Skippers log – week two – 21 February 2020
By Rory Rochat
The theme of the first week of the voyage was “getting going”. Initially we made excellent headway for a couple of days with the crew in good spirits until we sailed into bad weather. The reality of sailing in challenging conditions was a rude awakening, particularly for the new sailors who suddenly realized just how tough sailing can be in these conditions. Huge seas, sea sickness, torrential downpours, being constantly wet and being thrown around – all these required the crew to really dig deep and stay focused which they did.
After the storm “came the quiet” which is my second weeks theme. A high pressure system brought low winds which required many hours of motor sailing. Fortunately Rotary Scout has a new Deutz engine as well as a new handmade exhaust watertrap which I had installed in Rio de Janeiro as the plastic Vetus watertrap failed when the race crew used it to motor in the last days of their journey. I must say I am very impressed by the hand made watertrap, being moulded from fibreglass and a special heat resistant epoxy, made by two local boat builders who could not speak a word of English but certainly knew what we needed and delivered it within 24 hours.
We have now motor sailed 103 hours and I am very pleased with the low diesel consumption of the new engine at roughly 3 liters/hour running at 1500 rpm . Motor sailing is not very exciting but it allows the boat to make constant progress crossing windless high pressure zones and is a reality for all blue-water cruising voyages such as this trip.
The good news is the trade winds have returned a few days ago and we are sailing on a beam/broad reach in a south easterly direction at roughly 6 kts speed. The crew are really enjoying these comfortable sailing conditions, the smell of fresh baked bread from the oven is tantalizing and the laid-back music is enjoyable.
I anticipate another 4 days sailing to the most remote island in the world, Tristan du Cunha. I was last there in 2014 and the crew and myself are looking forward to the stopover. Depending on weather conditions and our arrival time, we may stay for a day or two at the most. Then it’s onto the final leg – 1500 nautical miles back to Cape Town.