Namibia to St. Helena….Day 4
May 28th, written the morning of the 29th, 2013 (Eastern Hemisphere – but not for long!) +1GMT
Yesterday morning found us having had a slow night\’s passage and the winds were fading and shifting to the east southeast.
This meant gybing and sailing slow or just sailing slow toward Antarctica..!
Hence, we threw in the towel around noon and have been motoring for the last 18 hours. We\’re directly on course and just under half way in still very calm conditions.
The sea has become a bit choppy, but the swell is down. The winds have shifted to the NW! but are not blowing more than 10 knots. We expect the wind to shift to the Southeast and start to pick up steadily for the rest of the trip starting late this afternoon or at latest, by midnight tonight.
It\’s very pretty out here, we\’ve still a lovely large wanning moon, the skies are clearer and were getting good night stars. It\’s warming up – 20 deg C (70 deg F) and only 8:15 a.m. A big bonus is that it\’s dry and no longer damp outside at night. The exercise program is going well and Nikki is getting stronger. (Hey Jak, when Mum gets back to OZ…keep kickin\’ her butt!….:-).
Everything is working well. The mysterious rubber smell has gone away in the port engine room. We think it was the remnants of an old alternator belt.
There are three boats behind us on this trip. One trying to get out of Cape Town with no success, one awaiting a window in Walvis Bay and one about 400 miles behind us. That would be s/v \”This Side Up\” (cute uh?). We met Mike in Bali last year. He will most likely have a blustery passage as the new winds arrive from astern.
Yesterday, I took a photo with Nikki holding the LARGEST flying fish I\’ve ever seen. Yes I\’ll post it if there is internet in St. Helena….
Cheers all…
KIT,
Scott and Nikki