Thursday 21  November 2013,  Indian Ocean,  27 41.4S 39 54.3E 

Today's Blog by David (Time zone UTC +3.0)

Since I last wrote, not much has happened. The wind has been pretty variable mainly aft and generally not strong enough to drive us without the sails slatting back and forth in a short SW swell so we have used more fuel than is normal or desirable.

Tuesday saw light headwinds as we rounded Madagascar. We spent much of the day close hauled – but on starboard tack so the freezer worked efficiently and got down to -15 degrees for a change (it has ‘issues’ when on port gybe/tack – which I hope will be fixed in Cape Town). Sailing to windward, even in light weather, is not our favourite pastime and we were glad when the wind gradually veered and died; we motor sailed overnight.

We are sailing in company with Babe, Dreams Come True and Duchess; each has its own sailing philosophy. One drives his boat hard, one is very conservative, one quite clear on objectives and positioning for the weather and then there is us – I guess an average of all three. What is interesting is that he who sails freer up-wind  for boat speed (a classic offshore racing strategy) does not seem to gain much advantage over he who sails  quite hard and close on the wind. Food for thought at least.

There is frequent radio chatter between the boats – about the weather, what’s just broken and from time to time what our destination might be.   As to our destination, the rally  is scheduled to go to Richards Bay then Durban a week later,  then Cape Town a week after that ;  850 or so miles to make good on the way.  The timetable does not seem to anticipate people wanting to travel home for Christmas (why would it?); if one wanted to do that AND see the wine districts, Table Mountain etc. AND get your boat repairs organised, that means one needs to be in Cape Town rather earlier.   We also  need to spend time  in Durban to get some replacement batteries and also want to take 3 days to do a safari. We would also like to stop at Knysna and Mossel Bay if the weather will let us.  Want, want want……!

The weather is another conundrum. Over the last few weeks we have been watching depressions run along off the south African Coast about every three days. These bring with them SW winds of 30+ knots which makes passage towards the south west untenable for about half the time. So we have to pick a weather window and then sail along a coast where there are very few hiding places if you get caught out. (Think:  sailing Portsmouth to Falmouth with no port of  refuge along the way if the weather turns bad).   So you have to pick your weather very carefully.

The decision making process is complicated by the fact that – in South Africa – the check in process I have described from time to time arriving and departing from each country,  we have to do when entering and leaving each port in South Africa. This is a pain, it is probably for good reason, but it  will consume time.   And time is something we don’t have. In other words there is not enough time for us to do everything we want to,  and have to do! T’was ever thus on this whirlwind  trip!

The Good News is that we are now within 450 miles of Africa and will get there early Sunday morning. We are naturally good Rally Citizens and, in principle, if that is where the Rally is headed then so are we.  However, something in the timetable has to give and a landfall in Durban will allow us to proceed at a more leisurely pace.   That is probably where we will end up.

So, back to the weather.  Like the condemned man, we are sitting here reaching along at 7 knots in benign, if overcast conditions, but are awaiting our comeuppance!  That will be delivered in the shape of a cold front with accompanying squalls, followed by a SE gale.  The good news is that we have been ‘playing for position’ and  we are far enough away from the Agulhas Current for us not to be concerned about the sea/waves I wrote about earlier.  We are in for a bouncy and wet night but no worse than we have seen before. Thereafter the wind will back round and give us a fair run to South Africa – with landfall, as I said, probably in Durban.

Eerr… that’s about it!

PS:  Good news:  we have lost no more lures;  Bad News:  because the fish are not  taking the bait. Time for a new lure……   Out!

PPS.  AIS is a wonderful tool. A VHF carrier broadcast  by, in principle, every vessel carries data about course and speed is a powerful tool  used in collision avoidance. It also is used by  customs and vessel traffic management authorities to manage shipping movements.  Commercial vessels are required to broadcast far more information than  we are. For example it is interesting to see where ships are destined. Most vessels rounding the Cape are too big for Panama and/or  not prepared to risk Suez and the Somalian piracy problem.  They are bound for China, Singapore or one or eh other oil/freight hubs in Asia. However, on Tuesday,  we saw a ship broadcasting its destination as “Armed Guards on Board”; no guessing who that message was for. Curiously, about the next vessel we saw coming the other way was called “Target”. Really!   It appeared unscathed.