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Voyageur - Log day 191 - Watching the weather....



6 November 2010

Throughout the day we headed on a north westerly course to get back up to our rhumb line and beyond. The wind gradually eased and the engine was fired up for the first time in three days. Now well beyond the south west corner of Madagascar we are still feeling the effects of an adverse current. We have received information from the weather forecaster that we must head for a waypoint 50nm to the north of the rhumb line and 100nm out from the coast so that when we pick up the south going Agulhas current it will allow us to approach Richards Bay with the direction of flow in our favour. This notorious current has a fearsome reputation, the effects of which are felt up to 100nm offshore...

At the magic hour.....
At the magic hour of 2am, my watch, we had just 500nm to go. We had hoped to complete the passage in nine days to give ourselves and the boat one day in advance to prepare for Donald's arrival, but it has increasingly looked less likely and we will even be struggling to get in for the ninth. As the crow flies the distance between La Reunion and Richards Bay is 1370nm but we have added 70 nm on to that due to the opposing current. And with light wind conditions our daily runs have been well down. Now we have a new threat. We have been advised of another gale this time from south west which will make any approach to Richards Bay impossible until at least Sunday morning, the 7th. A south west wind produces unusually high waves. In addition the forecast predicts a short lived north easterly gale passing down the coast during Monday into Tuesday morning. Some of the lead boats ahead are slowing down, others carry on as normal which is what we are doing until we receive a weather update tomorrow, Sunday. Conditions change all the time so what is appropriate for one day might not be so for the next. But for the moment we have had three most glorious sailing days with only two hours on the engine in four days. How can we possibly complain about that? But it would appear that this ocean has not finished with us yet......

Nuisance Calls
We heard for the first time in a long time a watch keeper broadcasting on VHF Channel 16, the emergency channel, first music then talking gibberish into the microphone. It went on for half an hour from 21.50 until 22.20 and it would have been too bad if we had been very close to him and hadhad to try to alert him to our presence. Fortunately for us our CPA was 10nm. It is stupid and dangerous but it is also illegal. I noted his MMSI number and name, MV Nordspring, destined for Port Klang, (how stupid of him not to turn his AIS off!) I watched with interest on the radar as thirty minutes later he passed another ship going in the opposite direction less than 1nm mile of each other. I do not know what the rules are but it seemed mighty close to me......

Susan Mackay


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