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American Spirit II - Day 328; Two Humpback Whales Tandem Breaching;, Seals & Green Flash No. 23; Saturday, November 29, 2014



Up at 5:00 AM. Breakfast at 5:25 AM consisted of bacon, eggs, chilled fruit cocktail and bread.

Started engine at 6:08 AM; and departed the marina at 6:13 AM ten minutes after Civetta II departed. Called Port Elizabeth Port Control on VHF Channel 12 and received permission to depart the port. Entering and leaving a port in South Africa is like a plane taking off or landing at an airport. Its very controlled.

At 7:04 AM we had our first whale sighting; a whale on the surface, perhaps sleeping, only 150 feet to starboard of Civetta II. I called them on the radio and told them what I saw.

At 7:14 AM Joel pointed out to me that we had just passed 34 degrees south latitude; and that we were only 6 degrees or 360 miles from the 'Roaring 40's' of sailing fame.

We passed by a fishing fleet anchored 500 yards to our port at 7:20 AM; ten trawlers were anchored there. Fishing for squid.

At 7:31 AM I saw a giant splash on the port bow, 10 degrees port, about a mile in front of us. I'm convinced its a whale either breaching or a pectoral slap. I call Civetta II and advise them what I see and where to look.

At 7:37 AM we pass Cafe Recife lighthouse 1.6 miles to our starboard. Once we clear its shoal to the south we'll then turn from a southerly heading to a westerly one; and we'll be under the continent of Africa and south of it. A BIG moment. Everyone is smiling.

At 7:48 AM Civetta II called on the VHF radio and said there was a whale 300 yards off their starboard. I looked back and saw a large, two colored tail (dark on one side and white on the other), sticking straight up, vertical in the water; doing what is called a 'fluke up dive.' Due to the two colors on the tail, this whale is definitely a Humpback Whale. During this maneuver the whale drops its head and lifts the tail straight up out of the water. This position can be maintained using the whale's powerful pectoral fins and may be used to rest; to scan the area around and below it; and in females to avoid the demands of a hungry calf or the advances of a courting male. Immediately after the tail enters the water I see two humps, two Humpback Whales; perhaps and male and female 'couple.'

We round Cape Recife at 7:55 AM and turn 248 degrees, just south of west (270 degrees); heading to Cape St. Frances. The wind is 5 knots from behind us and we're motoring at 5.7 knots thru the water and 6.3 knots over the land.

At 8:10 AM a Humpback Whale surfaces 20 feet from off our starboard, aft quarter. Jeanine sees it and shouts and gives us a direction to look at. Joel and I both look but all we can see now is a tremendous white froth in the water, as the whale went below the surface before we could see it. Obviously, whale encounters like this are not accidental. The whale probably paid us a 'close' visit just to see who or what we were. Not a 'near miss' but a 'fly by' by the whale. Like dolphins, whales find us humans curious. I called Civetta II and told them that a whale was heading their way. Then we saw two blows and one fluke up dive with the tail straight up in the air as they were 100 yards off Civetta II's port bow.

A lot of birds are flying around. Big birds. One prominent species is white in color, with black wing tips 6 inches long and partial black coloring elsewhere; and with a grey beak. Another bird we see a lot is dark brown, almost black with a grey beak, also. They skim so close to the surface that its a wonder that they don't crash. And when this bird takes off from the water you can actually see them running on the surface as they get enough speed to lift off.

Jeanine naps from 9:00 AM to noon and Joel from 9:40 AM to 1:00 PM. There are mountainous sand dunes to our starboard, along with mountains towering behind and above them; 4 1/2 miles away.

At 9:55 AM and until 10:05 AM, I had the best whale show of our entire trip around the world. I yelled below and woke Joel up; but Jeanine refused to stir. Too bad. You snooze you lose! At any rate, I saw two Humpback Whales perform over a dozen breaches; including 3 tandem breaches where a large male and smaller female both launched themselves out of the water at the same time. Incredible! They were 100 - 200 yards away. I don't know how rare that was, but I've never seen any pictures of Humpback Whales doing this together; tandem breaching. Plus we saw many blows, one sail slap and a handful of pectoral slaps, where the whale slaps one of its lateral fins into the water, making a large splash. I took some pictures, but not soon enough to get any tandem breaches. On at least two of the breaches, where the larger whale was breaching, the whale actually cleared the water entirely. Not even part of its tail was in the water. Absolutely amazing!

At 10:15 AM I rolled out the mainsail and our speed increased from 6.1 knots to 6.6 knots. We're still motor sailing at 1600 RPM's. The wind is now dead astern at 11/12 knots.

At 11:15 AM I heard Alpheratz on the VHF radio, probably 50-70 miles away. VHF is line of sight, and they have an 80 foot mast.

Our noon position was 34 degrees, 11 minutes South; 25 degrees, 14 minutes East; and we're 154 miles from the Mossel Bay waypoint.

At 12:05 PM I saw what looked like a big, black fin sticking out of the water 100 yards to starboard. I'm wondering if its the dorsal fine of a great white shark or a killer whale. Later I realize its a Seal laying on its back with a flipper sticking straight up.

Its getting overcast. The low pressure system we're expecting is not disappointing us. Its coming. The forecast has winds of 20-25 knots from behind us out of the east; plus rain. That means winds of 25-30 knots as the forecast is usually a little off.

At 12:30 PM I called a sailboat on our starboard bow. They answered and said their boat name was 'Kite,' a 42 foot sailboat. They said they were sailing with two other boats from Port Elizabeth to Mossel Bay. One of the other boats I can see on our AIS, but its name isn't registering on my chart plotter yet because of the distance. I'm concerned that other boats are heading to Mossel Bay because in talking to the marina manager there doesn't appear to be enough space for 5 new boats. I call the marina manager on his cell phone and reserve a spot for us and Civetta II.

I nap from 1:30 PM to 3:20 PM. At 2:45 PM we pass the Cape St. Francis lighthouse; and turn more west after doing so.

At 3:29 PM we pass a seal on the surface, on its back, floating 70 feet off our port side; with a flipper straight up in the air. The 'shark fin' I saw earlier in the day.

At 3:25 PM I get a text message from the marina manager at Mossel Bay that says 'OK.' I assume that means we've reserved two marina slips. Civetta II is 5 miles behind us.

We turn on the SSB radio for the 6:00 PM net but no one is there, as we're in a 'free cruising' period.

Dinner at 6:05 PM consists of freeze dried (Australian) Beef Curry; corn kernels; and chilled fruit cocktail. The wind is now 23 knots and we're sailing at 7.3 knots with the engine off.

At 6:25 PM we jibed the mainsail from port to starboard tack. The wind is 26 knots and we're moving at 6.3 knots over the land.

At 7:16 PM we see Green Flash No. 23 on our circumnavigation, at 34 degrees, 15 minutes South; and its a double green flash. We see it twice, not once. This happens due to waves lifting the boat. The furthest south we've seen a green flash to date; forever. I called Civetta II before the sun set and told them there was a 'high probability' of a green flash, even though there is a slight haze in the air. They watch, but no one on Civetta II sees the green flash. This is not uncommon for until you see your first one its hard to see any at all. Once you see your first green flash you then know what to do and what to look for. You can't blink, and you must keep looking after the sun sets for a few seconds. This is, I think, where people go wrong. Once the upper limb of the sun sets they stop looking.

I nap from 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM while Joel is on watch and Jeanine is sleeping until the 3:00 AM watch.

At 9:00 PM the wind is 23 knots and we're moving at 6.0 knots thru the water and 7.0 knots over the land. Half a moon is out and the sky is full of stars, albeit they're not as visible as when there is no moon. Behind the boat the sea is sparkling with a phosphorescent wake. With the clouds gone I'm concerned that the dreaded southwest wind might be coming early. If that happens we're screwed. The lume of St. Francis is visible off the starboard quarter over the horizon. Its a bright lume. We're currently 12 miles off shore as the land curves away from us; with only a couple of shore lights visible.

I'm wearing long underwear, pants and my foul weather pants; plus my thermal top; a long sleeved shirt; a pullover; my heavy foul weather jacket; and my rubber foul weather boots and cap. And I'm cold. Not shivering, but cold. Uncomfortable cold. Because the wind is behind us the dodger offers no protection from the wind. And the wind is gusting at 27/28 knots. When I'm home for Christmas I need to pack some gloves, a scarf and a wool cap to bring back with me. Its the equivalent of May 29 back home. Close to summer.

At 11:00 PM the wind is 18/22 knots and we're moving at 7.0 knots thru the water and 8.0 knots over the land. Because we're going dead downwind the boat is rocking a lot, even though the waves weren't that big, at about 8 feet. The rocking and rolling at times was quite violent for such small waves. Oh well, that's the Indian Ocean.

Joel relieves me at midnight. I go to bed wearing my thermal top and bottoms. A rare event for me.

Brian Fox


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