"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.
Thanks for giving me my daily dose of the sea for the last 3 weeks. With a good photo, a substantial Met briefing and whales, sharks, albatrosses and other sea birds thrown in, it was a good helping. If you have your own yachting blog, would like to hop on board for you next sail. Bravo Zulu to both of you !
ReplyDeleteHi Neville, Nick and Phillipa are currently preparing for a Round the World race and run a Website... Check it out at..http://www.phesheya-racing.com/
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