is studying dinosaurs and wants to know
what was the most vicious and dangerous dinosaur. He quickly provided
the answer - T Rex, and voila, another cup of tea. Just a little game we
play to amuse ourselves and score a cup of tea at the same time.

We have got a good one lined up for Eduan later on today. We're going to
have a little dispute, saying that Steven reckons in rugby after a high
tackle one gets to scrum. Obviously we are hoping that Eduan will
correct us and say it is a penalty, the big T again. Fun and games. All
it is.

Very much overcast today ,and Steven and Nick whipped up some bacon and
egg on toast for breakfast, first for the trip so far. The dynamics on
board is shaping nicely ,we are having a lot of laughs, and also taking
our watches seriously. A good combination for a happy ship. We run a
type of democracy where everyone's opinion counts and we all share
equally. There are obviously times when I have to make a call, or
dictate if you wish. All fun and games, but also with a serious edge to
it now and then.

Our nautical term for today is Adrift. At the will of the wind and
tide. Sailors began to use the word to describe anything which had
become undone or gone missing, which is how it acquired its shoreside
meaning of somebody late, lost or wandering in their mind. From this
word has also come 'drifter', a person with no aim in life.

Our current position is 23*38'S/007*53'E. We have covered about 880nm so
far, 875nm to St.Helena and 360nm east of Walvis Bay. We should be
arriving at St.Helena Saturday night late or early Sunday morning which
would call for a night entry, again.

I hope you have a stunning Sunday.

Captain Paul

And another fish landed

Yes, we caught another Cape Yellow Tail. This time Nick was on watch
again but he didn't call anyone to assist this time. Unceremoniously he
brought the fish in by himself, filleted the fish and placed it in the
fridge. Today I will have the pleasure of preparing fresh fish. The lure
we use was chosen by my 8 year old daughter when we were at the fishing
tackle shop. A nice looking lure with pink ,purple and blue colours. I
have never even looked at it before and it seems to be working very
well.

The wind subsided quite a bit last night and we had to motor till about
8 this morning. The strong weather that was predicted have evaporated
into thin air and the fresh grib weather file from my mom predicts
steady 15 kts from behind. It started coming more and more around and
about an hour ago Steven and myself hoisted our secondary headsail.Now
we have two sails working in unison. Not much wind yet but enough to
keep us going at an acceptable speed.

On board things are starting to shape nicely. Eduan is the quiet one,
Steven the chirpy one, Nick playing for fairplay and myself quite happy
to find myself in such good company.All of us shaping each other and
sharing experiences to the benefitof all.

Yesterday we had good sailing weather and I had Nick helming for an hour
or so, giving him a hint here and there but allowing him to find his own
way.It is a rare pleasure to be at the helm of such a stunning yacht and
feeling one with all around you. Not many people take the opportunity to
helm when conditions are perfect, the autopilot does most of the
steering.Edduan also gets his turn at the helm. There is no challenge to
see who is best, we just enjoy the experience and chirp each other, with
respect, when an opportunity presents itself. All in good spirit.

Our nautical term for today is Above Board. Literally the wooden boards
of planking which make up the deck. Any activity which went on 'above
boards' would be in the open for everyone to see. Thus it has come to
mean honest and fair play.

Our position at present is 25*11'S/009*28'E.We have covered about 750 nm
since leaving Cape Town.Hope you have a great weekend.

Captain Paul

Fwd: [Pro Yacht Deliveries] New comment on Friday the 13th.

>James Gorrie has left a new comment on your post "Friday the 13th":
>
>HEY NICK HOPE YOU ARE GIVING THEM A REALLY GOURMET MEAL !1
>

>
>Posted by James Gorrie to Pro Yacht Deliveries at January 13, 2012 7:35 PM

Friday the 13th

We are completely becalmed.Wonder if that is an oxymoron.The surface of
the water is mirrorlike,the proverbial calm before the storm.Not that we
are expecting a storm,but we are expecting strong weather to come in
from the south later this evening,25 kts and up.It should turn southeast
and we are trying to position ourselves to take the wind straight from
behind on our way to St.Helena.The strong weather should last for a day
or two and hopefully take us into the SE trade wind zone, a constant
wind speed and direction.

Last night Steven prepared a typical bachelors meal,potato bake with
corned beef, bacon, onions, cheese, potato and potato bake sauce. We
really climbed into it and only a small section was left over. No sliced
and canned peaches this time. We only had one of those courtesy of my
dear wife Lizette. My daughter Maryna has just started grade 3 and sounds
very excited about the year ahead. This is probably the only downside to
my occupation, being away from home for up to three months at a time. I
have been delivering yachts full time now for the last six years and as
a family we are somehow used to it. But I also know that I am missing out
on a lot with my daughter growing up.

She knows what her daddy does, she and my wife did a 7 000 nm journey
with me to Belize three years ago, and they both loved it thoroughly. Now
we sail in Durban every now and then and for fun we have a little
trimaran that we sail at the dams in Kwa-Zulu Natal.

Well, Friday the 13th, hopefully a fortunate day for you. Also ten days to
beginning of the Chinese New Year and this year it is the Year of the
Dragon again. And 2012 also being the end of the Mayan calender, ending on
21/12/12 according to most calculations. My mom's birthday this year is
12/12/12. She is the one that downloads and sends us the weather, carry us
in her prayers but won't allow my dad to come with me on a crossing...ha ha
ha.Then she will have to drive to the shop etc.

What the Mayan calender means we can only theorize about. Personally I
think it is the end of the industrial era and the beginning of an era where
human awareness will take on new dimensions. Much more about this down the
line.

Currently our position is 26*29'S/011*51'E.We are 180 nm west of
Luderitz,have covered 570 nm and 10 800 nm to go.Our ETA in Tahiti is
08/04/12.Let's see how close we get to this.As you can see,our journey has
just began.

It is Nic's turn to cook tonight and we will see what he will come up with.
Always interesting to see how the crew dynamics on board shapes.Nic has
already shown a lot of initiative ,a rather rare quality with new
crewmembers.Eduan is enjoying his time on the ocean and learning quickly
what is expected of him, Steven is his usual chirpy self and I am smiling,
thanks to my lovely wife, who always finds a way to ground me a bit.

A little nautical lore is that one never leaves on a Friday as it will bring
bad luck to you.This was from the days when the sailors of old got paid on a
Thursday and were pretty useless the morning after.I stick to this rule, just
in case.I have ignored it and I did get whacked.When Lady Luck and Murphy
gets together all types of things can happen.

Take care and thanks for keeping an eye on us.

Fwd: [Pro Yacht Deliveries] New comment on Yellow Tail ,Moonshine and Dolphins.

>James Gorrie has left a new comment on your post "Yellow Tail ,Moonshine
>and Dolphins":
>
>THAT FISH MAKES MY MOUTH WATER !!
>

>
>Posted by James Gorrie to Pro Yacht Deliveries at January 12, 2012 11:54 AM

A.1 and other nautical terms

We have now been three days out at sea .The weather has been very kind
to us and yesterday we had one of those rare days where we could raise
all our canvas to the wind .The wind was coming nicely of the beam ,the
sea was fairly flat and with assistance from the current we were
touching 8 kts with only 10 kts of wind .This lasted till about midnight
when the wind subsided and we had to drop all our sails and start our
iron maidens ,two 56 HP Yanmars which we run one at the time to conserve
fuel.We are having slight headwinds at the moment but still doing
5.5kts with one motor running at a low 1600rpm .Late tomorrow we expect
another front to reach us which will once again assist our progress and
perhaps afford us the opportunity to throw both headsails to the wind .

Last night it was Eduan's turn to prepare supper and we had some of the
fresh yellow tail baked in tomato and onion with slices of potato.Served
on a bed of rice it was rather nice.Tonight it will be Steven's turn to
show his skills and we will be waiting in abated breath.

I'm also planning to do a daily quote from an interesting little book
called Salty Dog Talk - The Nautical Origins of Everyday Expressions
.Authored by Bill Beavis & Richard McCloskey and obtainable from
"Cruising Connections" ,their website www.cruisingconnections.co.za .I
will start alphabetically and see how the expressions relate to daily
experiences out on the ocean . The first expression -

A.1

From the famous classification 'A.1 at Lloyds' which described the
construction of a merchant ship as being of the highest
quality.Coincidentally the same understanding is given today to what was
formerly the highest qualification of warship - first rate. A 'First
Rate' ship was one with 100 guns or more spaced over three decks.
Admiral Nelson's VICTORY was a first rate ship of the line.Another
expression with the same meaning is top drawer.This came to be used
because the ship's documents and important papers were always kept in
the top drawer .

Our official boat nr is A1183.I have no doubt that we have an A.1 boat, an
A.1 crew and that we will have an A.1 journey.The wind has shifted a bit
during the last four hours and the barometer has climbed from 1011 to
1015. At 7am I woke Eduan to assist with raising the main and
headsails.Full main and full genoa we can carry up to 15 kts and we did
fine for an hour or so. The wind started building slightly and touching on
19 kts.Steven woke up and we pulled in a reef in both sails and we can
easily take 20 kts of wind with this configuration.Just keeping a close
eye on the wind, the rigging and the seastate.Currently we are sitting
comfortably at 8kts,our COG is 321*T and our position
28*17'S/013*07'E.Seastate is fairly flat and we are once again making
smooth and fast progress on a close reach,the wind sitting at about 10
o'clock.We have covered 450 nm in three days giving us the average we are
hoping for.

Time to put a lure out again as we have same space in our freezer and a
long way to go.Go you well till next time.

Captain Paul

Yellow Tail ,Moonshine and Dolphins

Yes,that's what we had since 6 last night.A nice size Cape Yellow Tail
or Albacore if I'm not mistaken ,the moon joining us during our watch
hours throughout the night and dolphins visiting at about 2 this
morning.It was Nic that spotted that our fishing line was taught. He in
turn called First Mate Steven who brought the fish in on handline and
also showed the guys how to fillet a fish .That's our meal for today
,lunch and supper .It was on Eduan's watch that the dolphins paid us a
visit.

The stronger weather has subsided a bit and for the next two days we are
expecting lighter winds.At the moment we are sailing very nicely with
full main and genoa between a beam reach and a close reach .On
your watch the wind is thus coming from about 10 o'clock if the
bow is pointing to 12 . Apparent wind about 10kts and with the Benguela
current assisting us we are gliding over the water at over 6 kts ,like a
swan thats here and gone - "Sounds of silence".

By the 13th we are expected to get another good spell of strong wind
from the south and south east by which time we will then start heading
straight for St.Helena.We passed the Orange River mouth last night and
came close to the flats extending far out to sea .Diamond enriched
seabed ,but no ,we're not equipped to explore this a bit further.

We have logged 297 nm in the last 48 hrs keeping right on tract with our
average of 150 nm a day we are hoping to maintain.Our position at 10 am
was 29*52'S/015*07'E.If you are following us on google earth you will
see that we are following the continental shelf up the west coast .Quite
a few ships all around us but soon we will leave them behind once we
start turning west.

Last night we had our first fully cooked meal on board and it was my
turn to man the kitchen .A full on fresh veggie stew on a bed of rice
went down well and we all have now adapted to the motion of the ocean.My
stew consisted of cabbage ,carrots ,baby marrows ,potatoes ,green pepper
,fresh chilli ,garlic ,onions and various spices and sauces.A few pieces
of goulash was also added to the equation .Sliced peaches for desert and
that was that .

Today it is Eduan's turn to turn on the magic and fish is the base he
has to work aroiund. We will see what the day brings.

Wishing you a very pleasant day.

Captain Paul

Fwd: [Pro Yacht Deliveries] New comment on First day out of Cape Town.

-- Original message --
From: Thibs <noreply-comment@blogger.com>
To: sailwithpaul@skyfile.com
Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2012 18:57:44 +0000
Subject: [Pro Yacht Deliveries] New comment on First day out of Cape
Town.
>Thibs has left a new comment on your post "First day out of Cape Town":
>
>HI everybody! Hi Cpt Paulo! Happy Crazzy Funny new year!!!
>Wow, i just red your "first day out of Cape town" and it's like i hear you
>speaking! F..ck I miss you man!!
>And to read all of that make me...(you see the howling of the Lion?..That!)
>GrhhgRRggh!! "I WAnnAaa come!!!I wanaaa be there!!!"
>Nicolas and Eduan, you will see, to cross the Atlantic is amazing but to
>cross the Atlantic with Paul is even more umbelivable!!I promise you, you
>will never regrets what you are doing...maybe sometimes you will miss land
>but forget it!!Enjoy everything..You are such lucky dudes to sail with
>Captain Paulo!..
>I wish you all of you,for your trip,a nice wind,like between 15 and 20
>kts ;) i wish you lot of fun...i wish you plenty of surf at 16 kts!even
>more lol..And i wish you guys A Big mother f.. Fish very very soon at the
>end of the fishhook!!!i know nobody can "fish" like tamy can do lol
>but...fingers crossed..
>
>I miss sailling..i miss a Meerkat session!! with crazy SA people..lol..
>I would like to be back on a little cloud and sail ocean with you
>Paul!..France is too serious, land in town is too sad...people are too
>sad,and too agressiv...
>
>;)
>I will follow you during my 4monthes 's formation that i'm doing in
>Marseille...it is to be captain!!..ahah
>'careful I'm following you Paul, ;) and you will see me again!!on my
>sailingboat,..behind your sails...lol...sometimes..somewhere...I don't
>know, but i hope i will see you again!!..
>Take care you and your crew..
>i see you close to st Helena by this blog maybe..
>hope my english is ok lol
>ciao ciao les amis
>bonjour depuis la France...
>Force et Honneur!!!
>
>Publish
>Delete
>Mark as spam
>
>Moderate comments for this blog.
>
>Posted by Thibs to Pro Yacht Deliveries at January 10, 2012 8:57 PM

First day out of Cape Town

Our first day at sea was a good solid performance. Strong winds, big
seas and good currents all worked in our favour as we speeded out of
Cape Town. The weather predicted winds between twenty and forty five kts
and that is what we had. Sailing with the genoa alone we started with
the full genoa and furled her in a few times as the wind intensified.

The crew on board is myself ,Steven who is doing his 4th delivery with
me ,Nicolas and Eduan ,who both are doing this for the first time.
Leaving Cape Town during a summer heatwave it didn't take long for the
cold southerly winds to bring the temperature right on the open ocean.
best way to get your sealegs is to sleep as much as you can for the
first day or so which is exactly what we all did. Not one of us got
seasick and this morning we are feeling just fine.

A few ships passed us last night as we sailing past Saldanna. We left
Cape Town at 10am and at 10 am this morning we have logged 160nm.The
fastest speed we had was 16.1kts surfing down a big wave .Our position
at 10am was 31*38'E/016*42'S. We are not sailing a straight line to
St.Helena but have this time opted to follow the winds and currents up
the west coast.In the next three days start moving more westerly as the
wind and current starts curving.

We have three months of sailing ahead and our mindset for such a long
trip is a little bit different from the usual 6000nm runs we normally
undertake. The boat is heavily loaded with fuel, water and food. Last
night we were tested quite seriously and the weight distribution on the
boat gave us a good balance. We are a little heavier on our stern as
this keeps our rudders in the water when the big waves roll through
under us. The sea was a bit crisscrossed and everything on the boat had
ton be stored properly before we left Cape Town.This was also properly
tested and once again everything remained in place.

Every morning I also walk around the boat checking the rigging and
making sure everything is as it should be, a daily inspection which I
take as essential. We also check the bilges ,the motors ,the instruments
etc.As it is a newly built boat we can expect some teething problems but
so far so good. We have done extensive preventitive maintenance and are
as well prepared as we could be for whatever comes our way.

Foodwise we are also trying something new, soya beans as part of our meat
supplement. We have got some red meat on board, some chicken and soon we
hopeto have some fresh fish on board as well.Plan is to have red meat one
day, chicken the next, then soya beans and hopefully fish the following
day. That we we should have a fairly balanced meals.Huge amounts of two
minute noodles, canned tuna and smoked mussles and a wide variety of
canned goods. We also have plenty of flour and ready mix bags for bread,
scones, pancakes, flapjacks etc.So all in all we should be ok in that
department as well.Plenty of fresh fruit and veggies which will last us a
few weeks.

So yes,let the games begin. Outside the sun is shining, we have a gentle
15kts of breeze pushing us along so from where we are all is well.We
expect a bit of a lull tomorrow and then hope to hook into some stronger
stuff the next day that should also start curving us in towards
St.Helena.After St.Helena we may stop at Fortaleza, St.Vincent, somewhere
in Venezuela for fuel, then Panama, Galapagos,Fatu Hiva in the Marquesas
and finally Tahiti in early April. Our stops are only a day or two at
most, sometimes less if the weather dictates.

We plan to share our experiences with you daily, our thoughts and our
position which you can check on google earth.

Glad to have you aboard.

Take care and may the year ahead be your best one yet.

Captain Paul

IMG00457-20120109-1233.jpg

Cape Town to Tahiti 2012