Passage Summary and Pictures - Cape Town, South Africa to Luderitz, Namibia
Harmonie
Don and Anne Myers
Sun 9 Dec 2012 07:16
| 26:38.406S 15:09.424E
December 3, 2012 - December 6, 2012 All in all, a fairly painless passage. No weather worries, no big current, just a bit of trouble with the generator cooling pump and a little too much chill in the air (and sea). For the first time in a long while, the engine got a nice long rest while we did what sailors are meant to do - sail. Not just any kind of sailing though, the best kind - downwind. Gently rolling along with a following sea and moderate wind is the way life on board is supposed to be. It's good to be back in the downwind groove. (Now, if only it was warmer…) Intended route (blue dotted line) and actual track (purple dotted line). You may notice a giant zig-zag in our track and wonder if our navigation equipment failed or a crew member was dozing. Nope, it was just a little too much wind for the downwind rig, so we turned off the wind a bit and jibed back and forth using the genoa alone, or when the wind was lighter, genoa and mizzen. Passage Statistics: Total nautical miles traveled - 515 Total time - 3 days, 4.5 hours Total time sailing - 2 days, 19 hours (88%) Total time motoring and motorsailing - 9.5 hours (12%) Aside from the first 8 hours out of Cape Town and the last 1.5 hours into Luderitz, the engine was blissfully quiet. Average speed - 6.7 knots (7.7 mph) Degrees of latitude traveled - 6.5 to the north (toward the equator) Degrees of longitude traveled - 3 to the west Highest wind - 25 knots (29 mph) with gusts to 30, but always behind us. Highest cabin temperature - 75F (afternoon of day 2) Number of near-calamities - one. Although changing out the generator cooling water pump in the dark and rolling engine room wasn't pleasant, it may not necessarily qualify as a near-calamity. It does warrant an honorable mention though. Number of major milestones achieved - none really. Namibia just seemed like it would be a pleasant diversion (it is), and an easy way to make our passage to St. Helena shorter (it will be). Number of fantastic wildlife encounters - none. But we did get a good show of whale tails, flippers and blows, if only from afar. And the seals did a pretty good job of keeping us company - it's just that they don't seem as eager to talk as the dolphins do so it's not quite the same. Ok, so it's hard to tell what exactly this is, but it's a whale tail photographed just a few seconds too late. These creatures just don't seem interested in taking direction while modeling. Luderitz, Namibia. That's two-masted Harmonie in the center, surrounded by diamond dredgers. In the distance are the famous Namibian sand dunes (they may look like clouds, but strangely enough, they are truly sand dunes). More about Luderitz to follow (along with the promised Simon's Town and Cape Town updates). We've decided to move on to Walvis Bay, Namibia sooner rather than later - mostly because the wind will be blowing Sunday and Monday (12/9 and 12/10), and it won't be after that. The trip is only 255 miles, so we'll leave today (Sunday, 12/9), and most likely arrive two days later on Tuesday, hopefully before the wind dies. We are expecting another pleasant (but chilly) downwind sail, and are looking forward to exploring the larger town of Walvis Bay and its tourist-town neighbor, Swakopmund (nope, we have no idea how to pronounce Swakopmund…but soon will). We'll update the blog from sea on Monday (12/10). Anne |