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Voyageur - Log day 218 - Day 2: Travelling to time.....



9 January 2011

The day started cloudy and blustery the ocean now a little choppy. It was also chilly from the effects of the cold Benguela Current. I was so grateful for the warmth behind the cockpit screen which David had put up late the previous evening. We have slept most of the time since we left. We thought we were in South Africa to recharge our batteries but we left feeling exhausted. Struggling to keep awake, the effects of the Stugeron I took yesterday still with me, I wrote at the computer to keep myself awake during my 4am to 7am watch.

There is a long squiggly line that runs in a north westerly direction on our electronic chart. Beside it in big letters is marked Benguela Current and in smaller letters, 0.5 - 2.0kn. Our little electronic boat is right on top of one of those squiggles and we have nothing! I delve into our South Atlantic pilot books for an answer. The only thing I can come up with is the fact that we have a south westerly airstream and the experts indicate the current is best enjoyed in south easterlies. We even thought we saw our first trade wind clouds but it seems a little too early for this. The books say that they don't appear until 28degrees south and we are still nearly four degrees and 200nm south of that. Nevertheless it is back to ocean sailing of the kind we know and love.

All the books indicate that the route out of the South Atlantic, the great circle route, is the world's most straightforward ocean voyages and that the summer months, in other words now, is the optimum time to sail it. So far it is looking good. We have enjoyed twenty four hours of lovely sailing condition, covering 176nm. In the early afternoon we see sails off to port. Gradually they crept closer on a converging course. We did not think it could be another rally yacht. The majority have all chosen to go on a more northerly course. With strong winds forecast for Tuesday we are trying to get as far away from the African coast as possible. Finally the AIS of our mystery yacht pops up on our electronic chart. It is Tzigane! We thought they were miles in front of us.

On the first of our evening roll calls only fifty percent of the fleet responded. I find it hard to understand why people cannot remember to listen in. For one thing it is a listening watch for emergency traffic but more than that, we find that keeping time is even more important when we are at sea. Apart from the fleet position reporting, we record our ship's log every two hours. (The last recorded position is of paramount importance if we were to suddenly lose the GPS signal. This did happen to us on three occasions on our last round the world). Then we have our own three hourly watch system. We are never late for that one! If we were near land we would not want to miss vital VHF weather forecasts. Before the advent of GPS sailors had to record their noon sights with the greatest of accuracy. While we do not keep to rigid times for our three daily meals, they do tend to be around the same time, each and every day. I have noticed that when it comes to the racing starts, that everyone is "on time"! So you see. What did I tell you? Sailing is all about the time.....

Susan Mackay


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