A week at sea

It's been a week since we departed from Cape Town. We have logged 1050nm so far, at an average of 6.25kts. Yesterday it was time to rig the gennaker for the first time. Before long our white and blue kite was flying, and we were making miles merrily. AWS didn't exceed 12kts, but for various reasons we decided to douse it for the night shift. Furled out our genoa again and had a stress free night. Always a bit stressful to fly a downwind sail at night. Eventually we do it, and sometimes we get tested when a squall comes over and you have to bring it down in the dark early hours of the morning. It's been a long time since that happened to me, but the lesson still lingers. In settled trade conditions we happily fly it for a week non-stop, and radar technology also nowadays can warn you of some weather coming your way. 

A bit of a grey, overcast day here by us, although there are patches of blue appearing. Our fishing lures are out, you never know.    Haven't  seen any flying fish for a few days now, or dolphins or whales, or ships for that matter. Jane is feeling much stronger today, the ocean has settled nicely into a peaceful rhythm. 

Which reminds me. Yesterday I checked out a new Spanish song for ukulele, and super chuffed that I could learn this truly beautiful piece of music in a day. Lots of time for things like this out at sea. 
If you want to check out the particular song, YouTube Marco Cirillo Ukelele "Beautiful Spanish melody on ukulele". I normally take a long time to learn a new song, the ukulele is quite new to me. But what an expressive instrument it is turning out to be. Gifted to me by my high school sweetheart and dream girl, who is now also my wife. I have urged her to take up the Cajon drum. I prefer to sit and make music at night far more than sit and watch tv. Together we will have lots of fun and laughs and beautiful moments. And make some noise 👏🙌🎶

Every hour we are closi   ng in  on St. Helena. We should be arriving this weekend. Too far away to predict what time, but even if we arrive at night, we will tying up to a mooring bouy. I know the place well enough to do a night entry. Hopefully there will be a few other yachts that left a day or two before us, and it will be great to catch up and share our experiences. 

I am attaching a picture of our first flight with our gennaker. The quality will not be good as I am sending it via limited broadband on satellite. But it should give you an idea of what it is like to be out here. 

Wishing you a wonderful Wednesday. 

Until next time 

Paul 




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Ain't no sunshine when she's gone

It is our sixth day out at sea, and we are properly on our way to St.Helena. We have averaged 6.3kts thus far, and only really starting to roll now. One day into the next. The first few days we had some rock and roll. Don, the owner, who is also a horseman, related how to go with the motion of the boat and don't fight it, same as with a horse, works for him 🐎 And now we are riding seahorses just occurred to me 🦄🏇

Jane is still finding her sealegs fully. Chopped some onion, crushed some garlic, added a dollop of butter and started cooking with gas. Added some Italian herbs to the fried onions and garlic, 800g of ground beef, and covered with a glass lid. Later on I added some Chinese soya sauce, Worcestershire sauce, South African chutney, Himalayan salt and Madagascar black pepper. Took a portion of the mince out for Jane before I added the final tomato ingredients. A dash of olive and boiled a packet of N4 Liguine for six minutes. I grated some mozzarella cheese to sprinkle on top. Opened a big bottle of Tabasco.The flavors wafted into Jane's cabin and she felt much better after joining us for lunch. Bon appetito!

We had main second reef opened wide up for the night with the wind at about 150° from behind. AWS 13 to 20kts on a port tack. After lunch we decided to drop the main. Started the motors, checked that everyone and everything was ready and turned into the 3m swell, maintaining 2kts to not slam. Dropped the main in a flash, secured the halyard, turned downwind again and unfurled the genoa. Tied a sling to the genoa clew and wrap around midship cleat to keep the sail open wide. Finally attach a length of bungee to the sling. We are now on a starboard tack and running with first reef in the genoa. AWS between 15 - 22kts. Wind vane at 160°S, rudder response set at leisure. The Gori folding props makes a big difference, and the North X1 sails are besides beautiful, also very effective. Sparcraft rigging wonderful to have. This all makes this Maverick what it is. A most capable and true blue water sailor.

The clouds started floating in yesterday, and from pure blue skies two days ago, it is completely overcast today. Our solar panels are still absorbing light energy, and our power remains above 70%. Amazing what solar technology can achieve nowadays. The way forward for sure.

I hope your day is going well, and our side sailing along gently. Chat again soon.

Paul



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No fish no problem

Last night was a bit uneven and bumpy. The swell was short and not settled in a definite direction. The colder winds from the south were having us on a broad reach with full genoa and our mainsail opened wide, and our autopilot was set on 120° to the wind, right on course for St.Helena. The wind started backing to south east and we were starting to sail more in a westerly direction, instead of north westerly towards our waypoint. At about midnight we furled in the genoa and have since been sailing just with the mainsail, wind angle set at 160°. The swell has now settled in, and the swell period is also much longer. Which makes for more smoother and faster sailing.Sailing fast is not our main objective. Safety and comfort on long ocean passages is far more important than speed. The apparent wind speed is around 15kts, and we are maintaining a 7kts average.

St.Helena is now less than a 1000nm away and we expect to arrive there in a week's time. It will be my 48th visit to this dramatic volcanic island in the middle of the south Atlantic ocean. It is unlike any other place I have visited, both the scenery and the inhabitants, known as Saints. For me it's a home away from home. I have quite a few dear friends there, and always an immense pleasure to visit.

I've decided to do lunch today. Don's wife Jane has been doing the cooking, and I thought I'll give her a break today. Spaghetti bolognaise is on the menu. One day I will learn how to make real Italian pasta. The best I've had was in Sardinia, and the amazing thing was how little ingredients were used. Although it was simple, it was beyond delicious. Could have been the fresh ingredients, the real olive oil, the glass of wine, or perhaps it was the company. Thinking about it now, I guess it was a combination of all the above.

Out behind us our fishing lures are trolling through the water. No action yet, but we are ready. Can't catch a fish without a lure in the water. Interesting how at times fishing is good, and at other times not so good. I have made an intensive study on this, and the moon has a major impact on when fish feed. Whether lakes, rivers or the ocean. When the moon is right above or right below you are when fish feed the most. Good times to fish are also when the moon is on the horizon, either rising or setting. There are quite a few other factors as well, and I guess every fisherman has a secret or two. All in good time.

We've only been out five days, and looking back, we are doing quite well. Sad to hear that there are fires on Table Mountain. SV Jubilee is behaving exceptionally well. All the systems are working perfectly, our solar panels are keeping us in good shape power wise. I think it is time I start chopping some onions and garlic, and get going on lunch.

Hope you have a great week ahead.

Chat again soon

Paul

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Starry nights

No clouds in the sky, no wind, no problem. Motoring with the Gori folding props in overdrive keeps us at 6.5kts at 1800rpm. Seas are flat with a gentle swell rolling through.

A good time to set up our fishing lures. Not that we normally catch fish in such calm conditions, but getting ready for when fishing conditions improves

A spectacular sunset, and cherry red. I thought we may see a green flash, but I guess there was too much haziness on the horizon. We set our time back an hour, to have sunset and sunrise around six.

Last night the sliver of moon dropped below the horizon, and the skies were set alight by gazillions of stars. To my left the Southern Cross, and across the skies, every now and then, a meteor burns long thin blue lines.

This morning early it was, as it always is, an incredible blessing to watch the skies growing lighter from the east. At first just a hint, but unstoppable the night turns into day.

We have some wind to work with today, and looking forward at the weather predicted, we should be able to sail again for the next few days. And once again I am reminded that the only constant factor out here is change.

A thought that came up this morning, and apt for a Sunday I guess. People are easy to say God loves you, God bless you, God forgive you. What if God is part of us, and we could say and understand, I love you, I bless you, I forgive you. And then the most difficult one saying it to ourselves. I love me, I bless me, I forgive me. When you take back your power, your freedom and with knowing that, your responsibility.

Have a wonderful day

Paul

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Across the Orange River

We have been at sea now for three days and three nights. From little wind, to lots of wind, to no wind, we are currently motoring about 200nm west of the Orange River mouth and maintaining 150nm per day. It is positively starting to warm up here by us, and even the nights are becoming pleasant. Missing an Oxley Levante sail for these light winds.

The first few days out we don't cook any meals. We live mostly on bread with ham or chicken or pastrami, and of course cheese. Things have now settled nicely, and I can smell some spicy aroma from the galley.

We have lots of fruit on board asare well. Unfortunately a lot of it goes to waste and has to be discarded. I had a mango for breakfast and decided to display some of our fruit on the cockpit table. Oranges, apples, pears, bananas, peaches, mangos, and even figs! Hopefully if we see it, we will eat more of it.

Yesterday we had a few melon headed dolphins paying us a visit. Always amazed at how big these dolphins are, and how gracefully they surf down the swell. Not as boisterous as the smaller dolphin species. I saw a albatross poop for the first time yesterday. They glide so close to us, I was very amused to see a drop of white bird poop flying through the air 😅.

St.Helena is about ten days away, and thankful that the ban on visiting yachts have been lifted. All the Saints have been vaccinated, all 4500 of them. Looking much forward as always to visit there again. New Year's celebrations were spent on this rock in the mid Atlantic. The remotest island in the world.

I think we will get our fishing gear ready today. We also wiped all our stainless with a water/vinegar solution to prevent rust from forming. This is done on average once a week.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend.

Paul





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Sailing swiftly

We had some stronger winds as predicted. The waves built up quickly and we were being thrown around a bit as we waited for the seconds per wave to stretch. A few hours on the swell started rolling beautifully and we were in flow with the motion of the ocean. Our AWS was 20kts, 1st reef with the genoa tied to the midship cleat and a bungee attached. The boom was also opened wide with a gybe preventer and a bungee attached to that as well. The AWA was 160° to starboard, and the autopilot was set to that in wind vane mode, and the rudder response was set to leisure. We were cruising between 7 and 8kts, and would surf now and then up to 12kts. The Gori folding props are excellent for smooth, fast and quiet sailing.

During my 2 to 6pm watch I was sitting on the starboard aft concave shaped dolphin chair taking in some vitamin 🌞. Another unique feature of the Maverick catamaran is the four dolphin chairs, two on the bows, and two on the stern. A pair of albatross was riding the high winds with utter grace, sheer speed and perfect control. I can sit and watch them for hours.

The sun was starting to set, and although I have seen thousands of sunsets on the ocean, I am always amazed at at the change of colors in the sky and on the water. The enchanting hour, just after sunset, also moves me every time. Last night the stars were once again mesmerizing. A close friend of mine bestowed on me the Southern Cross as a protector and as a guide home when all seems lost. A beautiful gift.

During the night the wind started easing, and just before sunrise there was a lightning storm closing in on our starboard side. We decided to change our course for a while and sailed around the area. We have got special lightning equipment on board, but prefer not to test it if we can prevent it. The wind faded to a breeze, and as per our weather predictions, we will have just about no wind for the next three days, and will be motoring.

I hope you are looking forward to the weekend ahead, and thank you for your interest in our voyage.

Chat again in the morning.

Paul





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It's a bittersweet symphony this life

Preparing for a long ocean voyage has many aspects. First comes the boat. Making sure all systems are working, taking preventative measures to make sure they keep on working, anticipating what could go wrong and being prepared for that. Having the right tools, spares and consumables, doing regular inspections on the rigging, and making sure every single bolt and nut is secure.

Then comes the provisioning. Enough to last ten weeks is quite a challenge. Storage is limited, and fresh goods don't stay fresh. Part of how we have continuous fresh produce is by sprouting mung beans, alfalfa seeds, lentils etc. Fresh bread we bake, and eggs we preserve in various ways. We have lots of frozen meat, and a lot of cheese as well. Some of the vegetables last a long time if you store it correctly. For garlic and onions we have a net secured in a shady spot. The reality is that you cannot run to the shop to get what you need, you have to make sure that you have everything you need on board. We have an assortment of pasta, rice, maize meal, sugar, coffee, milk, herbs and spices, tinned food and lots more. We eat and live well on board.

Then there is a bit of paperwork to be done to clear out from the marina, the yacht club, port control, customs and immigration. In some countries this could take the better part of a day, and sometimes it can be done in an hour. A week or so before departure I study the weather patterns to get a feel for what we can expect, and plan our route accordingly.

And before you know it fully, the day of departure is upon you. You have a hollow feeling in your stomach, for many reasons. A mixture of nerves for the adventure you are about to embark upon, an overbearing sense of sadness for your loved ones left behind, an immense respect for the ocean and trust in the vessel you are on. In the beginning you tentatively trust your boat, and in time you learn to fully trust your boat.

A final safety briefing with the crew, start the motors and cast off. In the background Table Mountain fading, cell phone signal weakening and a few last phone calls to family and friends. I prefer to ease into a voyage like this, if possible. The night sets in, and mile for mile you progress.

I was on the 2am to 6am watch, and it was crispy. Layered clothing and wrapped in a sleeping bag I managed to keep the cold at bay. As predicted we have a bit of stronger weather today and we are doing well with just the head sail on a broad reach.

Departing from Cape Town we had a shark swimming gracefully by, a whale broaching about 50m from us, and a few dolphins also came to check us out. A few ships we had to navigate throughout the night, but we are now properly on our merry way. Our course is set, our intentions are clear.

Wishing you a wonderful day, and will touch base again tomorrow.

Paul










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