St.Helena....always an immense pleasure to visit her shores. The remnants
of a volcanic eruption smack bang in the middle of the Southern Atlantic
ocean. Sometimes volcanoes erupt and settles back to sea level where the rim
is then in time covered with coral and attracts a huge variety of other
living organisms. Only a few volcanoes erupt and is big enough to not sink
back into the ocean. On the same ridge about 700nm away is Ascension island.
Huge underwater mountain ranges, with these two islands the peaks. From
5000 metres the seabed rises rapidly within a mile or two of St.Helena,
and on top, this magnificent rock. Sailing in from the south east the
volcanic cliffs shows many layers of different colours and density. I
always experience a sense of wonder, thinking that this rock goes right
down to the core of our planet. And if I hold my ear against this rock, I
imagine hearing the rumblings of the molten core far below. From the
centre of our blue planet. The outer parts of the island offers a huge
contrast to the inner hills and valleys where you find lush green forests.
The people who live on this island are also the friendliest people I have
met anywhere. I thought I may be a bit biased, but reading the reports of
others sailors that came ashore and filled the logbook at Anne's Place,
confirms that. People like me, who have sailed far and wide. It is a
unique place, in many ways, and so worth a visit for so many reasons.
Until very recently you could only get there by boat, but since October
last, you can now fly in. And for the very best experience of the history
of the island, none can beat the Consulate Hotel. If you can, make a plan,
and GO.
Our sail from Cape Town to St.Helena was average. From St.Helena to Brazil
we normally experience less wind, but this time round we had a fantastic
sail up. Sailed pass Fernando do Noronha at night, and the next day at
about noon we passed Atol do Rocas. Had some radio contact with the marine
biologists stationed on this amazing place before we pointed our bows
towards the Caribbean. The current running up the South American north
coast goes a long way in stretching our daily average of 150nm to 200+nm.
But just for a few days before you loose the current and hook in again a
few days later. The Amazon creates some counter currents close to the
coast, and we prefer to stay at least 200nm offshore from it's mouth. A
day or two after crossing the Amazon, the ocean water starts going brown
from the silt deposited by the Amazon and remains that way nearly to the
Caribbean. Lots of rain whenever we sail this area, for days. Refreshing
and invigorating. Huge amounts of sargasso, a floating seaweed that one
can apparently cook and eat, or dry and make a certain spice from it. A
few days ago I started smelling a very faint familiar smell, like clay.
The next day the sun was less bright which confirmed what my nose picked
up first. Sahara dust, powdery fine pinkish reddish dust being blown
nearly 3000nm over the North Atlantic ocean. It starts settling on the
boat in little nooks and crannies, hardly visible at first, but within a
few days evident everywhere. A good spell of rain and the exterior of our
yacht is clean, but inside the cockpit area, we have to hose and wipe it
off. Satellite images shows this massive yellow cloud over the North
Atlantic certain times of the year, and apparently not good for the coral
in the Caribbean either. I guess as the desert grows bigger, more and more
dust is being blown over.
Life on yacht....we get very close to nature out here, become an integral
part of the wild and untameable open ocean. The sun, the moon, the skies,
day and night, the ocean, all awe inspiring ever changing elements. And
when you have been out here long enough, a spirit of thankfulness, a soul
of gratefulness settles in you. I often sail with new crew and new owners,
who haven't been at sea long. Interesting how they, in the beginning,
always find a reason to complain. Too hot, to cold, too wet, too dry, too
much wind, too little wind. It is as if they cling onto these little rafts
of negativity left over from a life on land. Indoctrinated and programmed
to be like that ;-))) And they cling together, huddle together to exchange
there pains. They don't often express their complains to me. Reason being
that I normally pass them a toilet roll and a pen and ask them to write
their complains on it ;-))) At first they are shocked, but soon realize
that is my take on little negative chirps. Reporting a fault, that gets
recorded in our logbook, no problem with that, and we sort it out, now. If
you bump your head, or slip, I first ask if the boat is ok. It works a
charm. And they figure out quick that this is not a nursing home, here you
have to watch where you walk, and how you walk. I always urge the crew
to walk on their toes, cat foot like, quick short steps, stay low and
always hold with one hand onto something. And soon everyone knows how to
be and stay safe. First safety rule on a boat is to stay on the boat. If
you fall overboard and we can't find you it creates a lot of paperwork :-
000. That also shocks my new crew a bit when we do the safety briefing
before we start, not sure why. It's a fact :-))) And so we establish crew
dynamics. If someone does not pull their weight, it creates tension.
Therefore best to share all the duties equally, and make sure the duties
are performed properly. And no problem for me to sort out small little
problems like this. None of us keep grudges, we air our feelings, and get
on with the task at hand. Everyone knows what is expected from them, and
why. And soon we have positive comments in the logbook, which every crew
member completes after his/her watch. Beautiful sunrise, Meteor showers,
Dolphins came to visit, Great sailing, etc etc etc. When dolphins come
around, we all run out and spend time with them till the last one darts
away. When it rains we run outside and tribal dance like hooligans, when
the moon is full we howl at the moon.
Not that things are always easy going when you cross oceans on a yacht.
Mostly it is smooth beautiful sailing, but at times it gets a bit rough. We
go through periods of squalls and learn how to safely deal with them. And
in the wee dark hours of the night when the rain comes down hard and we get
soaked thoroughly, the sudden wind increase and change of direction tests us
thoroughly. I look around at these times, and everyone is smiling from ear to
ear, having lots of fun. Intensely focused, intensely in the present moment.
And we look at each other after we got things sorted and we burst out
laughing, thoroughly happy to be alive. And the cloud passes over, the wind
drops, and we carry on as before, ready for the next challenge. Mostly in a
squall you could bare off and get the wind behind you, or bare up straight
into the wind with the motors on and the main sail centred and te headsail
furled in. If you bear off you stay with the squall for a while as it blows
over you. If you point into the wind it blows over much quicker. Sounds
easy enough, and so it is, until you have a ship on either side of you
leaving you very little sea room to change direction. Then you heave to,
turn the boat through the wind with the head sail working against the main
sail and stalling the boat. This situation occurred a few nights ago. I am
thus not talking theory here, but sharing from practical experience.
Lots of duties we all share. Most importantly our watches. After many years
of rotating watches, I have now settled on fixed watches. It allows your
body to get used to a set pattern of sleeping, and I find it much more
conducive to staying well rested. I always do the 6-9 watches as most wind
changes takes place during these hours and we set our sail accordingly.
Next comes cooking duties. Everyone gets a turn to cook, and also do the
dishes on that day. One main meal a day at about 2pm. For breakfast we do
oatmeal, maizemeal, Nutrifix, Post Toasties, bacon and egg, muesli etc.
Afternoon or night time snacks we have lots of other nice goodies too, even
popcorn :-))) What makes it interesting is that everyone brings their own
recipes and as we are often from diverse nationalities, it makes for great
meals. And we also bake our own bread, muffins, scones, pizza etc. The
owner I am currently sailing with was concerned about the meals, saying he
has a fast metabolism and eats a lot :-))) I assure you, he is eating very
well, as we all are. Good food is essential for good crew dynamics. I have
heard there are skippers who seriously skimp on the food budget and corn
beef and bake beans is what you eat the whole trip, an average six weeks. We
live well. We catch fish, and have loads of vacuum packed ground beef,
cubed beef and chicken fillets in the freezer. And more spices and herbs
and tin foods than you will imagine. Never had anyone complain about food
on any of my deliveries :-)))
Maintaining the yacht and all the systems we have on board also takes quite
a bit of our time. A lot of preventative maintenance before we start, and
keeping a finger on everything while at sea. If it rains and we spring a
leak, we detect where the leak is from and fix it. When the motors needs to
be serviced we all assist and make sure it gets done properly. We have a
schedule to check all the hose clamps, bilges, signs of rust, whatever may
be required. We make sure there is no chafe on any lines or sails, and sail
conservatively, really looking well after the boat. We keep the fridges
clean, water our plants regularly :-))), and makes sure everything stays
shipshape. If you let things pile up, they get out of hand. We thus make sure
we are ready for any and every eventuality, to the best of our ability. If
we are then thoroughly tested by the elements, we know we are prepared as can
be. It's the only way I know. Procrastinate at your own peril, the ocean thus
not suffer fools gladly. She demands respect, and we give her just that, all
of that.
Much more to share, but some other time. In two days time we should arrive
in St.Lucia. Not much current to assist us, sometimes a bit of counter
current, but the wind is steady and we are doing better than expected. We
are stopping for a day or two, and the owner's son is also flying in and
joining us there for the last stretch. After St.Lucia, a quick stop at
St.Thomas to clear into the US and get our cruising permit. From there
another ten days or so up to Annapolis, via the Bermuda triangle.
Until next time, keep it real :-)))
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