Thanks to the good wishes of so many, the sea and wind seem to have been kind to us for the past few days. The wind has been light and shifty which means frequent visits outside to adjust the wind vane and the sails but we are moving which is what really matters. The swell is much less and we have been sailing upwind most of the time which puts less stress on the wind vane and the creaky steering. A good current of upto 2 kts has been compensating for the lack of stronger winds to some extent. Jessica seems to have run ahead to meet up with her parents at Cape Horn! As per her last position she was about 90 Nm ahead so looks unlikely that we will be able to catch up, with a little over 300 miles to the Horn!
56 comments:
Hi Dilip ! Thanks for the update.Wish you a smooth rounding of the HORN. Hope the visibility is good, so that you get a good picture. That will be something to keep !
Thanks for the update Dilip, been wondering how you and young Jessica were doing, and where you were in relation to each other.
Also wondering how long you are in port for in the falklands. you might run into the crew currently sailing around the americas
Kevmeister from Perth
Good going Dilip! I flit from your blog to Jessica's so it was great to get an update. All the best for your trip around the horn. Watch out for icebergs.
Kay from Sydney
Dear Commander Donde
Great news from you!!! Thanks for the report. We wait anxiously for your every word from you.
Praying you get by the cape before the next big blow catches up to you. Hopefully you can get that steering tightened back up at your next stop.
Keep up the great work.
Dan
Portland, Oregon, USA
Hello Dilip,
That is great news that you are moving slowly. You must be getting excited with your approach to the Cape so close. I pray you have very good weather on your passage through and are able to capture some wonderful photos.
Cheers Keep warm
Evie from Bendigo
Hello Dilip, looks like you are not far from rounding the Cape. Thank you for the update and look forward to hear from you again. Keep well.
Hi Dilip,
glad to hear that the sea & wind has settled down a bit for you.
Maybe Jess's parents will wait & wave to you as you round the cape also :).
Stay safe X.
Long Time Listener first Time Caller.
Hey its good to see your blog Dilip and know you are well and getting closer to the horn.
I have been following your blog for a while. Please keep us posted. Yours and Jessica's blog are the first things i look forward to each day.
I am searching to get a crewing position at present and you both keep me inspired.
John, Expat OZy, In Alicante Spain.
Sending greetings and best wishes for continued safe sailing! I know you are an experienced seaman, however I'll bet you are looking forward to putting the Cape behind you and getting on to the Falklands where you can get those repairs and no doubt, anticipating a good rest. Good sailing!
Janell in Oklahoma, USA
hi dilip, enjoying your blogs enormously ... a mate and i are keeping track of your movements and jessica's on google earth ... thinking we might fly over and wave as you go past the cape ... do they sell four X and flags somewhere nearby ... john starlight, sunshine coast, oz
I'm happy to hear things have been smoother for you.
Looks like you've made good time!
If the weather cooperates with passage weather, it looks like there is a window between the storm behind and the one ahead. I hope your timing works so you can avoid both of them. It would be nice to reach the Falklands without anymore big storms.
You may not round the horn at the same time as Jesse, but is there a chance you could still pass by each other?
Are you getting enough rest?
Wishing you the best,
Susan in Oregon
Thanks, Dilip
You are doing well
Smooth sailing
Richard (QLD)
Commander Donde,
Thanks so much for the update. You're right, it looks like Jessica will be blazin' the trail for you, but you'll be right on her heels. I hope conditions will remain favorable for you around the Cape. I imagine that Port Stanley is looking better every day for a little R & R and to make a few repairs. Dilip, I'm looking forward to the excitement of your passing Cape Horn. Best wishes.
From Seattle, WA, USA
SaltyDog
Hi Dilip, Pity you won't catch up to Jess but am happy your safe and moving forward. Wow Cape Horn nearing how wonderful for and Jess I'm so proud of you both. Great going, keep safe regards Lesley, Townsville, Australia
G'day Dilip, good to hear from you again. I'm glad you're progressing well, albeit slowly. You say Jessica is only 90nm ahead of you now. That's +/- a day. As you may well know she hasn't had much wind lately so you may gain some more ground and catch up to her, especially with a 2-knot current helping to push you along.
So, what's for dinner? Do you like to cook? I love Indian food. Yum! Don't forget to keep up with your fluid intake...very important, as I tell Jess all the time, she must be sick of it by now.
Thanks for your update and for sharing your adventure with us. I hope everything goes well for you as you round Cape Horn. Congratulations on an excellent and monumental achievement, Dilip. I'm sure you are the Pride of India. (sounds like a tea advertisement, hehe) You most certainly are the pride of little'ol insignificant me down here in Fremantle :-)) Take good care of yourself and bye for now...Sam
Hello Dilip,
glad we could be of service with our good wishes :)
I guess favourable winds would've been more to your and our liking but at least the current suggests all is not lost.
What a pity you won't get a visual on Jesse and EPL as you guys are sooo close. If you see an aircraft flying above please give a wave cos it will more than likely be Jesse' parents saying hello.
My latest weather check (for what it's worth) indicates a somewhat quieter run to the Horn.
So Dilip, from here on in, smooth sailing and a safe docking in Port Stannley. If you don't post in a while get plenty of rest and those vital repairs done and back out on Jesse' tail :) No doubt you'll catch her. Good luck!
Ben(Qld)
Hi Dilip,
Thanks for your latest update. You seemed you have ironed out some of your little maintenance challenges which I'm really pleased to hear. Also great to hear that the weather has been a little kinder.
My family and I have just come back from a few days holiday in Taupo. We have had a few days of quite cool southerly winds and Lake Taupo was very cool; nothing like your chilly weather though. The children still went kayaking though and had a great time.
Keep up the great work Dilip.
All the best and kind regards Jan (Auckland, New Zealand)
Thanks for the update
was thing about how close you Jessica were.
continued safe sailing!
01-10-10 @04:35
Hi Dilip,
Now that was a reasonably happy post, I was glad to see that. You are making progress, somewhat, and everything is holding up well. Maybe a little creaky, but it's holding up.
Jessica's pretty happy and excited about seeing her parents, as we all are. I think she has her whole crew out there paddling for all their worth. LOL......
I hope your luck has changed finally for the better, and that you have a good run to Port Stanley.
Take care, be safe and cautious and get some of rest when you can.
Great to have an update. I have been wondering how close to Jessica you are. Good luck rounding the cape.
Margaret
Cooroy
Hi Dilip,
It's great that the trip is a little easier for the moment. I guess getting up and down to tweak the wind vane gives you something to do. :-)
Sail hard and you and Jesse might yet go round the cape together, and wave to her parents as you go.
Thanks for the update.
Take it easy and stay safe. Wishing you just a little more wind.
Toni
Hi there Dilip
Yep its me again the ET just got back from holidays so i haven't been around what a pity
Now lets put the pedal to the metal so u can catch up with Jess's rear end at the Horn
Maybe a bit more of that currie will do wonders in your sails or do you prefer a lot more wind
Hi Dilip,
Wishing you a safe & smooth rounding of the horn. I do hope you will see Jessica at some point.
All the very best, we are thinking of you too.
The McGraths, Nowra NSW Australia
Hello Cdr Donde, greetings from Tasmania. Glad you had a few minutes to write and keep us up on what you are doing or not doing and where you are. Very much appreciate the where abouts of you and Jessica.
So, the auto pilot, is it still lashed up and holding or did it just conk out altogether. It would be very tiresome to have to get up and down and up and down to keep the Mhadei on the straight and narrow.
I bet you will be very glad to get to Port Stanley won't you? First of all to give that boat a swift kick you know where for breaking down and causing you headaches. And secondly, to get some much needed R&R.
I would give anything to trade weather with you right now. I don't know exactly how cold you are, Jessica said her cabin temp went up from 4C to 7C so I, assume, that you are about the same. Don't know if you have a heater, I'm sure you know by now, her diesel heater was only blowing "cold" air for her. No way to get warm. Anyway, we are supposed to get 36C here in Tasmania tomorrow. I'm going to do errands EARLY, then hibernate under the air-conditioner the rest of the day. I do not do heat well at all. Can't imagine living on the mainland, some cities are going up to 45C tomorrow, and of course, extreme fire danger all over Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania. Thank the good God whoever invented air-conditioning. I will love him forever!
I hope you get a bit more wind than you have. The current really isn't enough to keep you busy. Of course, you can read a lot, but you need the physical activity as well. Up and down, up and down, LOL
Until next time, may God be with you and watch over you and Mhadei and guide you safely around the Cape and on to Port Stanley.
Beverly Penney (US Air Force vet) living and causing havoc in Tasmania. Cheers
P.S. Please, please tell us that you will update even while you are moored at Port Stanley. It is really, really hard just waiting 3-4 days (we would LOVE daily) but if we had to wait until you sailed off again, why Sir, we would just die! So please keep us alive and well on this great earth. Thanks!
Good morning, Commander Dilip!
Well, well, well, good news! Thank you!!!
Good for you as for your followers!
Have a good Cape rounding, and soon you will reach Port Stanley. If you want to nag your hosts a little, just say that you are happy to stop in the Malouines (the name of these islands that UK took to France and kept from Argentina). Maybe they won't put you in jail, as they are usually humorous.
I hope you will have indian food though, because english cuisine is not... I wouldn' like to be unpolite? Well, is less good than the indian one!!!
Take care and let Mhadei be repaired. She needs some rest too!
Hi Cdr Donde, I'm glad to read your blog, it is great to see that things are moving forward for you and the weather is been kind for you.
When do you expect to arrive to Port Stanley? do you have friends or family waiting for you there?
Hope everything goes well for you.
Marina from Turin
Shano Varuna
Hi Dilip, Thanks for the update and position, the two of you have half the world watching and cheering from a distance.
Hi Dilip,
Glad to here your getting a break from the rough weather. I hope you get around the horn before the next big storm. Well done on your achievments so far.
Take care
Tim and Rosie
Caboolture
It's exciting for us armchair sailors to watch you and Jessica nearing Cape Horn, so close to each other yet so far away. I hope one day when you have both completed your voyages, you can meet up in Australia or India and have a celebratory meal. Maybe a combination of Aussie and Indian specialties?
What is your "normal" daily routine?
great going dilip..
नमस्ते Dilip,
And another good wish for you as you round Cape Horn:
Safe passage just as Aeneas had going between Sicilia and Calabria unaffected by Scylla and Charibdis!
नमस्कार
We all certainly do wish you well. And it's good you're making forward progress, even if it's not very fast.
Scott, Denver, Colorado, USA
Hi Dilip and Mhadei,
Wishing you a smooth rounding of the cape!! Good to see you near half way!!
Wishing you lots of warmth and good luck.
Rajaram and Geethanjali
Thanks for the update Dilip and glad to hear you have a steady breeze again. I hope you have a wonderful rounding of the Cape with good visibility for the photos and a good rest in Port Stanley you have certainly earned it.
All the very best,
Bluefin, Buderim, Queensland.
Safe sailing Dilip!
JJ
xx
Dilip...I found your blog a few weeks back through following J. I wish you well through the next important leg of your journey. As I said to J's blog, a wise Newfondlander said something to me years ago in his native twang!. He said. " Ya never know where your too...til ya been where your at" I live by that motto every day since...enjoy where you are at, being one with all the might of something greater than us. Smiles from Sidney BC Can. Riveter
well then, more good wishes for your when you cross the horn. :p
Fair winds Dilip.
Afternoon Cdr Donde, just wanted to say "hello" as I'm sweltering here in Tasmania at 38C wishing I could trade places with you (just for the day) LOL. I hope you are getting some wind today, it is starting to blow pretty good here with weathermen predicting thunderstorms tomorrow and 10C cooler.
Stay clipped on cause you never know when the rogue wave will decide to "wash" the Mhadei. Keep safety foremost in your mind. Warm food next to keep up your strength and remember to drink, drink, drink. (And I don't mean that kind either LOL) You have to stay hydrated even when you don't feel thirsty because being dehydrated causes confusion and that is something you definitely don't need out there in the best of circumstances.
Remember God is with you as you make this historic journey. May the Angels protect you and Mhadei on your rounding of the Cape. Gosh, it is getting sooo close and so exciting. I'll bet you can't wait. What a wonderful milestone. I'll bet all your friends, family, and associates are so proud of you.
Take care, until later, sail safe!
Beverly Penney (US Air Force vet living in Tasmania)
Hello Commander Dilip
Great to finally again hear from you and know you are fine.Wishing you all the Best on rounding the Horn.And for you to ahve soem rest.Also Mhadei needs a repair.Hope you can catch up with Jessica.Please do keep us updated even though you stop at Port Stanley .Will be lookign forwards to hear from you.Also keep in touch with our Jessica.Wishign you both all the Best roundign the Horn.
Gleeson
Brisbane
Australia
Hi Admiral Didl,
good job!
Hope you can catch Jess around the horn.
We are basking in your glory.
Keep up them dodgers,
Jony the Pony
Great going and fair winds round the Horn!
Sir,
U are being very chivalrous even at sea, following the age old saying "Ladies First". Allowing Jessica to lead... Good luck to you both & Jai Hind
Hi Commander Donde,
Just wanted to add my thanks also for the update and the good and encouraging report.
I am a big football fan (American football not soccer) and your and Jessica's Cape rounding is like watching the Super Bowl in the fourth quarter, with maybe 30 seconds remaining, and the game is all tied up.
You want it decided (somebody to win), you're on the edge of your seat waiting for it to happen, but in the back of your mind the nagging feeling of having to deal with the event coming to conclusion.
I am certainly sure there are more adventures to come in the personal odyssey both of you have undertaken but rounding the Horn is the "biggie" as it has been for centuries for those who go down to the sea in ships.
Safe sailing and Godspeed.
Georgia Guy
USA
Commander Donde,
Well, does it look like there will be a traffic jam in Drake's Passage? You must not be far behind Jessica. And Jessica's old boss, John Bankart, had planned on sailing past Jess near the Cape on his way to Antarctica. Jessica's Mum and Dad will give you all a fly-over visit, so it sounds like a beehive of activity. I hope things are going well,Dilip. I'm looking forward to hearing that you're rounding Cape Horn.
From Seattle, WA, USA
SaltyDog
Hi Dilip,
Good to know you are moving steadily.
Best wishes for the rounding,
Subir.
Hey there. Hope all is well with you. l've been following you and Jessica Watson for some time and it's been a lot of fun keeping tabs on the two of you. It was grand of Jessica to call you on New years eve. I spent the night rather mundanely with family but then that was by choice. I haven't had many memorable New Years eve. When I was 23, I spent it on Times Square but usually, it was just a lot of drinking and partying most of which is hardly memorable. Looks like you a little behind Jessica and facing the same interesting conditions. I hope for the the both of your sakes that the Cape doesn't live up to its terrible reputation. Hitting the locale in the dead of summer is probably a good thing. Can you imagine what it must be like where you are in say July? That would be a fine time to be is say Goa! Cheers and happy sailing.
Hi there, been following your progress for a while now (thanks to Jess) and after all the talk of the plane up above, I bet you're hoping for more than a wave from Mr & Mrs Watson ... here's hoping that a delicious dollop of something nice falls from the sky. Take care & safe sailing as you achieve your dream.
(Melbourne)
Cdr Donde, hello from in Tasmania. WOW, things are really starting to get exciting. Where are you now in relation to the Cape? Are you moving at all or just hanging around? You better answer some of these questions. I feel like you are an old friend (ha, I'm the "old" one) so I can sorta, kinda tell,ask,plead for you to update us more as you are getting closer. We are all dying out here in land-lubber land waiting to hear from either you or Jessica.
Now here are the unofficial, hopeful plans, Jessica, we know is closer. She starts the rounding, her parents do a pass over in a private plane and you are close enough they will probably come flying to you and dip their wings, then Jessica's old boss is going on his way to Antarctica so he is in the vicinity to wave to you and Jessica and possibly the parents.
Then there is the biggey - a possible fly-by by the RAF jets that are stationed in the Falklands. They are only allowed to fly within a 100-mile radius of the island so Jessica has to get that close for them to do a fly-by.
As an ex-US Air Force veteran, I know and respect the significance of a fly-by but this is even from another country, albeit England, but Jessica is Aussie, you are Indian, and they are British. A fly-by, which is in the making as the pilots are already talking to Jessica's management team, is one of the proudest events to happen to anybody--let alone, a 16 year old girl from another country and a Navy diver from another country. How very special that is. My heart goes in my throat whenever I even think about it, let alone talk about it.
I am so PROUD of both of you I wish I could just run up and give you a great big hug when you get to Port Stanley, but of course, I'm in Tasmania so that is impossible. But my thoughts are with you both.
Please be safe, clip on (even Subir said that so you have to listen), eat warm meals if you have time to cook (we don't know your weather situation right now) so don't know if it's too bumpy, rest if possible with your shonky equipment that is playing up and GO FOR IT. You are soooo close, I get excited for you just thinking about it.
God be with you and His Legions of Angels are all around you and Mhadei guiding you safely and surely to the Cape. {{{HUGS}}} Beverly Penney in Tasmania
Dear Commander Dhonde,
we in Mumbai have been following your small steps towards the circumnavigation very keenly.
Reading your blog day in and day out gives me strength and belief that I will be able to do it one day myself. As you probably already know that my dream is also to sail the vendee globe once in my life and watching an indian sail around the world is one of the most encouraging signs.
we met the sports minister of maharashtra today and told him about your progress...
hope you a safe journey ahead... and to close it with
"they say seafarers lack dreams, and that makes up for their extraordinary courage..." I say we dare to dream, and we have the courage to make them true...
all the best...
do strip and send in some "nanga" photos when you reach the HORN... :)
all the best and more importantly enjoy your sail.
Gaurav Shinde
Mumbai
gaurav.p.shinde@gmail.com
Hi Dilip,
Just read Jesse's blog and read that you are already rounding the Cape and are heading to Falklands to sort your steering problems out ahead of Jesse.
WELL DONE Dilip. Give yourself a big pat on the back for all that you have achieved, ALL BY YOURSELF.
I wish you well in your next port of call and enjoy a little well deserved rest before you set sail again.
Keep warm and safe. Kindest regards. Jan (Auckland, New Zealand)
For everyone who's following Commander Dilip Donde (is it okay to call you Dilip?), here is an article and video from sailworld about his reaching the Falklands.
http://www.sail-world.com/Australia/Indian-solo-sailor-in-the-Falklands-and-past-the-halfway/65497
Susan in Oregon
Here's to the day you make it back to India for a Grand Welcome at the Gateway of India. It will be a Welcome to rival the ones for Queen Victoria and Mahatma Gandhi.
Let us know the expected date so some of us can plan to be in Bombay ( Mumbai) on that auspicious historic day.
Hi Dilip, How about some pictures of your boat?
Lovely pics Dilip. Your words reflect you are relaxed and ready for the next stage, whenever it commences. Glad to hear Mhadei is getting her due care. All the best...
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