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
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