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Exody - Days 296-300: Taking the rough with the smooth!



The passing of the front was a biblical affair- quite the most dramatic weather experience we have ever had! We could see the lightning up ahead in the dark but were still surprised by the combined impact of an onslaught of torrential rain, a rapid increase in wind speed with 180 degree windshift and the sheet lightning surrounding, illuminating the white frothy seascape all around us. For an hour we sailed on, emerging into an unfamiliar southwesterly environment: nearly close hauled into 25 knot plus winds to lay the Madagascar waypoint, crashing through waves, with white water regularly over the deck and the bow regularly buried!

We all like a great tradewind breeze of 20+ knots - but few of us would contemplate turning round and beating back into it. That of course is exactly what we did (well the SW wind did it to us) for about 36 hours with 1.5 to 2 knots foul current to add to the pleasure!

The well forecast front passed through the fleet on the evening of Tuesday 3rd November, third of our six days in to this last of the Indian Ocean passages and one of great contrasts. Our day's runs have been 135,138,142,109(bad current + beating),137,190(good current + reaching). As I write midnight Friday 6th November, we have clocked up 950 miles and have 450 to reach Richard's Bay hopefully by nightfall Monday.

We have now cleared up the aftermath: water from the cockpit floor into our cabin wetting the bed, so we are now sleeping in the saloon, shattered safety glass from the oven door that I fell across the cabin onto, deck diesel and water cans trying to escape, leaking hatch etc. On top of all this our newly fixed alternator seemed reluctant to give us a charge and it was a bit rough to investigate. But the strong winds and good speeds ensured the wind and towing generators did their jobs and the sun was still out enough to give us a dose of solar.

Today we are back to sailing as it should be - clear skies, quiet seas plus fair wind and current. Tools were out to fix things, showers were had in the cockpit, clothes and sheets out to dry.

But there is more on the way after this quiet spell, this time from the north and northeast - the right direction to speed us to Richards Bay and safely across the Agulhas current before the next southwesterly.

It takes quite a bit of getting used to dealing with weather fronts again, the cold (its been under 25 degrees!), changeable and strong current patterns, winds from significantly different directions - this is the stuff of not so long forgotten home waters!

Peter (Skipper)

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