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American Spirit II - Day 377; We Video a Green Flash Sunset, No. 28; & Celebrate the Half Way Point of the Leg with a Great Dinner; Friday, January 16, 2015



Up at 6:00 AM. The wind is 13 knots and we're moving at 6.7 knots thru the water and 7.2 knots over the land. We're still motor sailing. The wind is behind us, on the port quarter. We tried to sail, but were going too slow. I'll wait until sunrise and see what the wind does.

The sun rises at 6:57 AM Cape Town start time. Its cloudy on the horizon, so no green flash, despite there being a big, green hue in the clouds around the rising sun.

I put one fish line in the water at 7:20 AM; and at 7:21 AM I turn the engine off. The wind is 12/14 knots and we're moving at 5.3 knots thru the water and 5.9 knots over the land. At 7:30 AM I put two more fish lines in the water. Saphir is 3.4 miles behind us on the port quarter. Their sails are visible in the sunlight.

At 8:49 AM I'm forced to put the engine back on. The wind has dropped to 7 knots. I can see that Saphir is wing-on-wing.

Tommy from NDS Darwin hosts the 10:00 AM net.

Breakfast at 10:23 AM consists of scrambled eggs; cut up potato; chilled fruit cocktail; and brown bread.

At 11:30 AM I take a shower. With the engine on, hot water is available.

At 11:45 AM Joel and I use the satellite phone to send and receive emails. I've given up in using the SSB radio for a while. Too much work and poor results; plus its very slow.

Our noon position is 23 degrees, 40 minutes South; 6 degrees, 14 minutes East; and we're 814 miles from St. Helena.

I go below and write a log from 1:20 PM to 2:16 PM.

At 2:20 PM I cut off the fat surrounding the T-Bone steaks we're having for dinner. Though I like the fat and marbling on the steaks, leaving the fat on the meat leads to a big fire when we cook the steaks on the propane grill. That leads to us charring the meat. Not good. After cutting the fat off, I rub a blackened steak powder into the meat, using olive oil to help do so. Then I put the steaks in the refrigerator until cooking them tonight for dinner.

Joel naps from 3:10 PM to 4:30 PM; and I nap from 3:25 PM to 5:00 PM.

At 5:10 PM we put the whisker pole out on the port side; and five minutes later we turn off the 54 horse power Yanmar engine.

Dinner at 6:20 PM consists of blackened T-Bond steaks cooked on the propane grill by chef Joel; baked potato cooked in the micro wave over; and corn on the cob boiled in water on the gimbaled stove in the galley. We're celebrating the half way point of the 1,700 mile leg from Cape Town to St. Helena. Dinner is followed by a glass of wine for Joel and me.

Tommy from NDS Darwin hosts the 7:00 PM net. After the net at 7:30 PM, Joel and I fuel the boat, pouring 30 gallons of diesel fuel into the main tank. We use a siphon hose with a check valve and a funnel with a filter. It take about a half hour to transfer the fuel from the 6 jerry jugs.

The sun sets at 8:28 PM; and we see Green Flash No. 28. I also record the sunset on my camera, and get a video of the green flash. That's the first one we've recorded on video while under sail. We had a previous green flash recorded on video while we were anchored at the island of Fatu Hiva in the Marquesas Island in French Polynesia back in March.

We're forced to turn the engine back on at 9:13 PM due to lightening wind. We keep the main out but roll up the jib.

At 10:00 PM the wind is 8 knots and our speed thru the water is 5.9 knots and 6.0 knots over the land. A cargo ship called the Frio Aegean it passes 2.2 miles astern of us, going from left to right. It is a 591 foot cargo ship heading to Montevideo in Chile or Argentina. I'm not sure which. 

At 11:45 PM the wind is 7 knots and we're motor sailing at 5.6 knots thru the water and 6.1 knots over the land. Its been a warm evening; one where I didn't have to wear any thermal underwear. Just pants and a long sleeved shirt and pull over. Nice. Tomorrow we enter the tropics.

Brian Fox




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