Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Goodbye to the Tropics

          Mhadei crossed the Tropic of Capricorn at 0742 this morning saying goodbye to the Tropics and warm weather for the next six months. The sea has calmed down so it was a pleasant day onboard with fairly good progress in light winds. The only worry is that we are still drifting too much to the West and will have to cover all this distance once we get Westerly winds which may still be about two days away. We are also heading for the permanent High Pressure system in this area which would mean light winds till we manage to dodge it. Not complaining much though after the bashing in the Trade winds! Good to take it easy for a change because the present forecast shows the Westerlies blowing at 35 kts, about 10 kts more than the Trade winds! Hopefully we will have to negotiate them down wind and down swell so things should not be that bad. We will just have to see as it comes as this is uncharted territory. Will need to start taking out cold weather clothing from tomorrow as its already becoming quite cold as soon as the sun goes down.
          The comments on the blog indicate a fair amount of curiousity about Mhadei's crew and their metamorphosis over the last three weeks at sea. Posting some snaps of the Skipper, Cook, First Mate, Publicist etc etc lounging on the deck, satiated with a heavy "Dosa" lunch  and enjoying the good life aboard a Million Dollar yacht in the middle of South Indian Ocean!
          Had a new type of bird for company in the evening. So far the ones that have been following us were dark brown with a yellowish beak. This one was greyish white with a much longer wingspan. Difficult to click good snaps as they keep moving constantly, often a hair's breadth from the water even in the worst of sea conditions. Makes a land based human mind wonder as to how they survive as the nearest land presently is over 1000 miles away! Posting some photos of sunset which are nowhere close to the spectacular ones we saw at the Equator but then it gives an idea as to why the Equatorial ones are so special. My gmail account which should have received my plotted position by now is refusing to open so will just have to wait for the next blog. Very roughly we are about 80 miles South of the Tropic of Capricorn and almost exactly below Chennai!
                    

20 comments:

Satyajeet said...

hey Mama..
nice pic by the way..
the cook looks ok but the publicist might need a descent shave.
i know i am posting after a long time but we all are following your blog daily. so keep posting..

may the winds be on your side..
god speed

Swati said...

Been meaning to follow your blog ever since the papers reported about it - but just got around to doing so. All the best!

pracs said...

Hey thanks for your quick response and glad to see ur snaps.

Unknown said...

Hi donde

look very much like the seasoned sea dog one expected to see.

keep going

seaferns said...

sir your self portrait skills are definitely improving ;-)

Antara said...

Hi Dilip, good going! The pics look good, so does Mhadei. You make it all sound so easy, especially the cooking :-))

Abhijeet Deolekar said...

You are looking great, if you don't shave as suggested by Satya by the end, you'll end up with a wise man's long white beard!!

Happy sailing!

Abhijeet Deolekar said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Abhijeet Deolekar said...

I'm not suggesting you should shave...

It will be interesting to see how long the beard grows... may be a record for taking???

Unknown said...

Hey

Red charming prince, with a white beard. That don't look awesome.

The cool and the publicist is the "men in uniform" , needs a proper shave and a decent look.

Take care

Unknown said...

Hi,
Good to see you. Looking graceful indeed. Good to see you still maintaining that smile inspite of so much hard work and sailing difficulties.
Keep your wits up and happy sailing in the direction you want.

Meeta

Jay said...

The bird phenomenon is interesting ... Did it land on Mhadei or kept flying? The bird might be boat hopping ... Did you have any other ships in the vicinity on your radar?

Unknown said...

the sunsets are different. any specific reason why .
unfortunately ,what chatty says, is true. the babus rule the waves.
but would it not be funny to leave one of these babus at the spot where you are today, with only that bird for company.
god speed

SUBIR said...

The boat sure looks comfy in the still photo but I'm sure it won’t look that way in a moving picture!! Lounge when you can - two days you say. Soon you will head towards your destination.

BTW, I thought you were touching port only in Freemantle and Cape Town. Has this changed? Please update. Anyway, I support more stops. Take good care ….

P.S. When you get back you will have to make me a Dosa (after suitable R&R) – would like to try one of yours. On my part, alas I can only offer you some good spirits.

Jay said...

The bird ... you mentioned that it had a big wingspan. If the wings are spread and it is in gliding mode with minimal flapping, how much energy would it need to remain afloat? Moreover it might be catching and swallowing fish while in flight itself. May be can sleep while in glide mode too ... may just need minimal flapping to accomodate changes in wind through the subconscious? If you had waterproof skin, could you float on back in water while asleep? If the bird is at perfect ease with itself it may not need to land so often.

Indian Navy Solo Circumnavigation said...

[Jaydeep]
These are Pellagic birds that spend most of their life at sea going to land only to nest. They do sit on the water sometimes, though not very often and have webbed feet like most aquatic birds.

Indian Navy Solo Circumnavigation said...

[Subir]
Two more stops at Christ Church and Port Stanley were added as the Powers be thought the second leg of 11000 miles was too long! Not sure what the definition of a "too long" leg is!

The Dosa offer is definitely on once I am back!

Indian Navy Solo Circumnavigation said...

[Sucheta]
ts actually very easy once you start doing it!

SUBIR said...

TOO LONG IS ANYTHING MORE THAN 03 FEET.

Lalit Attri said...

Dilip Sir

Must agree with Madhumita
Looking very graceful with that white beard.

Hope to see one with cookiter cap on too, in action.

I sent you an email earlier today, many hours earlier actually, after I came to know about your expedition just today (Missed the thriller for so long!)

Started reading your blog right from the beginning. Our media is useless in matters good. Should be watching your blog updates on the TV news channels, instead of stupid 4-5 second clips aired incessantly for hours.

Wishing US all, fair weather and following seas for the crew and INSV Mhadei

Good Luck

Bon voyage