29:51.8S 031:01.3E = Riding the Magic Carpet Flanked by Na ture's Fireworks
Irene IV - World Adventure
Louis Goor
Sat 26 Nov 2022 21:08
Riding the Magic Carpet Flanked by Nature's Fireworks
Eddie takes up the story from Saturday 19 November:
For the passage to Durban there was a lot of group-think in Reunion about
when to depart. There were differing opinions. Irene IV found itself as part
of a rebel group of 5 (Ocean Pearl, Seabird, Latobe and Serendipity) who
choose the "road less travelled" as it were and decided to set off earlier
then the vast majority of the fleet.
Each day at 0900 and 1800 a general SSB (long range VHF) call would take
place between some of the boats in the breakaway bunch. Our skipper with his
easy charm and Irish Blarney acted as unofficial facilitator of this
self-help group. During one of these chats, it became apparent that for
almost 500 miles a strong south-westerly current would be of great
assistance to us if we managed to stay on board. Route plans were crafted
and discussed to maximize its benefits. Michael the skipper / owner of
Seabird described to current which ran for almost 500 Nautical miles from
the East of Madagascar along its South Coast and extended westward towards
Durban as a" Magic Carpet". One cannot overstate the importance of modern
technology in the weather and current data which was regularly updated on
our routing software. This allowed us to stay on the carpet for the entire
500nm.
A passage of 1500nm always throws up challenges to a boat and its crew. The
blog Irene IV last Saturday alluded to a forthcoming weather front and the
challenges it might bring from a weather perspective. Before that however
like any good drama there needed to be another curve ball. Sure enough our
generator stopped working. The collective skill sets of the Skipper and
Giles set about pulling up flooring and decanting tools on the surrounding
remaining cockpit floor. As they peered into the void of the bilges and
poked at various pipes and vents, they noticed a crab scabbling around. It
was duly caught and released into its more natural habitat. Thankfully the
diagnosis of an air lock proved correct. The problem was solved in a few
hours. Throughout all of this disruption, Sabine managed to fulfil the
nutritional needs of the crew with amazing productions from the galley. It
did not go unnoticed by the wider crew that the range of skill sets required
to keep Irene IV functioning were wide and varied.
The SSB group discussions continued as the weather front loomed on Saturday
evening and the anticipated challenging conditions. We were not
disappointed. In textbook style the wind veered from NW to SW at about
22:00. This happened gradually and then quite quickly. In the calm period
the boat was tacked onto port and the late-night drama began. The Radar
screen showed squalls and rain tracking down towards us. The wind suddenly
started to build and 30kts+ gusts were a regular occurrence. Sails were
trimmed and the sea state became very confused. Suddenly the light show
started, for over an hour all forms of lightening lit up the inky black low
cloud sky. Somehow Irene IV managed to thread her way between the intense
sabre flashes of light and stayed clear of the potentially catastrophic
effects of a direct hit. For the next 18 hours the robust qualities of Irene
IV revealed themselves and a slug fest ensued between Irene IV and the
elements. She muscled her way out of the front and cleared into a strong NW
wind, big seas and eventually to more benign conditions. In later SSB chats
between boats, all were grateful to have been in reasonable proximity to
each other during this difficult period.
Entering the "last furlong" of this leg the crew were rewarded with
champagne conditions for their 120nm transit across what for us proved to be
the 'damp squib' of the Agulhas current. On the leg down to Durban spirits
were high as a following NE wind at 25 Knots, benign seas, and a poled-out
genoa allowed Irene IV to stretch her legs and arrive in early afternoon of
Monday, 21st November, less than seven days after departing on her 1500nm
voyage from Reunion.
The decision to leave early was fully vindicated and celebrated together
with the crews of Ocean Pearl, Seabird and Irene IV and a champagne toast.