Cape Town to St Helena - Day 12 1230UTC
Vega
Hugh and Annie
Sun 5 Mar 2023 13:44
18:31.1S 001:28.5W COG 320T SOG 5kts+ We were averaging 6kts overnight. The wind has backed from SSE to SE this morning and so between cups of tea we gybed the main to the port side, onto a starboard tack (ie. the wind coming over the starboard side of the boat). The pole was already to starboard - overnight we had found that the reefed genoa poled out on the same side as the mainsail was effective, albeit causing more rolling. Today we are “wing on wing” (ie sails out on opposite sides of the boat, a good combination with the wind almost directly behind) and making fast progress. We have been sailing this passage at the same time as yacht EmilyLuna with Keith and daughter Emily on board. We have been in daily contact, initially by radio and subsequently by email as EmilyLuna pulled ahead of us. The middle of an ocean can be a very lonely place for a yacht on its own but with satellite technology we can post a blog update and are currently in daily contact not only with EmilyLuna but other yachts also sailing the south Atlantic to the Caribbean and friends and family back home. It is when something goes wrong that the full reality of the isolation really becomes apparent. Yesterday morning we picked up an email from EmilyLuna sent late the previous evening and advising that their prop shaft had sheared and the part attached to the propeller had slid back until the revolving propeller had come up against the rudder. The sea had been coming in through the stern tube and the rudder was being damaged. They had managed to plug the leak and Keith had gone over the side to tie the propellor forward of the rudder. Both temporary fixes were holding and they had resumed their course for St Helena where repairs involving a haul out will be required. We altered course to converge with EmilyLuna but if Keith and Emily can maintain their current speed of around five knots they will arrive in St Helena ahead of us. If they have to slow down or need assistance they know that we are coming up behind them. Just knowing that another yacht is out there with you can be hugely reassuring. Last night we passed another milestone - the Greenwich Meridian. We are now back in the Western Hemisphere. In a few hours we will cross the longitude for Bristol and at that point, with reference to Longitude, we will have sailed 360 degrees around the world! Tonight the wind is forecast to gust to 30kts. We will set up under just the genoa and if we can keep our speed up have a chance of making St Helena on Tuesday afternoon. |