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American Spirit II - Day 385; We Leave St. Helena; Have a Great Day of Sailing; Saphir Catches a 40 Kilo White Marlin; and We See Green Flash No. 34; Monday, January 26, 2015



We get up, and have a coffee and tea;start the engine at 7:57 AM; slip the yellow mooring buoy and head out of the St. Helena anchorage towards Salvador, Brazil 1,900 nautical miles away (2,185 statue miles). Adela leaves ahead of us at 8:00 AM. We roll the mainsail out and are motor sailing. St. Helena has been one of the best stops on our circumnavigation, and one the airport is finished be constructed, it will be accessible by plane instead of now, just by ship or boat.

At 8:10 AM we pass thru an area where dolphins have been feasting on large fish. These 'large' fish have been jumping 3-5 feet out of the water trying to escape the pod of dolphin chasing them. The wind is 2 knots as we're in the lee of the island. 'Lee of the island' means we're down wind of the cliffs so the wind can't reach the water. Once we get away from the island the wind will set in.

I cook breakfast at 8:50 AM: eggs, potato, chilled fruit cocktail and brown bread for Joel and me. Jeanine has her own breakfast of oat meal and fruit cocktail.

We roll the jib out at 9:35 AM and pick up half a knot in boat speed. We're now doing 7.3 knots motor sailing.

At 10:44 AM we turn the engine off and put up the red, white and blue asymmetrical spinnaker. Shortly after that we put 3 fishing lines in the water; one pole and 2 hand lines.

Folie a Deux leaves St. Helena at 12:37 PM heading to Ascension Island, 700 miles to the northwest. They're skipping St. Helena and carnival due to security concerns. At around 2:00 PM Sweet Pearl departs St. Helena en route to Ascension Island, also. However, they're heading to Europe and will complete their circumnavigation once they get there. Good-bye Tommy and Sandra. They have a broken D1 shroud and have jury rigged a temporary fix using some bull dog clips and wire that they got from us.

Our noon position is 15 degrees, 47 minutes South; 6 degrees, 6 minutes West; and we're 1,182 nautical miles from Salvador, Brazil. The wind is 7 knots and we're moving at 3.7 knots thru the water and 4.6 knots over the land. Its sunny and pleasant out.

Joel naps from 12:45 PM to 3:10 PM. From 1:30 PM to 2:55 PM I do two loads of laundry using a 5 gallon plastic bucket and a slotted plunger. Two buckets of salt water with soap and bleach to wash the clothes; then 2 buckets of salt water to rinse; followed by one bucket of fresh water (3 gallons) for a final rinse. Then I run the clothes thru our centrifugal electric dryer and hang them up on the life lines.

During the 10:00 AM net Saphir says that they broke a halyard for their geneker (SP?), a large sail. We also hear Civetta II, Adela and NDS Darwin on the net. Most of the other boats left 2 days ahead of us so hearing them all on the net will be difficult.

At 4:00 PM Joel can't see St. Helena anymore. I think I still can. St. Helena is 46 miles away.

Dinner is early at 5:11 PM. I cook hamburger patties on the galley skillet, because they're not solid enough to cook on the grill. I mixed BBQ sauce and garlic powder in with the minced meat to give it a different flavor. We also have corn on the cob; dirty rice; and butter beans.

Shaya Moya leaves St. Helena at 5:57 PM. We know that's when they leave because we can hear St. Helena radio talking with them as they leave; asking their boat name and next destination. Its interesting in that whenever we leave a country, unlike the US, we have to radio 'port control' and get permission to leave or tell them that we're leaving if we don't need permission. And they always ask what your next destination is. Whenever we clear out of Customs and Immigration, we get paperwork stating what country we left and what our next destination is. We actually get a form called a 'clearance' form whenever we leave a country.

We hear St. Helena radio talking to Merlyn of Poole when they leave St. Helena at 6:29 PM.

During the 7:00 PM net Saphir says that they caught a 40 kilo (88 pound) white marlin (sailfish). A game fish, but one that is good to eat. In Fiji Joel and I had Marlin Steaks and they were excellent. That being said, I'm not sure we would pull in a fish that big. For two reasons: we don't have enough freezer space to put the fillets in; and its too majestic of a fish to reel in and eat. We'd let it go.

The sun sets at 7:05 PM and we see Green Flash No. 34. An average green flash.

I nap from 7:24 PM to 8:55 PM, then relieve Joel who's been standing watch. Jeanine is sleeping and getting up at 3:00 AM for the 3;00 AM to 6:00 AM watch. Joel tells me that during his watch he saw Venus set and Jupiter rise. Cool.

At 9:00 PM the wind is 9 knots and we're moving at 5.8 knots thru the water and 6.2 knots over the land. The wind is off our port beam, and the asymmetrical spinnaker is pulling nicely. I take the canvas insert between the dodger and bimini out so I can see more stars. There is half a moon out in front of our bow, so the stars aren't as bright as they could be.

At 10:30 PM the wind is 9/11 knots and we're moving at 5.5 knots thru the water and 5.6 knots over the land.

Between 11:29 PM and 11:35 PM a large, black bird circles the boat and flies by the transom five times, calling and trying to land; but its unsuccessful and eventually flies away. Too bad. We've had 'hitchhikers' before and always are willing to lend a hand to a tired bird. This bird is probably from St. Helena.

The half moon sets on the bow at 11:55 PM. The wind is 10 knots and we're moving at 5.8 knots thru the water and 6.0 knots over the land.

Joel relieves me at 12:10 AM.

Th sailing today has been idyllic. One of our best sailing days yet. Sunny; pleasant; not much in the way of waves; and a light wind blowing. I hope we can carry the spinnaker all night long. That would be awesome.

Brian Fox

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