enroute to St Helena,1

NORDLYS
David and Annette Ridout
Sat 16 Feb 2008 07:15
Departure from South Africa
 
 
33:10S  16:19E
0600hrs 16th February 2008
 
Yesterday morning Annette and I awoke to a very unusual Simon's Town scene.  Flat calm, grey skies and a hint of drizzle in the air.  However by 0730hrs with a coterie of friends wishing us 'bon voyage' we backed Nordlys out of the berth that had been her home for over two months and slowly motored out past the Naval Harbour with its two grey evil looking modern guided missile destroyers and a white cable layer.  One thing we do know is that we intend to visit South Africa again and that the prospect of a long English winter visit to this fascinating country is an enticing one.   Little wind helped us on our way so we motored down the fifteen miles to the Cape of Good Hope.  Our first sighting of wild life was a raft of Jack Ass penguins.  They look almost as silly swimming on the surface as they do walking on land.  One of the world's biggest colonise of these adorable animals is just twenty minutes stroll south of Simon's Town and we had spent many an early morning walking there and back.   Abeam the Cape of Good Hope we were entertained by a plethora of wild life.  Hundreds of sea lions were basking in great herds.  Mutton birds flew around us and a few albatross circled  with apparent disdain for lesser creatures.
 
A light SW wind filled in and we begun to sail at 3 to 4 knots with the sails just not slatting.  We had hoped to go north past Cape Town and its sky line and also to pass close to Robben Island.  However this would have put us on a dead run and with the wind so light it would have been impossible to sail this course so we set sail on a reach in a NW direction direct to St Helena which was just over 1700nm away.
 
Happy hour found us sailing just a little better in 9 knots of wind and a general chat on 8101mhz, a prearranged frequency, had us talking to other yachts scattered over 1000nm of ocean but with one thing in common, we were all making for St Helena.  Slowly the wind filled in and a great nights sailing ensued.  For the first half of which a waxing moon lit the sky.  The prospect of this friend of the sailor's night steadily getting bigger and being up for longer is a pleasant one.
 
So as I write this Annette is having a well earned sleep, Venus has risen and now shines from a dark turquoise sky as dawn arrives.  The sun is not yet up but has announced its coming by a broad band of red low in the eastern sky.  Puffy, cotton wool like clouds, still dark on their underside due to lack of light are crossing the sky and most importantly of all the trade winds appear to be well set in.  We have covered a hundred miles in the last 25 hours and after a night of broad reaching I have just put Nordlys on a run with the genoa boomed out.  7, occasionally 8 knots is the order of the day as we run happily before force five from the SE.  Long may this continue!
 
So may we both wish all family and friends who read this happy times.  We hope to enjoy them ourselves for the next ten days or so before we drop the hook off Napoleon's last resting place.
 
David