Expecting some potentialshipping traffic we had our navlights for the
first time in a quite a while. I took over watch from Eduan at midnight
and half an hour later I spotted a ship, coming across us right on a
collision course. I radioed the ship and informed them that I will alter
course slightly and pass on their stern. On our point of sail it was a
bit difficult as we were on a broad reach and turning to starboard to
much would take the wind out of the headsail and she would start
flogging. An early change of course gave us just enough room to
manoeuvre in and we passed about a mile from the stern of the ship.
It dawned on me yesterday afternoon that our speed at which we are
sailing will afford us to have a closer look at Atholl Dos Rochas and
after passing Fernando we altered course slightly and expected to pass
the atholl between 8 and 10 this morning. We wanted to go a bit closer
but conditions were slightly rough for a swim and we just sailed pass.
We were in radio coms with four marine biologists from Brazil who is
here for a month long research project. They were very happy to chat to us
and we shared some pleasantries. Being from Brazil I informed themthat we
are from South Africa and we think they should learn to play soccer. All
four of them apparently play soccer and we challenged them to a game of
beach soccer. They laughed and informed us that they have a lot of work to
do. Anyway, we could go ashore as it is a protected marine reserve, the
conditions weren'y conducive. Swimming ashore would also be rather
foolish. In asked them what species of sharks they have at the atholl and
it was the expected grey shark and gully shark, and then more unexpected
a type of bull shark,white tip open ocean shark and tiger shark. The last
three are known for their unfriendly behaviour towards humans under
certain conditions. Make no mistake, I love sharks and they are truly
beautiful, but there are times when you shouldn't get too close to them.
To time our ETA at the atholl I furled in the genoa a bit as the wind
started to pick up a bit. The sea became a bit boisterous and ten minutes
later we were hit by our first squall of the trip. Our apparent wind
topped at twenty and we were sailing fast but safe at about 10kts. I was
thankful that I had furled in the headsail ten minutes before as the true
wind speed was 30kts. I have a holy respect for these sudden storms that
creep up on you at night as I have been through some serious storms
before, having had to fight for our lifes with everything I had. It rained
just a little bit and ten minutes later the storm had passed over. When
Nick came on watch after me I informed him of what happened on my watch
and handed the boat over to him. I was asleep for maybe 45 minutes when I
heard the props of the boat starting to whine, a sure sign of another
squall coming over. In a flash I was out and sat with Nick for a while as
the second storm passed over us. This time it rained quite a bit and the
wind peaked at about 23 apparent and boat speed at about 12kts. A
little more intense than the previous one. A couple of windshifts also
happen before, during and after squalls and he learned a bit about storm
tactics.
We are making great progress towards Fortaleza and expect to arrive there
sometime tomorrow night. If we are lucky we will get in just before the
sun sets. Having just experienced Atholl Dos rochas again, a most pristine
example of natural beauty, it once again reminded me on what a beautiful
planet we live. Gaia, as some of us call her, our beloved Mother Nature,
our Nurturer, that what our bodies came from and will go back to. And the
way we have been treating her, us as a human species. Or rather exploiting
and just taking things for granted. I have been reminded of the green
issues we are faced with, the challenges we are confronted with. My eight
year old daughter has a firm grasp of that there is no away. You can't
throw anything away. If you ask her to throw something away she will ask
where away is. It is just moving stuff away from you but there is no away.
I have to start at the core of what I think is needed for our planet. We
once again have to respect ourselves and our planet, realize the
sacredness and the oneness of us all. We are part of our planet and our
planet is part of us. For the next few blogs we will look at some of these
issues and how they tie in with body, mind, spirit and soul. How fear and
greed have robbed us blind, and how we can turn the tide.
Nautical term for today is 'Out of the Blue'. The totally unexpected.
Short for'out of a clear blue sky' and is an analogy to a sudden change in
the weather when, from a good breeze under a cloud dappled blue sky, a
demon squall can appear and wreak havoc on the ship. Probably the best
documented example of this was in the spring of 1878 when HMS Eurydice was
on the last few miles of her journey home to Portsmouth from Bermuda. The
day was calm, the weather was sunny, all sails were set, all ports and
windows were open and all men on duty were relaxing on deck. Then without
warning a dark cloud appeared, a squall struck and Eurydice went down with
368 men. Within half an hour the weather was perfect again.
At night it is even more difficult to spot a squall catching up on you. It
is terefore prudent to expect squalls,fly lesser sails and sacrifice speed
for safety. We received a radio call from a ship a few days ago re a yacht
that send of an emergency signal via their epirb. The position they gave
us is close to where we are now and I am starting to form an idea of what
might have happened to the sailors. But you can also not expect to cross
oceans without expecting a few storms on the way. This is part of what
keeps us humble, respectful and watchful. Some of us anyway. The rest pay
the ultimate price.
Our position at 10am our time, UTC - 2 or 14h00 SA time is
03*49'S/034*02'W. We are 260nm from Fortaleza and at our current speed it
will take us 32 hrs, so yes, we are sailing fast, but not gunning it.
Wishing a pleasant day and week ahead.
Captain Paul
No comments:
Post a Comment