Archive for February, 2017

Day 27 – It wasn’t kelp! The day dawned without a cloud in the sky. At sunrise we sighted a large pod of small whales – or were they dolphins? After consultation with Ash, our resident marine biologist, he declared with 100 percent confidence that he wasn’t sure. So we scientifically named them “whalphins” We were satisfied with that. By 1100 the wind had stirred to a NW 11 knots and we pulled the spinnaker out of the bag and successfully hoisted her ... Read more

Day 18 – Gone Fishing We had a peaceful night at anchor off Tristan. We were woken up in the early hours of the morning by the Tristan lobster boats going out to fish.The weather was perfect and apparently the boats only manage to go out to fish for about 40 days of the year due to adverse weather conditions. Erik, from fisheries sent a boat out to collect Ash and Jane to go fishing with a local crew for the day.It was a ... Read more

Day 17 – Heaven on Earth At sunrise Tristan Da Cunha was suddenly rearing up on the horizon and we were excited to radio in to harbor authorities to make arrangement for safe anchorage. At 0930, a small ferry arrived to pick us up, skippered by the sole policeman on the island. We stepped , with very shaky legs onto terra firma. Dawn, from Tourism, was on the wharf to greet us and help us with passport formalities, and then she took us ... Read more

Day 16 - A good soaking During the early morning hours, the wind picked up and we took down the goose-wing. We noted that the track on the mast, that supported the sliders was bent and we could not knock it back into shape, so we would have to try to refit it in Tristan, which was now only 160nm away. The wind continued to pick up strength and by 1300 it was 35 knots in 5m swells. Helming was a challenge in ... Read more

Day 15 - Unwind Today provided a welcome opportunity for us to relax after the testing events of yesterday.We spent much of the afternoon warming in the sun, in gentle seas, practicing knots and telling stories. We chatted a lot about the incident of the spinnaker broach and we were proud of the way that we pulled together as a crew, each one of us stepping up to the challenge. Uwe cooked up a delicious beef stew , which was perfect ‘ ... Read more

Day 14 - High Wire Spinnaker Rescue Jane and Freddie awoke to a spectacular sunrise on their watch. Jane made coffee, but while handling the sugar, a sudden lurch sent her sprawling across the cabin, flinging a sugar coating over the entire floor, her mattress and sleeping Uwe. She deftly swept it up , brushing it off Uwe without disturbing his blissful sleep, then proceeded to wash the floors down leaving a sweet caramel glaze on them. As the morning proceeded, Joey perfected his ... Read more

Day 13- Lazy Day The sun came out and the crew took the opportunity to relax and dry out their kit. The wind was a gentle 10 knots, yet despite that we were managing a good 5.5 knots. By evening, the wind was behind us and we sailed the night on a dead run, goose- winged. It made for a very smooth ride and most of us slept better than we had since leaving Rio Read more

Day 12- Panic Mechanic The day started with a firm resolve to mend the autohelm. Ash and Joey stripped off to their shorts and committed themselves to hang with their bums in the air for the next 2 hours in the aft berth where the autohelm is fitted. The rest of the crew handed them a steady flow of pliers, spanners, socket wrenches and anything that would possibly substitute as a steel bracket. With the rush of success, Joey and Ash cleaned off with ... Read more

Day 11- Due South The rain continued to envelope us and full foul weather gear became essential. Even wearing our foulies left us feeling wet inside them. Those on watch braved the chill, while the rest of the crew were forced to sit out the rain down below. The challenge of being such a large crew in close confines tested us but, again, consideration and humor pervaded. It was impossible to heat up and food in the galley as it made the humidity in ... Read more

Day 8-Wash Day First task of the day was to fix the heads , which Uwe and Sean set about doing with great commitment, while the rest of the crew rapidly exited to the fresh air of the cockpit and foredeck. With that success behind us, we were inspired to do our laundry which had accumulated in a hot soggy mess. Pat strung out washing lines between the solar panels and before long JML Rotary Scout looked like a Vietnamese trawler. Ash baked us ... Read more