Blog from Mauritius to Durban
Oceanpearl
Tue 22 Nov 2022 14:06
On Friday 4th November I arrived in Mauritius after a 74 day sabbatical from the world circumnavigation on Sailing Yacht Ocean Pearl, part of the Oyster World Rally 2022-3.
I had left Ocean Pearl in Cairns having spent 9 months on board and needing a break from the highs and lows of ocean sailing and needing even more to catch up with family and friends at home.
We had 3 lovely days in a Marriott hotel just relaxing before rejoining Ocean Pearl, moored in Port Louis Marina.
On board were Marius, our brilliant Multi talented German 1st Mate, sailor, engineer, wood carver, free diver, film-maker, fisherman …….and more!
And Dana, friend and other sailor on the fleet, joining us just for the passage from Mauritius to Reunion. Dana is a lifelong sailor, having grown up part of a sailing dynasty and has sailed more than 100,000 miles all around the world. It is a real privilege and benefit to us to have her aboard Ocean Pearl.
Reunion is our next destination and a short sail away of a day and a night. Weather and sea conditions were good and everyone enjoyed the passage.
Reunion has much to offer to world travellers - a live volcano, deep Ravines with dramatic waterfalls, vanilla processing plant ……
The marina hosts a drinks party for the fleet addressed by the mayor.
Great friendships develop as we share the wonderful experiences and challenges of all kinds as we sail the world . I missed that while I was away and the drinks on the dock is a great opportunity to meet up with the fleet.
A whole evening of ‘welcome back, we missed you’ hugs.
The next stop is Durban.
There is much discussion of things to do in Reunion, car hire, helicopter rides but also much sharing of ominous weather forecasts.
The passage across and down the Indian Ocean from Reunion to Durban, passing by Madagascar, has been recognised by everyone as potentially the most challenging of the whole circumnavigation due to winds and currents, notably the Angulhas current coming up from south of the Indian Ocean ,
Many expert meteorologists are being consulted. A consensus seems to be either Go Now or delay departure until after the 20th November. It will be at least an 8 day passage.
Along with the rest of the fleet, we would normally decide to enjoy what Reunion has to offer and then consult the weather experts. However, Amy, my daughter, and her family are all arriving in Durban on the 26th November, driving from Mozambique where they are holidaying with friends who live there - a holiday planned months ago before I had decided to take a break in August / September. They only have 2 nights in Durban before they fly .
The decision is made to go ASAP. Before we leave we have to be ‘cleared out’ by immigration and customs.
They need to come on board, see all 6 of us, Skipper and 5 crew, together with their passports. They are very obliging., agree to do so on the morning of the 12th after which we can immediately depart.
The passage plan is tricky. Immediate weather forecast is no wind , ie motoring, for 3 days, but a need to reach the south of Madagascar by a certain date in order to avoid some big winds c35 knots and tricky currents. All advice is on no account to seek shelter in Madagascar as yachts on previous rallies have been held up by armed boatmen claiming to be marine officials and demanding money. Advice to be heeded, we feel.
We need to fall into a routine of continuous downloading of weather forecasts, The weather a few days on is continuously changing, so we are either trying to max speed to beat a weather event or slowing down to let one go through .
Sat 12th November Day 1 was easy, after a couple of hours we had enough wind to sail for a few hours, with a bit of motoring overnight,
Day 2 Sunday 13th dawned brightly . I was on watch from 6 to 8 am, following Roger who did 4 to 6.
It was a beautiful morning with blue skies and calm sea.
I went below for a rest after my watch, woke feeling sea sick and came up on deck to big , turbulent seas, big swells and a very rocky boat.
I realised I had not put on my anti- seasick wrist bands correctly, with the pressure points on the wrong position on the inside of my wrist. I quickly corrected this, and tried to sleep with blindfold while pushing on the pressure points in an attempt to avert what would be around 24 hours if sea-sickness. I succeeded! I missed lunch, drank lemon and ginger for the rest of the day and by the next day normal service was resumed! Phew!
Monday 14th November As I write this we are in Day 3. While we have had several hours motoring , we have been able to mostly sail. We now have a target of covering 200 nautical miles each 24 hour day
We are just about achieving this, ( averaging 8-9 knots),even slightly exceeding it in order to get ahead in anticipation of lighter winds later on before we have to tuck into Durban before predicted storms hit the east coast of South Africa
We are now running parallel with the South East coast of Mauritius with good following winds of 14-16 knots, sailing with poles out Genoa and mainsail, with the stay sail giving extra stability. It is 5pm, cloudy but not cold and anticipating fish pie for supper - served in bowls, a bowl and a fork to each as if placed on the cockpit table, it may well tip onto our laps! Such is dining at sea!
At 5.45, to our surprise and delight, we were visited by a pod of about 20 dolphins, swimming alongside us on both sides and diving under the bow of the boat . They stayed with us for about 10 minutes which was a great joy . Up to then, on this trip , we had only seen the odd bird and one or two flying fish.
DAY 4 Tuesday 15th November
Started the day on the 4-6am watch, dark cloudy moonless night with winds consistently. 18-24 knots, travelling at 9-12 knots . Alarming at first, but the boat remained quite stable and comfortable as the sea was relatively calm. As the day progressed, the wind and seas built to 25- 30 knots and 4-5 metre swells. Everything on the boat rattled, if you open a galley cupboard any double stacked tins flew out. We had preprepared hearty soup in the Crockpot. Serving it was a challenge. Just trying to stand in the galley, requires the.
constant use of all core muscles .
The afternoon continued wet and wild. At dinner time, the cockpit was awash, all cushions soaking wet. We ate in the saloon, with only person on watch remaining in the wet cockpit.
These conditions continued all night, with huge waves coming on board, a few waves came over the top of the dinghy which is on davitts on the stern.
Day 5 Wed 16th November
The day dawned slightly quieter in terms of wind, rain and swell.
However, it soon became apparent that we had an electrical problem. Most likely caused by the massive ingress of water overnight.
None of the power functions of the boat were working: the davitts (for lifting and holding the dinghy) the windlass (operating the anchor) the hydraulics and winches (operate the sails). Clearly one of these had tripped the whole circuit. The challenge was finding which one.
A few emails requesting technical guidance and much tinkering with all functionality ensued. About 3 hours later, due to the systematic checking through of everything, Roger found the offending isolation switch, dismantled it and reassembly few times and the problem was solved, much to everyone’s relief . All this activity while the waves were still the height of houses, the boat rocking and rolling and meal preparation continues.
We had a very, very wet lunch as torrential rain came horizontally across the cockpit.
Then in early afternoon, everything calmed down,
the rain stopped,
the seas became calmer,
the sky cleared ,
the wind dropped ,
the sun came out and
we had a gentle sail with 8 knots of wind instead of 28 and
everyone relaxed!!,
We had a delicious dinner of Thai green curry and everyone had a great nights sleep - with night watches continuing, of course,
DAY 6 Thursday 17th November
A beautiful calm morning, light cloud, calm sea. Enough wind to sail at 4-5 knots.
More weather forecast analysis required to plan a strategy for the remaining 700 odd miles, with a number of low pressure fronts and storms coming up from the South Atlantic threaten tough conditions as we progress towards Durban.
We enjoy a very pleasant day , with reassuring forecasts that promise a couple of days of motoring due to light winds followed by strengthening winds and a window to cross the ever threatening Angulhas current that can bring with it 45 knot winds and 30 foot waves
DAY 7 Friday 18th December
Woke to 05,30 alarm after 7 hours sleep. Came up on deck for 6 - 8 am watch to witness a cam dawn, calm seas, just enough wind 6-8 knots to push us along at 4-5 knots, a speed sufficient to get us to the window in the stormy weather that is predicted between here and Durban.
As I write this, there is no wind, we are motoring through mirror-like calm water with warm bright sunshine preparing for sunset. The contrast between this and the mountainous seas we fought through 2 days ago is staggering……..and alarming as we know we have to face a similar low pressure front which threatens to hit us tomorrow and Sunday, after which we can cross the area of the Angulhas current - about 60 miles - to enter Durban Marina.
Meanwhile, I’m enjoying this while it lasts - the Sunshine Cruise everyone thinks is every day with shocking pink sun umbrellas and pina coladas
DAY 8 Saturday 19th November
The wind had picked up in the night. I came up on deck for my 6-8 am watch to 18-20 knot winds , and R trying to reduce the Genoa sail in the strengthening wind. The fuller was not working. The wind continued to strengthen, the boat now heeling excessively. The wind now blowing 33 knots , not good for sailors or yacht.particularly with R now on the foredeck, highly dangerous in high winds and fully heeled over , even if he was clipped on for safety. He discovered that the furler had ‘clicked out ‘ under the wind pressure . It needed to be reset, then we were OK. Truly a scary hour or so, because of huge waves, huge winds and a yacht with huge acres of sail out of control - the first time I have felt any fear on board Ocean Pearl.
The day continued under control, the sea was moderate rather than tough but with high winds for the rest of the day promising to strengthen to 30-35 knots overnight.
DAY 9 Sunday 22nd November
200 ish miles to go. Now in touch with 2 other boats in the fleet who are not too far behind us, and facing all the same weather . It’s good to talk and share experiences and anxieties about what we are still to face. We have been receiving weather forecasts twice daily, which is helpful but the predictions often don’t materialise.
The great fear is crossing the Angulhas current which comes up the South East coast of Africa and can be as strong as 8 knots, which is very difficult to sail or motor with particularly if we are wind against tide.
We are running south west currently, approaching the route of the current. The advice for today is not to attempt to cross until the wind is due to change in the early hours of the 21st. Conditions today are fairly consistent all day with winds of 18- 26 in turbulent seas, quite manageable for Ocean Pearl, but very difficult for us to move around the boat safely, and any items left loose in galley or anywhere goes flying as the boat twists and turns in the waves eg a full coffee pot - not hot- all over the saloon in the middle of the night.
Main event of the morning is over- heating of the generator resulting in it being out of action. Roger suspects an impeller failure, but a major engineering task and need to be in harbour to replace that.
The boat needs constant power - for instruments and obviously all powered items of which there are many! When sailing we have solar panels - good when the sun shines!
When motoring, the engine charges the batteries so boat does not fail with lack of generator . However, we rely hugely on the water maker which can only run with the generator, so suddenly much discussion about water-saving measures until we get into Durban
A radio conversation with Louis on Irene IV tells us their generator has also overheated. He suspects an air block. Roger look at that - and hey presto, problem solved! We have a working generator again!
DAY 10 Monday 21st November
The wind dropped overnight resulting in a calm night with a settled sea, mostly motoring.
I come on watch at 6am. We are apparently now in the Angulhas current. We have about 60 miles to go to get in to Durban Marina and to our great relief the dreaded Angulhas current, SO FAR is a complete non event. Flat calm seas, wind of only 5-6 knots so motoring. The good news is we will get into Durban Marina this afternoon and as soon as I have internet connection, I will release this probably very tedious blog of our 10 day passage from Reunion to Durban.
We arrived safely, entered huge harbour of Durban , the biggest harbour we have come into on the whole trip. Berthed beside Seabird, soon joined by Irene IV.
Great celebrations following tricky passage for everyone.
Certainly not all ‘hot pink sun umbrellas and pina coladas’!
Please let me know if you manage to access it.
Mary
Sent from my iPad