Luderitz To Saint Helena.
Tuesday 02 April 2019:
In Luderitz, Meryon and I rented a car and drove about 1.300 km to see the South parts of Namibia. None of the town are of any interest and has little to offer, but the Fish River Canyon was very special. It is the second biggest Canyon, after the Great Canyon in the USA. The scenery was spectacular with loads of mountains all over the place, but the rest was dessert and sand and more sand. Most people live in the mining towns where they extract diamonds, copper, silver, zinc, etc..
The Namibian population is about 2.2 millions and as it was a German colony, there are a lot of German speakers and the architecture resembles the German. During the WWII Germany lost control of Namibia and it became a protectorate under SA and the German population was imprisoned. The country is now independent and because of its natural resources (mining) it is a relatively wealthy place. The majority of the population is, I am told, black bush people and they are friendly and some are good looking and smiling people saying hello as we pass them and often ask if we need any help.
We drove along the Orange River down to the diamond mining town of Oranjemund. The town has been a no go area for a long time, but is now open to visitors. The river is one of the major sources of diamonds and the mining is everywhere and one can see masses of sand have been moved around and created big hills of sand. De Beers is the company that seems to control the mines and the mines are all fenced in and security strict. But apart from the mining of diamonds, the area and town has nothing to offer.
Back in Luderitz and after the last shopping was done and Sean updated his blog with a video, I cleared us out of Namibia we retreated back to New Dawn to prepare her for leaving. I tested again everything and at 15:00 we let go the mooring and set sail for Saint Helena 1.334 NM to the NW.
Outside the harbour the autopilot stopped working again and the mainsail got stuck inside the mast. After a lot of testing, disconnecting and reconnecting the cables to the autopilot computer, I found that the drive, hydraulic and clutch were all fine, so I suspected it was again the various connections that were to blame, so I released the pressure of these cables and the pilot worked again.
But the mainsail was impossible to get out of the mast. This has happened before, but on each occasion, I have managed to unfurl the sail. This is a new sail to me, installed in Durban and it is a thick and heavy Dacron sail and is bigger that my other mainsail as it has four battens increasing the m2 and the leech. I will try again when the sun raises, so for the moment we run only on the Genoa, which is OK with a 17 kn SSE wind giving us a speed of 6-6.5 kn.
Our watch system is very comfortable as “Auto” is doing the steering and we are three hours on watch and nine hours off watch and have pleasant sailing condition. This is luxurious, although I have a number of additional duties like making water, charging the batteries, weather forecasts, as well as cooking and all the other duties needed by an owner of a yacht. But with “Auto” working well, life is back to be comfortable.
When we left Luderitz it was very cold and windy with water temperature of only 10° C. But as we are heading NW the water temperature has started to increase and now at early morning it is 14° C, but the air is still cold, so we wear a lot of warm clothes to keep warm and a “cuppa” (tea) is good now and then. We should be in the Bengula (cold) current for several days, so it is likely to remain cold for a big part of the trip to St Helena.
Otherwise the last weather forecast (GRIP files) has, so far, proven accurate with a steady 17 kn wind from SSE and waves of 2.5-3 m, all giving a steady speed. Lets hope it will continue like that - which I expect - for Thursday to Saturday, where the wind should strengthen to 20-28 kn SSE.
Last Monday was very windy with winds of up to 42 kn, so I stayed on board while the crew was ashore in Luderitz. Unfortunately our mooring dragged a good ten meters and we came uncomfortably close to the diamond dredger boat, so I had to monitor the situation all the afternoon.
Thursday 4 April (day 2):
The waves became more modest yesterday, but remained 2.5-3 meters and the wind was SSE 22-28 kn. Fortunately the water temperature continue to raise and is now (at 03:20) 21° C, which is well up from the 10° we had when leaving Luderitz. But it is still cold and especially during the nights we need our heavy weather gear on to keep warm.
Yesterday we caught fish no 7 which was a yellow tale Tuna, which Christopher believe is one of the best Tunas to eat. A large part of our diet consist of fish and it seems like Christopher and Sean prefer to do most of the cooking.
It is wonderful to have the Autopilot working - what a relieve and it frees us to do other tasks. We have settled into our routine with three hours on and nine hours off, which give us enough time to relax, but I still have a number of tasks each day, so my free time is limited. I have given up to get the mainsail unfurled, so we continue to run only on the Genoa, but we have also rigged the storm sail in the cutter stay. It is a small sail, but should give a little bit speed. Once we reach Saint Helena, we will try to get the main out and I am likely to re-install my old Doyle mainsail, which is no longer the best as it has sailed about 80.000 NM with me.
Our first 24 hours at sea we have covered 156 NM and as I am writing this (at 04:40) we have sailed 236 NM in 37 hours and have 1.098 NM to Saint Helena.
Friday 5 April (day 3):
This night the wind became again strong and we had between 22-29 kn and it started to turn more to the East. The Genoa is reefed and our speed is satisfactory at around 6-9 kn, but the waves are 2.5-4.0 meters and we roll a lot and even in bed its uncomfortable.
Christopher with the help of Meryon cooked a nice fish dish and Christopher likes to experiment with many of different spices I have on board. We are still eating a lot of fish, in fact, almost every day we eat fish, but I will when I can get to the kitchen cook my “boef med loeg”.
The water temperature seems to have settled at 22-23° and the nights are becoming more pleasant, but we still need warm clothes for the nights. We have had no rain since leaving Cape Town and while in Cape Town we had only a few rain showers during the six weeks we were there. The boat is covered in the very fine sand dust we received during the storm last Sunday and Monday.
Our average daily milage is 155 NM and we have so far covered 400 NM during the 60 hours we have been at sea and have 934 NM to go to Saint Helena. The wind should stay fresh for the coming 1-2 days and is then forecast to moderate and turn more to the East. Hopefully the waves will follow and be reduced to 2-2.5 meters.
As to the crew, it works well, so far, but we are all four of us very different and come from different backgrounds. Meryon is 75 years and from the UK and has a long career in the army as an engineer. He has travelled extensively both for the army and also in his private life. He has many interesting stories to tell. Sean is 53 years old is also from the UK and has done many different jobs especially in the car industry and is also a dive master with a lot of dives under his belt done in many places around the world. Christopher comes from a big SA farm (600 Ha) and has a degree in Agri-economy. He is a charming 25 years old SA and knows a lot about farming and was a great help for his parents. He is the oldest of six children, which can be seen in that he is a great help with whatever work that needs to be done. His hobby is fishing and have done some competitive fishing with his farther. He aspires for a career in the yachting industry and this trip is for him to learn to sail and should help him getting an employment.
We will in about 500 NM cross the Greenwich Meridian and thus cross over from the Eastern to the Western Hemisphere. This will be my first time in the western since Tonga.
It is 03:55 and I had a 235 m long cargo ship crossing in front of us at only about 1 NM, which for me at night time is a bit too close. However, I did not contact the ship.
Saturday 6 April (day 4):
The wind is turning more to the SE and fluctuate between 18-28 kn and the waves are still a good 2-3 meters, making us roll a lot, which is annoying. But its getting warmer each day with the water temperature here at 03:30 at 23-24°. Christopher believe that with these water temperature there should be a better chance of catching fish, but so far, no bite since the yellow tail Tuna two days ago. In any case the freezer is still full and can’t accommodate more fish for the coming days. However it it would be nice if we can catch fish at least during the last couple of days before arriving Saint Helena, as we would like to repeat our successfully fish BBQ we did in Luderitz and invite our friends that are already in Saint Helena and for those on their way.
I did some calculations to pass my night watch, like for example:
1. To reach the halfway mark between Luderitz and Saint Helena about
112 NM away we should be there at 18:00 today.
2. To the 0° W/E Greenwich Meridian is about 393 NM away and we should reach it around 14:00 on 8 April.
3. Saint Helena is 779 NM away and should be reached on 11 April during the evening.
As to the traffic we have hardly seen any other ships and the last one was the cargo ship I mentioned earlier. Several other sailing yachts are on their way, but it is unlikely we will see them out here as the South Atlantic is a very big Ocean. I understand that Tehini-Li, Max and a couple other yachts have arrived in Saint Helena and it will be nice to see them all again. I could check with them on the SSB net, but its timing is inconvenient for my schedule.
Sunday 7 April (day 5):
Last night we crossed the halfway mark - I.e. we have 667 NM each way to Saint Helena and Luderitz - and the weather continues to warm up with the water temperature now at 24° and I guess the same 24° for the air temperature. The wind is relatively steady at 20-25 kn from SE, but it tend to swing about 20-30°. We are running in Wind mode on the autopilot, so the apparent wind angel remain unchanged, but the boats heading will change with the wind directions. I prefer the Wind mode when I have crew that is not too familiar with adjusting the sails, as I can set up the sails and then there is not much to do for the crew. When using the Compass in the autopilot, crew needs to adjust the sails each time the wind direction change and some are not too good in that, yet.
I am currently on my night watch (03:00-06:00) and we have 626 NM to Saint Helena, and I am preparing the “to do list” as there are again a long list of things to be done and many that was unfortunately not done in Luderitz.
The generator seems to heat up too much and Sean had a first look at it. Today we will continue to check it and Sean plan to also check the thermostat. The water-maker is working fine and as the water temperature has increased from 10° to 24°, I can again produce 140 l/h, up from 110 l/h in the colder water. Several accidents has happened and the carpets are now very dirty with tee, coffee, soya and salad sauces, etc., so my to do list include a lot of cleaning while we are in Saint Helena. We seem to be sloppy and make a lot of mess all the time and I hope we ca become more careful in the future. At least everyone has read my list and hopefully the message has registered?
Still Sean and Christopher like to do most of the cooking, but I have been allowed, from time to time, to cook as well. Meryon is planning to cook today’s dinner and Sean is planning for the Sunday’s Bacon and Eggs breakfast, which we all look forward to.
Monday 8 April (day 6):
Yesterday I noticed that the generator’s cooling water started to warm up to almost 100°, so I stopped it. Sean had a look and cleaned to cooling water system, but found only small things that should not cause the excess warming. After he checked the thermostat, the generator did not start again and we can’t find out why. We had a cuppa and decided to sleep on it and have another look later on.
I then ran the engine to charge the batteries, but again the fan-belt broke. The belt was replaces and I am happy I bought a lot of these belts to have a stock.
As to the generator, I have had problems with it since Phuket last year, where Mr Wiwat was to rewire the back-end (power plant) and he spend 6.5 weeks on that job. But I now know that all he did was to clean it and he never rewired it, but managed to mess up the connections when he re-installed the back-end. This is very dishonest of Mr Wiwat and I have emailed him several times, asking if he was aware that his mechanic did not rewire it, but he has not answered, so I expect he knows he messed it up.
It is now getting nicely warmer and the water temperature is almost 25°. We got a big Marlin on the hock, but it was too big and broke the line, but in any case it would have been too big for us to get on board and to cut up. It was the only bite we have had for two days.
It is now 03:30 and we have 481 NM to Saint Helena and I still estimate we should arrive during the evening of 11 April. The wind has, as was forecast, become lighter with 12-16 kn from SE and it continue to fluctuate more as we are getting closer to the Island, so we poled out the Genoa. This give us more flexibility to get closer and have the wind right aft and a speed of 5-7.2 kn.
Tuesday 6 April (day 7):
The wind continues to get lighter and our speed has decreased, but the good news is that the waves are smaller at about 2 meters and life on board is more pleasant, although we still roll a lot.
We have now crossed the Greenwich Meridian and farewell to the Eastern and welcome to the Western Hemisphere. I crossed the 180° meridian from W to E around Tonga and so far with New Dawn I have crossed the 0° and 180° Meridian six times plus those I did with S/Y Treaty Of Rome and with other yachts in my even younger days.
The water temperature is 25° and the foul-weather gear is no longer needed, but I keep handy the blue jacket Nicolas and Christina gave me. The water dept is now 4.800-5.500 meters and to my surprise there are much less fish and birds than what I had expected. However there are plenty of flying fish, which accidentally, together with squids ends up on the deck and making their usual mess.
The ETA for Saint Helena is still 11 April but as the wind continue to lighten, I am sure we will arrive during the evening. I do prefer arriving during the daylight as the anchorage is full of unlit moorings and small boats. We have 352 NM to the Island.
Sean worked on the generator and something went wrong as it is dead and does not start. I am thus forced to use the engine to charge the batteries, which is not optimal way of using fuel. However we did have some sunshine yesterday, which helped charging the batteries and that was a welcome change from the previous days overcast.
Wednesday 10 April (day 8):
The weather keeps changing the last few days and its nice and warm with the water temperature now at 25.5°, but the wind continues to lighten and we start to get a lot of squalls and rain. The SOG is suffering and the ETA is dragging out, but we should still arrive tomorrow evening.
Thursday 11 April (day 9):
I am on my night watch and its 04:00 and we have 96 NM to Saint Helena anchorage. We are in racing mode to try to get in before it will be dark, but I doubt we can make it in time. Sean has again tried to find what is wrong with the generator, but he had to give up. We believe it is something simple and stupid, but what is it? It is frustrating not to have the generator to charge the batteries, make water and get hot water. Its a huge problem and we don’t expect anyone on the Island can fix it, except for Phil on S/Y Tehini-Li which I have emailed and I hope they will delay their departure for Salvador, Brazil, so Phil, can have a look. He is very clever with mechanical problems and have a similar generator than what I have.
We arrived at 21:00 and Phil and Dale were in their tender leading us on to the mooring we had been allocated. They both came on board and Phil spotted within a minute that a fuse, we could not find, had blown and I was relieved to start the generator and it worked well. We finished the evening with drinks and wend happy to bed well tired.
We sailed the 1.334 NM in nine days and six hours.
First sight of Saint Helena at sunset. We arrived at the Jamestown anchorage at 21:00 after 9 days and 6 hours.
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