Rounding Cabo St Elena a day with everything.
Sowell Family's Travels on Gijima
Skipper: Tim Sowell Admiral Tracy Crew Sean & Alex
Sat 16 Oct 2010 23:06
At this moment we are 2 1/2 hours of St Elena bay, and directly off Cabo St
Elena (a well known, and dangerous point where gap winds can come up to 2 to
3 times what is predicted) we are 1 mile off heading out to get around some
reefs and isolated small islands before turning the corner reaching across
to Bahia Culbria 27 nM away. The days run in 45 nM, but it can be some of
the worst we delayed leaving by a day and so far it looks like a good
decision. Yesterday Sunsation ran into 35 knots out here and did a 4 hour
bash across what we are about to do, we have only seen 13 knots, and 5 +
feet seas at a closing period of approx 10 seconds. The issue of the next 2
to 3 hours is that you can get this very powerful winds known as Papagyos
and it is the worst place, they funnel down the ride and through the
mountains (like powerful Santa Ana winds) pushing up steep chop and makes it
hard to sail as you vary as John saw yesterday 15 knots to 35 knots in a
matter of seconds.
We debated last night if we should leave, but the forecast showed the winds
dyeing but still strong today and an increasing sea over the next couple of
days with short
periods, GREAT Choice, but that is sailing.
When I look to our port I see the long finger of a point, and then a couple
of miles to right another broken finger of islands sticking out 5 miles,
running my eyes back up these fingers I see a long ridged of mountains
coming down to sea, green sharp and slanted. The whole layers of the land
are slanted at 45 degrees as it up lifted many years ago.
It is beautiful site of of the power of nature, and then coming to this
point that has a reputation of currents, waves we have just seen 2 knot
current switch in in the last mile and the seas have come mixed
It is now about 2 hours later, we rounded and found the wind coming at 17 to
18 knots gusts up to 28 / 30 knots, seas with a 5+ from the south but now a
2 foot plus chop out of the north. This makes for an uncomfortable ride and
very rolly, especially when we struggling with sails. The issue is the wind
is not constant, it varying every couple of minutes by 10 to 15 knots, you
just get slammed by these gusts, so I dropped the main as the wind is coming
in at 30 degrees and again shifting 10 degrees, and even with a 2nd reef in
we were getting knocked with the wind and then the fight between the waves.
A thing I have learnt this year is while speed is nice, comfort comes first,
so I started playing with just the headsail (gene) and found with it out 1/3
we good deal with the gusts and we had stabilization (abit anyway) the ride
was smoother and we got some extra boost.
Tracy and Alex were able to go down stairs and sleep once stabilized, but
the place down stairs looks a bit like a washing machine with many things on
the floor as the seas are all a beam to us the worst situation. Not worth
cleaning up until we get to anchor, Sean is listening to "Wind in the
Willows" on my audio book, these are great for his imagination development
especially when we bouncing around.
As we get further across the big moon shape bay we crossing the winds are
laying down to 10 knots, and guts are reducing so I have increased sail area
and we going along nicer. How strange the sailing can be we had a nice run
down to Cabo St Elena, then a washing machine for 2 hours and then back to
an undulating sail the last 2 hours.
As things calmed down we saw a hump back whale surface next to us, bat rays
jumped along side and then a school of dolphins lead us into a calm
anchorage which Sunsation was anchored at. Within 1/2 hour we on a beach
white fine sand, with black rocks and the tangled jungle coming down to
sand. The water was clear and it was only 2 pm, and running around the edge
of beach were 2 cokeamundis which the boys loved to see. It was our bay and
our beach, not our intended destination but a good one, and we will move on
tomorrow. We are now back on the boat, after a rain shower moved through or
20 minutes a good wash down of the boat after the salt water spray of the
morning, but now the sun breaks through the clouds reflecting of the water
in a white/yellow color causing the islands of the bay with their trees to
go to black shadows. A turtle is just swimining past, and pelicans swoop
down over the water.
I suppose this is a typical day cruising in in the tropics a bit of
everything.