Newsletter  1:   7 December 2007 

Day:                                                               -1

Position:                                                       San Sebastian,  28:05.2731N  17:06.5454W 

Approx Miles from San Sebastian:              0 Nautical Miles

Approx Miles to go to Road Town:              2818 Nautical Miles      

Hello Supporters,

Firstly, I trust you received my '"Invitation to join me" email and if so thanks for deciding to come along! I hope you will find the adventure almost as exciting as I will!

Secondly...!  This is the second and last email directly to your mailbox!  The next updates I do will hopefully be daily, and posted on my blogsite with Google Earth positions. You will be able to see these from the 8th December or so at the following web address:   http://blog.mailasail.com/howardsolone

I plan on setting sail at around midday tomorrow...the 8th December....Hmmmm!

Well its down to the last minute preparations now, as my scheduled 'Set sail' date of the 8th December approaches. Overall, as far as Solone goes the preparations have gone pretty smoothly, with the only real issue being trying to secure a replacement 12 Volt battery in the Canaries. Normally, I understand this isn't a big problem, but due to 'huge demand' from the ARC cruising fleet, and the 'Row Across the Atlantic' fleet, it proved quite challenging securing the right one. The batteries being critical pieces of equipment for a journey like this. (More below)

Before I go into more about my lead up, I'd like to share with you my experience of being part of the 'Row Across the Atlantic' event, that is an event that takes place every two years and growing in popularity. This year there were some 22 boats, mostly 'two rower' crews, a few four and six person boats, and two solo rowers! The race is from San Sebastian to Antigua in the Caribbean and involves crazy human beings only using oars to row across the Atlantic. The record is 30 odd days, but the 2 person boats expect to do around 45 days, and the solo guys could be up to 80 days at sea. I know some of you think what I do is on the edge of craziness, but meeting these participants brought 'real madness' a step closer! I attach a photo of the only South African entry, looking to be 'in the medals' and the Canadian Solo entrant, who is expected to win the solo category. I hope to pass close by some of the participants as I catch them up.....

                                                    The South Africans Peter and Bill                                                                                                The Canadian Solo competitor and favourite

Back to my preparations...............:

Firstly, although I am not participating in a race or 'An Event',  I need to have a clear and challenging objective. (Hmmm many of you will know that side of me, and while the REAL competitive side (i.e. a proper race against others) has waned the desire to challenge myself and 'do as best I can is still alive and well! So with that in mind I have set myself a goal of crossing the Atlantic San Sebastian to Road Town, as fast as possible, without the driven assistance from the engine, but with added proviso of ensuring I do not compromise the integrity of the boat and equipment. Solone is a pretty fast boat, having being launched as a racer, but long past being 'up there with the best', so if I sail her well I can expect a relatively fast passage compared to the 'run of the mill' cruising boat. Obviously the wind and general weather conditions play a significant role in how fast the passage will be, but the routeing decisions I make on the way will influence that too. (More on that later)

Taking 'expected weather' conditions I have come up with the following:

    Crossing in 12 or less days will be 'An Amazing Performance'

    14 days or less will be great

    15 to 18 days will be OK sort of average

    Beyond 18 days will be a slow trip

    More than 21 days will mean I have had serious problems

To meet this goal, I will need to sail Solone as best as I can 24hrs a day for the whole trip. This means carrying maximum sail at all times, but not being over canvassed and reckless. To do this basically I have to be constantly alert to changing wind conditions, and proactively reduce the size of the sail in strengthening conditions, and equally diligently increase sail as the wind softens. Mother Nature doesn't seem to sleep, so this can mean random and frequent wake-ups and sail adjustments. In this pursuit, because I am alone, sleep management is critical. (More Later)

Given the nature of an ocean crossing and my stated goal above, this whole adventure is about 'scarce resources' and how to plan so they are not too scarce...but also not too abundant! So what are the main scarce, you may ask?

1.    Power:

Power is needed to run all my utilities, including the navigation instruments, the autopilot, laptop, and satphone. Of these the Autopilot is the largest consumer and also one of the most critical pieces of equipment. The Autopilot steers the boat on the correct course without my assistance, thus enabling me to sleep. Its power consumption is very dependent of the sea conditions and how many hours a day I steer the boat.

The electrical power is supplied by a series of 12 Volt batteries, similar to those in cars. The batteries are charged primarily by Solone's solar panels, and then as backup by Solone's diesel engine driven alternator. Solar power needs sunlight, and this being the northern hemisphere winter and the shortest day of the year falling on 22nd December, daylight hours will be limited to 10 hours at best. All my experience to date has been sailing in summer hours with lots of daylight hours, so Solone's power supply systems will be challenged. The diesel engine alternator is a good backup but it needs diesel to run, and excessive use of power means lots of engine time, and lots of diesel consumption. As a result I will make every attempt to limit power usage,and this will mean I probably steer the boat 6-8 hrs a day. I have planned to run the engine no more than 2 hrs a day, and planned for the diesel necessary for this, plus a slight excess for unplanned situations.  

                                                                                             The cockpit, with the critical Autopilot arm (Black ram connected to the tiller.)

                                                                                                             The three solar panels are also clearly visible

2.    Sleep

This is the solo sailors major focus point and probably the 'Achilles heal' if not managed properly. In all my passages to date, I get into a routine of 20-30 minutes cat-naps, waking to check for shipping, wind conditions, and making sail adjustments as necessary. If conditions are smooth I have often extended the sleep to an hour or so. My philosophy extends to sleeping whenever I can so I am rested for possible difficult conditions ahead. Due to the power scarcity above, I plan to steer the boat much more than normal, and this will require a change in sleep habits.  More about this along the way! One of the other issues I'll be challenged with in the first third of the voyage is the risk of running into the rowing boat fleet. One of the other fears of the solo sailor is running into ships and objects while asleep. I do have an Activ Echo system which picks up ships with radar scanners on board, and wakes me with an alarm. This won't be effective with the rowing boats!   

                                                                                              The navigation area and the bunk I sleep in while sailing..Ready for action!

3.    Wind

You are going to be in the constant blowing, trade winds, why is this scarce you may ask? To get to Road Town, I am not planning on taking the shortest and direct 'rumb line' route, as this can cut across the Mid Atlantic High Pressure and result in days of windless or light wind conditions. To avoid this I will be a more southerly route from San Sebastian, to enable me to get into the REAL trade wind belt before starting my 'westing' to head to the Caribbean. Even with this strategy there is the risk of getting stuck in windless conditions. Beside my already stated goal of sailing the whole way across the Atlantic, Solone has a very small diesel engine, and as such cannot motor very fast, so planning to motor through calm patches is not an option. Besides carrying sufficient diesel for this option is will compromise my overall objective.

At the other end of scarcity is too much wind!  While there is always the possibility of late tropical storms I am hoping that I overall I will be in fast sailing, 20-25 knot wind conditions.

4.    Food and Water

Yes there is only one of me, so having enough food and water shouldn't be an issue!  True, but once again one has to plan, and I don't want to be carrying a supermarket along with me. Fresh food is a real issue, as I only have a very small refrigerator, and once again it is a consumer of the 'scarce electrical power'.  So what do I eat.....?  Well, because my sleep pattern is so strange, I find I prefer snacking to the three meal a day, routine. I thus carry a huge amount of dried fruit, nuts, crisps, biscuits, and energy snack bars. On top of this I do have main course meals, of tinned fish, per-prepared vegetable stews, and pasta. I'll probably have cereal in the morning, one full meal a day, and then snacks, and snacks....!  Bread is always an issue as it goes off quickly, but I am trying some special Spanish long life stuff.....so we will see!  Lastly on food, a central part of the Spanish culture is ham, or 'jamon', and more specifically Jamon Cerrano, or cured ham, from the Sierra Nevada's. Well I have been threatening for a long time now to buy a whole leg of this ham, and string it up in the bow section of the boat as 'unlimited and readily available' snack food!  Today I bought a whole pigs hind quarter and in the picture below you see it hanging in Solone, ready to be carved off at will! Hmmm...can't wait!

                                                                                                                                The hanging leg of Serrano Jamon!!

5.    Other Scarce Resources....

Hmmm.... Company.....!!! Ruth won't be on board with me, so she gave me Storm as a 'next best' present to help me deal with the loneliness! Nothing further to add....and no stories along the way!

        The Kite Runner   Khaled Hosseini

        I Heard the Owl Call My Name:     Margaret Craven

        The Essential Jung.... Selected Writings:  Anthony Storr

        Venezuela Footprint Guide  (I plan on spending 3-6 months in Venezuela after the Caribbean)

        Learning Spanish!  

Mobile phone and email will be not only scarce but virtually non-existent.... good!!!

Alcohol will be not only scarce, but non existent. I NEVER drink while I am sailing!

A bit about the The Mental preparation:

I have to be honest, I am feeling quite a high level of apprehension. I can never work out whether its just the thought of leaving the comfort and easy routine of the 'luxury life' or a real fear of the risk involved. Probably both to some extent. The first is overcome within days as the body and mind slot into the new routine and embrace it together with the difficult to describe feeling of freedom.

Ruth has been with me here in San Sebastian this past week, and she has been a fantastic support and had a calming effect. I do feel a bit selfishly focused on the adventure, but her understanding has been amazing. On the other side of that coin is a feeling of not wanting to say goodbye and let go to be on my own and challenged for three weeks. One does question one's need to do this and why one doesn't just stay peaceful in the comfort of 'one's' home. However, whenever I think of that I am reminded how alive and humble I am feeling and how important this dream is for me. It takes me back to this wonderful book, I read, written in 1965 or thereabouts, called 'The Ulysses Factor...The Human Need to Explore'. Sorry I don't remember the author, but he defines this trait that we all have but in varying degrees. This is how he defined it:

  "a powerful drive made up of imagination, self-discipline, selfishness, endurance, fear, courage, and perhaps most of all, social instability..."  

All the early day explorers like Scott, Tensing, Chichester, Thor Heyerdahl, etc had overloads of the trait, and that's why they did what their did and were successful. Hmmm..... this is the very driving force that is allowing me to step off and go do it....its hard to hold it back!!  I hope you can see the Ulysses factor and by understanding it allow yourself to access that side of you.

As further mental preparation, I taking myself through a visioning process, imagining the daily routines and linking the quality execution of the tacks to the achievement of the goal. I also tell myself that there WILL BE PROBLEMS, and that I mustn't be surprised or get angry, but rather have a mindset of wanting to fix problems. This is such an important thing for me.  Many would say this is pessimistic thinking, but through a recent interaction I had with an academic in this area, he confirmed that this 'pessimistic realism' is far from a negative excursion, but rather a necessary and critical partner to optimism. On the optimism side, I know I have TOTAL belief that I will conquer all the challenges presented and have the physical and mental attributes necessary to get me to that first cold beer 'on the 'other side'!

One of the solo sailor's challenges is having to climb the mast alone in the event of problems aloft. I use a two piece system that is similar to what mountain climbers use, but with a seat. The photo below was taken by Ruth while we were sailing in the Azores, and had a problem with the wind instrument. In anything but very light wind its not an easy task as one not along has to lug your own weight up the mast, but in a strong wind and lumpy sea the mast is like a rocking horse and one gets shaken around a lot!  Holding thumbs that I won't need to go there this trip!!

Finally, here is a picture of Solone out the water, Australian flag and all, having new anti-fouling painted on in the Azores... I have just finished underwater cleaning the bottom so its clean and smooth to reduce drag! Luck was on my side.... As I was just finishing the clean, I felt the scuba breathing regulator getting pretty hard to suck on and then...finally my last breath of air and my air tank was empty!!  

So this is my home for the next few weeks:

And finally, La Gomera prepares for Christmas.....

Two days ago the little town of San Sebastian where I now am, had itself dressed up for Christmas!  The main streets and more prominent buildings were clothed in traditional lighting, and the shop windows transformed to a wintry Christmas theme displays. As South Africans / Australians, we have to laugh when we see winter Christmas imagery used in the hot southern hemisphere summer... I always think how alive and well colonialism is, and how WE allowed the indoctrination?  Its in Spain too.....  Here in the warm Canary Islands, with palm tree lined beaches, and people out sunbathing everyday, the same indoctrination has happened here!  Look at this picture of a shop window in San Sebastian, complete with artificial snow, huskies, and reflection of the palm trees in the background!!

                                      And on that note, I'd like to wish you and your families all a Happy Christmas time!

 Remember:  To follow my trip from here on out, you need to go to http://blog.mailasail.com/howardsolone   There will be no more direct emails to your email inbox!