Final run towards Richard's Bay
NORDLYS
David and Annette Ridout
Mon 22 Oct 2007 04:08
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Last leg to
Richard's Bay
25:33S
34:39E
Early am 22nd
October 2007
As I write this I am
surrounded by the sights and sounds that have over the last few years become so
familiar. The glow of the various instruments, the creaks and groans that
although not many in number tell me that an old lady of nearly thirty years and
who has today put on 55,000 miles in our ownership is presently hurling herself
happily over the seas at nearly eight knots. We are broad reaching in
fifteen knots of wind over a reasonable sea and with a nearly full moon making
it almost like daylight outside. There is not a cloud in the sky and also
not many stars as the moon takes all the glory at this stage of her cycle.
Up in front of us are Aquila and Taniwani, behind us Bell Breeze and a
Swiss boat. We all left a very bumpy anchorage just outside the Mozambique
port of Inhambane as dawn stole over the horizon earlier today.
Forty eight hours before it
had been very different. Aquila and ourselves were battling into an
unusual contrary current with twenty plus knots right on the nose. Both
had been unforecast. We did two hundred miles to gain one hundred and
forty down this coast. Limping into the former anchorage we were under
staysail only with the engine working hard. Our mainsail had earlier
ripped across a seam in the top third. Before this an apparently unchaffed
or otherwise damaged genoa sheet that had taken us happily for thousands of
miles suddenly parted. Both of these events happening in pitch blackness
after the moon had set. Aquila we learnt had shipped nearly a ton of water
through her bow and everything was wet. This after over sixty thousand
miles of dryness. The Indian Ocean certainly finds out a yacht's
weaknesses. Yesterday Annette and I stitched for over twelve hours while
sitting in a near gale of wind and hot sun on a rolling pitching deck. The
only thing that can be said was that the object of our attention was not a mail
bag! I now know the meaning of aching sore fingers.
But as I said earlier
conditions are now very different. Sunset a few hours ago was
magnificent. The golden orb sinking below the horizon surrounded by a
splendid set of colours from turquoise to orange. The weather man however
is promising us a gale before we get in but from behind us. The trysail is
bent on for the first time but so far yesterday's needlework is holding up well.
It would seem that in this part of the world one has to accept strong winds, the
secret is to try and make sure they are not on the nose. The reason that
our little 'village' of yachts is pressing on with much canvas set is that our
weather window expires sometime on the day after tomorrow and we want to be tied
up to a dock before the south westerly blow gets going!
So with over seven thousand
sea miles behind us since we left Fremantle in May we are just two hundred and
forty from South Africa.
Happy times
David
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