Monday, March 21, 2011
Friday, March 4, 2011
Delivery Day 22
Xtra-link finally entered Cape Town harbour at 22H57, three minutes ahead of our ETA, after almost exactly 22 days at sea.
We had a great passage across the Atlantic and once again must thank Xtra-link and Vizada for providing us with the tools to enable us to select a fast, yet safe and easy passage. The Fleet Broadband 250 is a fantastic tool for downloading detailed and up to date weather data at high speeds and the Isatphone provided cost effective and reliable voice communications. Xtra-link and Vizada also provided efficient service to back up the hardware.
With great access to weather data we were able to enjoy a great passage with winds generally aft of the beam and seldom over 15 knots. We had two brief squalls to 30 knots and only one really rainy day with some upwind sailing. With these conditions we were able to keep wear and tear to a minimum and after a good clean up it won't take much to get the boat ready for another long passage. Our only real problem was with the autopilot which stopped working early on.
The quick passage allowed us to get home in time for the Saturday wedding of Matt and Ali and then on Sunday we gave the boat an initial, quick clean and now she should be ready to race in the final Wednesday evening race of the the RCYC summer season tomorrow.
Thanks also to Dale, Ian, Hans, Leroy and Ruan for preparing the boat so well in Rio for crossing the ocean.
We had a great passage across the Atlantic and once again must thank Xtra-link and Vizada for providing us with the tools to enable us to select a fast, yet safe and easy passage. The Fleet Broadband 250 is a fantastic tool for downloading detailed and up to date weather data at high speeds and the Isatphone provided cost effective and reliable voice communications. Xtra-link and Vizada also provided efficient service to back up the hardware.
With great access to weather data we were able to enjoy a great passage with winds generally aft of the beam and seldom over 15 knots. We had two brief squalls to 30 knots and only one really rainy day with some upwind sailing. With these conditions we were able to keep wear and tear to a minimum and after a good clean up it won't take much to get the boat ready for another long passage. Our only real problem was with the autopilot which stopped working early on.
The quick passage allowed us to get home in time for the Saturday wedding of Matt and Ali and then on Sunday we gave the boat an initial, quick clean and now she should be ready to race in the final Wednesday evening race of the the RCYC summer season tomorrow.
Thanks also to Dale, Ian, Hans, Leroy and Ruan for preparing the boat so well in Rio for crossing the ocean.
Delivery Day 21-Almost there...
ETA still looks good for about 23H00 off the harbour entrance.
We have been making good speed all afternoon in a very comfortable sea. The visibility is a bit hazy so we can't see land clearly yet even though we are only about
23 miles off Hout Bay. You have to use your imagination a bit to make out any form to the land in this light.
A few hours ago we passed a tanker and an ore carrier. The latter was called the "Ore Goro". Both ships were westbound.
After that came the first signs of approaching land. First we saw a couple of Skuas. These birds are often found in the middle of the ocean and they will migrate thousands of miles from the Polar regions where they breed, but on this voyage these were the first ones we have seen.
Later we started to see flocks of Cape Gannets and then a lone Cape Fur Seal, sure signs that we must be approaching the Cape! There are also more and more kelp fronds floating in the water.
It will be sunset soon and then I expect we will see Slangkop light on the beam before we head around towards Camps Bay and on to Green Point and the harbour. Almost there...
Delivery Day 21
Just over 80 miles to go now. The GPS is giving us an ETA of 22H17 off the harbour entrance which would make it precisely 22 days, to the minute! That time is based on averaging our current speed for the rest of the way. Based on the latest forecast GRIB data the computer is giving an ETA of 23H14. My best guess is that we should be off the breakwater sometime before midnight and alongside soon after.
Yesterday we ran under the masthead asymmetric spinnaker in a SW breeze for a while but around midday the wind suddenly switched to SE and we were back to using the main and #4 jib. We motorsailed for a while in the afternoon in light and shifty winds but in the evening we got going again as the south easter began to build in force.
So far the bird life has remained much the same as the past couple of weeks, only the pelagic species are to be seen. As yet there is no hint of land anywhere other than a large piece of kelp which floated by.
A container ship crossed our bow this morning, eastbound.
Once again, a big thank you to Xtra-link and Vizada for making this voyage possible. It has been great using their equipment and services.
I will try to send one more updated ETA early this evening, otherwise we can be expected some time between about 22H00 and midnight.
Yesterday we ran under the masthead asymmetric spinnaker in a SW breeze for a while but around midday the wind suddenly switched to SE and we were back to using the main and #4 jib. We motorsailed for a while in the afternoon in light and shifty winds but in the evening we got going again as the south easter began to build in force.
So far the bird life has remained much the same as the past couple of weeks, only the pelagic species are to be seen. As yet there is no hint of land anywhere other than a large piece of kelp which floated by.
A container ship crossed our bow this morning, eastbound.
Once again, a big thank you to Xtra-link and Vizada for making this voyage possible. It has been great using their equipment and services.
I will try to send one more updated ETA early this evening, otherwise we can be expected some time between about 22H00 and midnight.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Deivery Day 20
Sunrise...
A pod of three Sperm whales break the surface near the boat. Their spouts glisten silver in the light of the rising sun.
On the starboard bow a Yellow-nosed albatross paces the boat, gliding serenely and slowly at deck level. Startled Flying fishes scatter across the sea ahead of us and behind us the Petrels weave and swoop in our wake.
Xtra-link is making good speed under masthead asymmetric spinnaker and full main. Another great day in a voyage that has not had more than one full day of rough weather.
There is a misconception that if the race to Rio is downwind and easy the return leg must be upwind and difficult. This is my 26th crossing of the Atlantic and experience has taught me some lessons about making easy, safe and fast passages.
Understanding the causes of the weather is obviously critical and what happens on the voyage from South America to Cape Town is directly affected by things that happen as far away as the Equator and the South Pole. I'm not talking about Zen and the beating of a butterfly's wings, but rather about how much affect the angle of the sun's rays has on the heating of the earth. At the Equator the sun's rays are almost perpendicular, causing the surrounding air to heat up intensely and start to rise into the typical thunder clouds of the Doldrums. At the South Pole the horizontal rays are dissipated through the atmosphere and the cold air sinks to the surface of the Antarctic continent. As the Equatorial air rises it cools and also starts to sink, gradually settling back down somewhere near 30* South. As it settles to the surface the rotation of the earth causes this air to start spinning in an anticlockwise direction, giving the South easters which are common at the start of the Cape to Rio race, the easterly winds that develop in the middle portion of the race and the north easters that are often experienced near the coast of Brazil. As these winds revolve around the centre of the high pressure they begin to warm up again and some return to the Equator to begin the cycle once more, but the rest of the air continues southwards like a great, invisible, rolling wave, hundreds of kilometres across and with an enormous mass. Meanwhile the cold air over the high Antarctic plateau continues to cool and starts to tumble down toward the sea like a mighty avalanche, hitting the coast with fearsome katabatic winds. This avalanche of cold air then continues northwards, rolling and swirling like a tsunami until it collides with the warm air from the north and both air masses start to revolve clockwise around each other in the southern ocean, like two wrestlers looking for each other's weaknesses. The warm, rolling air from the north is what we look for to push us along, smoothly and fast across the Atlantic. Running in the pre-frontal conditions is like surfing a massive wave of air. It is clean, pure sailing, but in the back of your mind you are always aware that the wave is eventually going to break and you are going to fall off. The passage of the cold front, when the cold Antarctic air finally catches you, is like the breaking of the wave, and all of a sudden the wind goes crazy, swirling around and gusting manically, driving rain into your face and spray across the boat.
Pre-departure passage planning, reading such excellent books as Ocean Passages for the World (first published in the 1800s but still highly relevant today), and studying the latest satellite imagery from sources such as ASCAT and EUMETSAT, can be likened to sitting on the beach and studying the set of the waves, learning what has been before and what the present patterns might hold for the future. At sea we analyse the forecast data and run the GRIB files through sophisticated routing data to help us decide the best route through the tumultuous waves of the Antarctic and Tropical air masses. Like the surfer riding his board and watching and waiting for the right ride, we constantly assess how we are performing as we ride the wave of air, and always think of the best position to be in when the wave suddenly does crash over us. We don't want to be too far north, otherwise we never catch the wave and are constantly frustrated by the calms and light headwinds.
But too far south and the power of the crashing wave can be devastating. The old sailors on the clipper ships had a saying referring to the ferocity of the southern
storms: "Below 40 degress south there is no Law and below 50 degrees south there is no God". Our passage homewards has kept us on the side of the Law and of the gods but taken us far enough south that we have had a good ride on the wave of air, which has pushed us further and faster than the boats that remained to the north of our track.
We now have 230 miles remaining to get to Cape Town so hope to be alongside by midnight tomorrow. I will give a more precise ETA before mid-afternoon tomorrow. At the moment we are motorsailing slowly while waiting for the final south easter to build up this evening.
Once we are home Phillippa and I will be back to preparing our boat, Phesheya-Racing, to compete in the Global Ocean Race in September. By completing the Global Ocean Race we will become the first South African team to complete a double-handed race around the world, and the first South African boat to complete a racing circumnavigation in 13 years. For more details about our campaign keep an eye on our website: www.phesheya-racing.com where you can also join our Facebook page.
A pod of three Sperm whales break the surface near the boat. Their spouts glisten silver in the light of the rising sun.
On the starboard bow a Yellow-nosed albatross paces the boat, gliding serenely and slowly at deck level. Startled Flying fishes scatter across the sea ahead of us and behind us the Petrels weave and swoop in our wake.
Xtra-link is making good speed under masthead asymmetric spinnaker and full main. Another great day in a voyage that has not had more than one full day of rough weather.
There is a misconception that if the race to Rio is downwind and easy the return leg must be upwind and difficult. This is my 26th crossing of the Atlantic and experience has taught me some lessons about making easy, safe and fast passages.
Understanding the causes of the weather is obviously critical and what happens on the voyage from South America to Cape Town is directly affected by things that happen as far away as the Equator and the South Pole. I'm not talking about Zen and the beating of a butterfly's wings, but rather about how much affect the angle of the sun's rays has on the heating of the earth. At the Equator the sun's rays are almost perpendicular, causing the surrounding air to heat up intensely and start to rise into the typical thunder clouds of the Doldrums. At the South Pole the horizontal rays are dissipated through the atmosphere and the cold air sinks to the surface of the Antarctic continent. As the Equatorial air rises it cools and also starts to sink, gradually settling back down somewhere near 30* South. As it settles to the surface the rotation of the earth causes this air to start spinning in an anticlockwise direction, giving the South easters which are common at the start of the Cape to Rio race, the easterly winds that develop in the middle portion of the race and the north easters that are often experienced near the coast of Brazil. As these winds revolve around the centre of the high pressure they begin to warm up again and some return to the Equator to begin the cycle once more, but the rest of the air continues southwards like a great, invisible, rolling wave, hundreds of kilometres across and with an enormous mass. Meanwhile the cold air over the high Antarctic plateau continues to cool and starts to tumble down toward the sea like a mighty avalanche, hitting the coast with fearsome katabatic winds. This avalanche of cold air then continues northwards, rolling and swirling like a tsunami until it collides with the warm air from the north and both air masses start to revolve clockwise around each other in the southern ocean, like two wrestlers looking for each other's weaknesses. The warm, rolling air from the north is what we look for to push us along, smoothly and fast across the Atlantic. Running in the pre-frontal conditions is like surfing a massive wave of air. It is clean, pure sailing, but in the back of your mind you are always aware that the wave is eventually going to break and you are going to fall off. The passage of the cold front, when the cold Antarctic air finally catches you, is like the breaking of the wave, and all of a sudden the wind goes crazy, swirling around and gusting manically, driving rain into your face and spray across the boat.
Pre-departure passage planning, reading such excellent books as Ocean Passages for the World (first published in the 1800s but still highly relevant today), and studying the latest satellite imagery from sources such as ASCAT and EUMETSAT, can be likened to sitting on the beach and studying the set of the waves, learning what has been before and what the present patterns might hold for the future. At sea we analyse the forecast data and run the GRIB files through sophisticated routing data to help us decide the best route through the tumultuous waves of the Antarctic and Tropical air masses. Like the surfer riding his board and watching and waiting for the right ride, we constantly assess how we are performing as we ride the wave of air, and always think of the best position to be in when the wave suddenly does crash over us. We don't want to be too far north, otherwise we never catch the wave and are constantly frustrated by the calms and light headwinds.
But too far south and the power of the crashing wave can be devastating. The old sailors on the clipper ships had a saying referring to the ferocity of the southern
storms: "Below 40 degress south there is no Law and below 50 degrees south there is no God". Our passage homewards has kept us on the side of the Law and of the gods but taken us far enough south that we have had a good ride on the wave of air, which has pushed us further and faster than the boats that remained to the north of our track.
We now have 230 miles remaining to get to Cape Town so hope to be alongside by midnight tomorrow. I will give a more precise ETA before mid-afternoon tomorrow. At the moment we are motorsailing slowly while waiting for the final south easter to build up this evening.
Once we are home Phillippa and I will be back to preparing our boat, Phesheya-Racing, to compete in the Global Ocean Race in September. By completing the Global Ocean Race we will become the first South African team to complete a double-handed race around the world, and the first South African boat to complete a racing circumnavigation in 13 years. For more details about our campaign keep an eye on our website: www.phesheya-racing.com where you can also join our Facebook page.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Delivery Day 19
At this stage of the trip one always begins to wonder if you have enough food left and if you'll make it to your final destination without rationing! Galley provisioning can be fun and can be an absolute headache. Shopping for 3 weeks in one day for 2 or even 6 of you is not easy. Provisioning a boat is not always easy as often you are in a foreign country and there is a language barrier. To me the pictures on the cans or boxes are the biggest help and if you can get by with one or two words you are often OK. But there are some words or abbreviations that are the same. Going to sea is all about preparation and how you enjoy your time at sea often depends on what you eat. So I thought I'd give you a little insight as to what I normally do:
My biggest concern is to always have enough water. Water is a key part of your day. Drinking enough water affects your moods and your bowl movements. This is critical when spending a long time at sea in confined spaces. When push comes to shove at sea you can cook and clean with salt water but you still need to drink fresh water.
In the ISAF regulations for ocean racing there are some very good guidelines on how much water to take with you. It is well worth reading on their website. This includes whether or not you have a water maker.
Food, my next concern.
Breakfast is a very important part of your day at home but when you are at sea it can be so easily forgotten. Breakfast is a simple meal, open a can of fruit, muesli and UHT milk or make up some oats if it’s cold. Oats are slow releasing energy so if it’s cold or you are beating into big waves and you need a boost from a busy night, oats with dried fruit and honey are what you need. Make your oats with powdered milk, no one will ever know the difference. I premix my instant oats with powdered milk, cranberries (helps with digestion), raisins and sugar and divide it into portions before I leave the dock.
Lunch and Dinner!
On board Xtra-link Nick and I have been eating what I call one pot meals. As there are only two of us on board and we have no auto-pilot this makes life a lot easier.
My pot often starts with frying an onion with garlic and olive oil. I often start preparing a meal like this because Olive Oil also helps with your bowl movements, and often prevents or cures constipation. Then I normally add a stock cube, rice or pasta and water. From here the meal can turn into almost anything. Yesterday I made rice with beans, salami, peas in a tomato sauce. It was kind of like eating Feijoada, the Brazilian dish, just modified. On board Xtra-Link I have been making enough food for two or three meals in one go, then there is food to snack on during the night rather than sweets and biscuits.
Fresh ingredients are often kept to a limit. I always take lots of apples, onions, garlic, lemon or limes, and some fresh vegetables for the first few days. Nick and I often fish at sea and have been pretty good at it in the past. However on this trip with no auto-pilot we have chosen not to make life too complicated and not to fish.
This is a bit different to Nick and my normal way at sea. When we are racing we eat freeze dry or ready meals. Freeze dry is simple, just add hot water to the powdered food, wait 7 minutes and you food is ready. Ready meals are prepared and then vacuum packed. All we have to do is leave the sachet of food in boiling water for 7 minutes, then tear the foiled pack open, add Tabasco and olive oil and eat! They are both quite tasty meals and very easy. The bonus of this system is you don't need to cook it, use fresh water, think about it or worry you've got all the ingredients. Its all in the packet and there is no washing up.
There are a few things that I never leave the dock without such as: Tabasco sauce, tea, chocolate, apples and UHT milk. In Brazil before this trip I bought a couple of boxes of UHT milk and for some reason it has been going off far faster than normal. This is why I normally carry some powdered milk but I forgot this time. So we have rationed it out a bit and yesterday we had our last cup of tea due to no more milk. Other than that we still have enough food but we are looking forward to a decent meal on Friday evening.
My biggest concern is to always have enough water. Water is a key part of your day. Drinking enough water affects your moods and your bowl movements. This is critical when spending a long time at sea in confined spaces. When push comes to shove at sea you can cook and clean with salt water but you still need to drink fresh water.
In the ISAF regulations for ocean racing there are some very good guidelines on how much water to take with you. It is well worth reading on their website. This includes whether or not you have a water maker.
Food, my next concern.
Breakfast is a very important part of your day at home but when you are at sea it can be so easily forgotten. Breakfast is a simple meal, open a can of fruit, muesli and UHT milk or make up some oats if it’s cold. Oats are slow releasing energy so if it’s cold or you are beating into big waves and you need a boost from a busy night, oats with dried fruit and honey are what you need. Make your oats with powdered milk, no one will ever know the difference. I premix my instant oats with powdered milk, cranberries (helps with digestion), raisins and sugar and divide it into portions before I leave the dock.
Lunch and Dinner!
On board Xtra-link Nick and I have been eating what I call one pot meals. As there are only two of us on board and we have no auto-pilot this makes life a lot easier.
My pot often starts with frying an onion with garlic and olive oil. I often start preparing a meal like this because Olive Oil also helps with your bowl movements, and often prevents or cures constipation. Then I normally add a stock cube, rice or pasta and water. From here the meal can turn into almost anything. Yesterday I made rice with beans, salami, peas in a tomato sauce. It was kind of like eating Feijoada, the Brazilian dish, just modified. On board Xtra-Link I have been making enough food for two or three meals in one go, then there is food to snack on during the night rather than sweets and biscuits.
Fresh ingredients are often kept to a limit. I always take lots of apples, onions, garlic, lemon or limes, and some fresh vegetables for the first few days. Nick and I often fish at sea and have been pretty good at it in the past. However on this trip with no auto-pilot we have chosen not to make life too complicated and not to fish.
This is a bit different to Nick and my normal way at sea. When we are racing we eat freeze dry or ready meals. Freeze dry is simple, just add hot water to the powdered food, wait 7 minutes and you food is ready. Ready meals are prepared and then vacuum packed. All we have to do is leave the sachet of food in boiling water for 7 minutes, then tear the foiled pack open, add Tabasco and olive oil and eat! They are both quite tasty meals and very easy. The bonus of this system is you don't need to cook it, use fresh water, think about it or worry you've got all the ingredients. Its all in the packet and there is no washing up.
There are a few things that I never leave the dock without such as: Tabasco sauce, tea, chocolate, apples and UHT milk. In Brazil before this trip I bought a couple of boxes of UHT milk and for some reason it has been going off far faster than normal. This is why I normally carry some powdered milk but I forgot this time. So we have rationed it out a bit and yesterday we had our last cup of tea due to no more milk. Other than that we still have enough food but we are looking forward to a decent meal on Friday evening.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Delivery Day 18
"One and in" is an expression often heard from the navigator or tactician on racing boats as they sail around the buoys in the bay. By this they mean that the boat is approaching the layline to do one final gybe or tack and then head in towards the buoy or finish line.
We are now about 550 miles from Cape Town and looking at the latest weather forecast I almost feel confident to call "one and in" for the final manoeuvre of the voyage, even from this distance offshore. The big high pressure that has been blocking the frontal system that we have been tracking for the past week, has finally relented and the front passed over us this morning. The sudden dissipation of the high also effectively released all the energy of the low so when the front passed over it was marked by some scattered drizzle and a wind shift to the NNW followed by some brilliant warm sunshine. With that weather picture out of the way we are now faced with a new high moving in from the NW which will cause the wind to continue to back until we have to gybe sometime around midnight tonight. After that it should be a simple matter of riding the southerly winds created by the pressure gradient all the way to Cape Town. One small hitch in the plan is that the centre of the high with its attendant light winds is forecast to pass very close to us tomorrow night, so we need to think how best to deal with that. All in good time. ETA remains Friday evening but may be a bit later if the high passes too close to us...
Today we changed time zones yet again. In theory this should be our final change as the next zone runs from 22 1/2 East but South Africa has standardised time throughout the country as UT+2 even though Cape Town is on around 18 East. 22 1/2 East runs pretty much through George, so the majority of the country, certainly the majority of the population, live in the "correct" time zone and it is only the Western Cape that is a bit out of synch. So we will probably run on UT+1 until we sight land and then adjust our watches to arrive home at the "right" time.
Our sail-tie "autopilot" worked brilliantly for about 24 hours, letting us get some relaxing time in, but as the front came over and the wind shifted behind us the apparent wind no longer creates sufficient pressure to overcome the forces of the waves with the helm lashed down and we have had to resort to hand steering again.
Anyway it is no hardship as the weather now is brilliant and the boat is cruising along nicely.
Wildlife has been surprisingly minimal today. Not sure why. A few Petrels and Shearwaters in the distance and one rather lonely looking Flying fish, but otherwise nothing.
We are now about 550 miles from Cape Town and looking at the latest weather forecast I almost feel confident to call "one and in" for the final manoeuvre of the voyage, even from this distance offshore. The big high pressure that has been blocking the frontal system that we have been tracking for the past week, has finally relented and the front passed over us this morning. The sudden dissipation of the high also effectively released all the energy of the low so when the front passed over it was marked by some scattered drizzle and a wind shift to the NNW followed by some brilliant warm sunshine. With that weather picture out of the way we are now faced with a new high moving in from the NW which will cause the wind to continue to back until we have to gybe sometime around midnight tonight. After that it should be a simple matter of riding the southerly winds created by the pressure gradient all the way to Cape Town. One small hitch in the plan is that the centre of the high with its attendant light winds is forecast to pass very close to us tomorrow night, so we need to think how best to deal with that. All in good time. ETA remains Friday evening but may be a bit later if the high passes too close to us...
Today we changed time zones yet again. In theory this should be our final change as the next zone runs from 22 1/2 East but South Africa has standardised time throughout the country as UT+2 even though Cape Town is on around 18 East. 22 1/2 East runs pretty much through George, so the majority of the country, certainly the majority of the population, live in the "correct" time zone and it is only the Western Cape that is a bit out of synch. So we will probably run on UT+1 until we sight land and then adjust our watches to arrive home at the "right" time.
Our sail-tie "autopilot" worked brilliantly for about 24 hours, letting us get some relaxing time in, but as the front came over and the wind shifted behind us the apparent wind no longer creates sufficient pressure to overcome the forces of the waves with the helm lashed down and we have had to resort to hand steering again.
Anyway it is no hardship as the weather now is brilliant and the boat is cruising along nicely.
Wildlife has been surprisingly minimal today. Not sure why. A few Petrels and Shearwaters in the distance and one rather lonely looking Flying fish, but otherwise nothing.
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