Records are to be broken

Serendipity
David Caukill
Tue 10 Dec 2013 03:14

Tuesday  December 10th   2013, Orbi Oilfield, South Africa,  35 17.4S 21 35.8E 

Today's Blog by David (Time zone UTC +2.0)

 

I don’t know why it should surprise me but, never before having recognised South Africa as an oil producing nation, it was with some consternation that we determined that that light on the horizon which we had presumed to be a fishing boat – even though it did have an exceptionally strong radar reflection -   turned out to be an oil production platform, appropriately illuminated consistent with the festive season.

 

Records.

No -not the black plastic 78’s that break on impact but those which are never to be beaten – true World Records.  

 

On 17th October I wrote:  “A ‘two hundred mile day’ has been something of a rarity hitherto. We have managed to achieve it only a handful of times but on the passage here {Cocos Keeling}  we averaged 207 miles per day -  1128 miles in less than five and a half days.  ”  The tone tells you we were quite pleased with ourselves, doesn’t it? Well …… we hadn’t even begun.

 

We left Durban on Saturday and we found the Argulhas Current by late afternoon.  The wind was about 17-20 knots on our port quarter and we poled out the Genoa, set the staysail to leeward (stability and perhaps half a knot extra speed) and settled down for our first night at sea. It was frankly and unremarkable and uneventful night,  save that we saw previous records falling at every watch change.  Hitherto, the  highest number of miles made good in a single four hour watch might have been 36 or 37.  However, with a favourable current running at up to five knots at times a new watch record has been set at 56 miles in 4 hours and average speed over the ground of 14.0 knots.  

 

In the 24 hours from 08.00am Sunday to 8.00am Monday we made good 274 miles – an average of 11.4 knots. That’s a “Most Miles in 24 Hours” World Record for Serendipity – one that I venture Serendipity will never improve on  - until of course we sail from  Durban again …. errr… on the next circumnavigation!