It blew through yesterday and night building up big seas and keeping Mhadei's crew on tenterhooks with the steering groaning. By morning the wind had come down, the swell reduced marginally and we were moving well again. At the end of my tether with the groaning of the steering, took a can of WD 40 and sprayed it in every nook and cranny of the steering system without any conviction that it will work. An hour later I was so happy to have been proven wrong! No more groaning! Not sure what exactly was the problem but the solution seems to have worked which is all that matters!
The weather forecast is predicting another gale in the next couple of hours so waiting and watching the wind. It is really cold now with the temperature dropping below 4 deg C at night and not much better in day time thanks to an overcast sky.
53 comments:
So pleased to know you are ok! WD40 is amazing for all sorts of problems.
Stay safe
Margaret
Cooroy, Queensland
Captain Donde,
Glad to hear from you, I was getting worried!! I guess you're hitting the same nasty stuff Jesse is. How do you keep warm at night at that temperature? Do you have a heater or do you just bundle up? What's your estimate until you pass Jesse and head into Drake Passage?
Hey Dilip,
I see you are bearing down on Jesse, you look to be within 160 NM of her at this moment, give or take a couple of days I think your going to be crossing paths, waitng to see what happens...
You've definitely got a faster boat there!
Take Care...WB40's good stuff!
Cheers
Clint - Melbourne
Hey Dilip,
Wish you a Happy and Warm New Year!
We are sure that with the backing of all the well wishers around the world you will overcome all obstacles in your path.
Very soon you are going to be back in Mumbai… looking at the sea while sipping coffee from the warmth of a cozy chair, till then…
Safe sailing and God speed!
Deolekar family, Mumbai
Hi Captain,
It was real pleasently surprising to see the blog. I am rupesh samant, a journalist working for PTI news agency and had covered your maiden venture from Goa... All the best.. Proud of you.. Happy New Year!
Rupesh Samant, Goa, India
Dear Donde sir,
glad to know you are fine and making good speed as well. All our attention is on you.
Please take care and wishing you to get over this rough patch earliest.
Regards --- PA KUMAR
Captain, nice to see ur blog....like others I was also bit worried, but nothing was in the newspaper so was little bit in piece.....I am sure you will make it....whenever u get time...write atleast 1 liner if not more...the other day Jessica put few pics...was really very refreshing......Good luck to you for better tommorow...Ranen San Antonio Tx
Hi Dilip,
Glad you are taking all this pesky stuff in your stride ! Yes, WD40 is a miracle worker although sometimes it may take a few minutes to penetrate some of the seemingly impenetrable areas.
Great to see the progress you have made and thanks as always for the update.
Good luck
Jonathan
Melbourne, Australia
Hi Admiral,
good to herar you are handling with the gales quite well.
I think it is worthwhile to have a fast ship, so you can get through the rough part in les time.
If you see Jess, please say hello to her!
Hope you also got some albertos and dolfens as company.
Keep up them dodgers!
Jony the Pony
Cdr Donde, Beverly here in Tasmania. You sure seem to be drawing all the negative vibes out of the atmosphere and they seem to be landing on your Mhadei. I'm sorry you are having such troubles. But yep, WD40 is wonderful - even women know that!!
From your "splash bath" to more coming, I hope you are tethered on and clipped on and everything else on. Do you go below during the storms or with your autopilot problem do you have to stay uptop and steer all the time? That would be really next to awful I think. How would one stand the beating from the ocean for hours at a time?
Do you have a diesel heater in the cabin as Jessica does? I hope you both can stay warm. With those temperatures you really have to watch for hypothermia. Please, please be very careful. No voyage is worth your life or health problems from it. Just please rug up, go down below, tether on, get a good book (well, it might be hard to read bouncing around in the swells and wind) but do keep warm. Drink plenty of warm drinks, tea is amazing as you know, but then you have the other problem from the tea, and it's pretty cold out, LOL.
Know that God is with you and will protect you. You are in my prayers for safety, warm, peace & clarity of mind. Thank you for being there for us "landlubbers" to live vicariously through you. I have a tiny 15' run-about, nothing like you and Jessica have but I think I wouldn't even want wind on the River Derwent here at my house. Just give me a still, sunny day to lounge about. I guess that is what you would like too. Maybe at Port Stanley you will get some R&R and your boat will get some repairs that are badly needed.
Take care and please be safe. Call Jessica when you guys are in the middle of the gale and maybe that will comfort both of you, although, with her being just 16yo, she may need it a bit more than you do. Take care of our Jess for us will you?
Fair winds and following seas, respectfully yours, Beverly & Andrew Penney, Bridgewater, Tasmania. HipHipHooray 2010 is her to stay!
Hi Dilip,
glad the WD40 worked, it's great stuff eh!
How far from Jess are you now?
Stay safe & warm. X.
Captain Donde
All the best into the new Year
I pray you and Jessica get Good weather and both of you finish your Trip safetly back home Take care and God Speed to both of you.
Gleeson
Brisbane
QLD
At least the latest annoyance is sound and not a cold splash of water. Stay warm in those cold temperatures.
Scott, Denver, Colorado, USA
Hi Dilip,
Good news that you survived the storm well. WD40 is magic, isn't it? Thanks for taking the time between storms to do a little blog. That is rather chilly weather you're in. I expect with the wind chill factor it is pretty well freezing. I hope you've not taken any more icy baths!
You can't be all that far from Jesse! Maybe you'll run into her old friend who is going to be in the neighbourhood. Seems like the cape is getting a bit crowded!
Stay safe, warm and dry if possible. Good luck with the next storm.
Fingers crossed it will give you a good nudge in the right direction without causing you any frights.
Toni
Hi Dilip,
Glad you have survived the storm and hope the gale you were talking about has passed without incident.
Good old WD40 marvelous what it fixes.
Keep rugged up and an eye out for Jesse
Keep safe,
Joy
Ballarat
Australia
Hi Dilip,
I really enjoy your posts. Good luck with those pesky gales.
Chloe
Captain Donde, got duct tape? smile Good Luck!
Captain , stay strong
WD40 and Duct Tape will solve many problems
Hi Sir Dilip,
Say Hi to Jessica for me if you able to reach her more closer.
Good Luck!
Hello Commander Donde,
I totally understand how, when being cooped up in a small confined space (your boat cabin) a persistent noise such as a squeaking steering line could drive you straight up the wall. It's enough to make you start throwing things.
Glad WD 40 came to the rescue. You know, of course, and as others have observed, the entire universe is held together with duck tape and it moves through the cosmos lubricated by WD 40. Ancient prophecy told us this.
Safe sailing and Godspeed.
Georgia Guy
USA
I trust you clip in. Well done on your repair efforts. Good to hear they weren't in 'vane'. (Hey didn't WD40 sing 'Red Red Wine'?)
In the words of Nike, just do it ( or as Tiger Woods would say, just did it!!!)
Big swell, big wind, big heart. Hang tough for the passage and beyond.
Regards
CHRISTO
PERTH, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Hello Dilip,
out of one and into another. Cape Horn is certainly living up to its infamous reputation and testing your endurance to the limit. I have no doubts at all you will get thru this one as well, but hope you don't have to spend too much time on deck due to loss of auto-pilots. Sounds like even Mhadei is straining under the pressure.
I wonder if you are experiencing the same conditions as Jesse as you are very close to one another. In her last blog 'Jan2 7:49pm' she said it will be the last time we'll hear from her for awhile. News from her support team indicated she performed admirably but nothing to suggest she was out of it. So I guess she is still amid the kaos.
Anyway Dilip, keep the spirit up as your goal for this leg is within sight. May you Mhadei and your crew arrive safely at Port Stanley. The sun will shine again as they say.
Ben (Qld)
01-04-10 @ 08:29
Hi Dilip,
Well, if it was groaning there must have been an area of friction, and the WD40 cured it. I hope it was as simple as that. At least you got some comfort of not having to listen to the noise. Do you have a good supply of WD40?? Some one will say you should ignore it, but you know, the harder you try to ignore it the louder it will get.
Hope it all holds together for you.
Where would man be today without WD40 and Duct tape???
Good luck to you Dilip, I’ll keep you in my prayers.
Michael(74)from Kingwood, WV (USA)
Happy New Year Cdr Dilip Donde!
Wishing you better luck, better weather and no more mechanical problems :-)
Fair thee well
Mike D
Philadelphia, PA, USA
hi dilip,
nobody's ever got a problem with their windvane, so what's wrong with yours?
may your winds be steady, and your windvane be strong...
Good old WD-40, love that stuff. Like other people I to was wondering when you and Jessica will be close to each other. I just told her maybe you will round Cape Horn at the same time. Keep the blogs coming when you have time. Good sailing and fair winds. Bob in Tucson
नमस्ते Dilip,
A few more days and you can downgrade from WD40 to WD15 or even WD10!
That is wind speeds of course.
Keep warm, be safe
नमस्कार
Greetings,
I'm hoping I didn't add my last message to you to one of your much older posts, or to Jesse's accidentally. With her blog I've gotten used to not checking to see if the post is successful since it doesn't show up right away, so didn't think to check my posting on yours until later.
So I'll just say again in case it was completely unsuccessful rather than just miss-posted, that you are doing a great job staying on top of all that wind & water-wear.
Thanks for keeping us posted.
Stay warm and safe!
Tracie
Hi Dilip,
I was amused to read that WD40 was so useful. I had thought it was only useful to people like me who don't know how to fix a thing :-) Good luck and safe sailing!
Vaishali.
Hi Dilip,
I'm very glad to see WD40 is an essential piece of equipment for solo circumnavigators as well as us mere short haul sailors! It's funny, isn't it, how a relentlessly repeating groan or creak can become the stuff of nightmares! I'm so glad the WD40 did the trick and allowed your sanity to prevail!
Fair winds!!
Jim @sailsim
Dear Commander Donde
Sorry to hear about your continued trials with the steering.
I wouldn't presume to tell you anything about sailing, but I am wondering if there is anything you can do with sail trim to help the boat sail itself without so much stress on the rudder. Even if you have to slow down a little and reach off a bit it would be better then breaking the steering. Do you have anything you can drag behind to help keep the boat in line?
Now, I know that you are thinking, I am just trying to slow you down so overtake Jessica so fast, but really I am just trying to be helpful. HAHAHA
Stay safe out there. We are all sending you warm thoughts.
Dan
Portland, Oregon, USA
Hi Dilip,
Great to hear that you are okay. Thanks to WD 40 :-). Constant creaking like that would get to anyone after while. It's great you managed to solve the problem. I've been thinking about you and wondering how you were getting on with all your little challenges you have had to contend with at the moment.
I guess you are moving closer to Jesse in that faster yacht of yours.
I hope that the seas are kind to you and don't give you another drenching like the other day. It's a bit too chilly to have that happen again. At least you knew what to do straight away to get warm again.
Take care and wishing you safe sailing. Jan (Auckland, New Zealand)
Glad to hear you ok, keep the spirits up and keep warm, take care, Lesley from Australia
Hi Dilip
Well what an adventure you are having, and glad to know that you are carrying all the essentials in your tool kit (WD40) for a successful around the world voyage.
Stay safe and Good Luck
From Faye and Max (Mulgrave, Vic, Aus.)
Hi Dilip.Deleted my comment will have another try.... it didn't make sense LOL. Jesse is having some minor problems too and sounds like you are both in the same bad weather patch. Will be interesting to see you both cross paths.Wonder if you'll see each other? Probably not the ocean is such a vast body of water.
Oh well wave anyway when you calculate you are passing her. Safe sailing
Hello, Cdr.D,
Wishing you safety, warmth and improving hours ahead re: the weather and mechanical challenges.
I'm holding you in the light of all blessings.
Mary, Maine, USA
Hi,
Even during a hang gliding course I happened to be part off, WD 40 was an all time saviour. Brave to WD 40.
Watch out for the gale, read about it on Jessica's post - must be the same one. Take care. Best wishes,
Subir.
I see by the way your having a bite of trouble'in times out there my friend, but nothing quite like jess has been going through tho yet'.. she's with out warmth, and a few other things that have gone bad on her as well. I am sure that the two of you will seek out your trouble's and fine ways to conter act on them.. it's all apart of the sea... you either deal with it or it will take you... so hang on fro the ride.. make due with what you have... keep safe... an don't forget to pray...
God Speed.....
JOHN GLENN SHEPPARD USA
Hi Dilip,
Good to hear that all is well from you.
We'll keep checking for your latest blog.
Best wishes,
The McGraths, Nowra NSW Australia
Good morning Cdr Donde,
Hope things are doing well for you, how are you dealing with the cold weather? Jess is having problems with her diesel heater, hopefully you both will be able to go around the Horn as soon as possible.
God bless,
Marina
Ha ha - you'll never go wrong with WD40! Thinking of you and wishing you well.
AB
Hello, hello, hello! Beverly here in Tasmania. Just wanted to say Hello! How are things going with you now? Is there any chance of you getting the auto pilot fixed before Port Stanley or do you just have to do without it? That would and is such a shame. I hate to think of you having to go in and out of your cabin to reset the wind vane, and work sails, and just stand there and steer, with all chances of getting drenched again. I just told Jessica, dry and cold is one thing, wet and cold is an altogether different ball of wax.
How do you heat your cabin? Jess said her diesel heater is just blowing cold air. If you have any thoughts maybe you could give her a buzz and walk her through fixing it if possible. Ha, just read that again and sounds like I think you guys are just a block away in the city somewhere where you can just pick up the phone and call each other. Silly me!
Well Sir, just wanted to touch base with you to let you know that I think about you a lot and am praying for your health, warmth, and safety (and sanity, but WD40 took care of that). God Bless You and keep you in His care.
Beverly & Andrew Penney, Bridgewater, Tasmania, workerbev@yahoo.com
Fair winds and calm seas
"BEGIN AGAIN IN 2010"
Hello Commodore Dilip,
It is good to read that Mhadei and her crew are doing well.
In the area where you are, it is just ormal to have many gales, and you are lucky to have at least one gal (Jesse).
If you had stayed in India, you would have maybe one gale, but many gals (with your respect)...
That's all about travelling... As we say in France, travels suit young people but make suits old.
Have a good Horn rounding, Stanley is waiting for you!
Hi Dilip,
Being behind Jesse, it looks like you've been caught up in the more major parts of the gales down there, while she has remained more on the outskirts of them. May you get some reprieve from the elements with the equipment problems you're having.
Varuna, Poseidon, and Neptune be with you
Commander Donde,
May I call you Dilip? Happy New Year. This is the first time that I have posted here.
I have been keeping up with Jessica since her departure from Sydney last October 18.
It was from her blog that I suddenly found myself following your blog as well. Needless to say I am fascinated by what both of you have set out to accomplish albeit in a different way.
Needless to say, I have great admiration for both of you. I don't think I could ever brave such an adventure so, cudos to you!
The sheared bolts that you mentioned before have piqued my curiosity. I used to be a mechanic and during all those years I found that the culprit for sheared bolts was use of inferior parts. I would suggest when those bolts are replaced to hold the motor that they
use hardened bolts of the highest tensile strength possible.
Happy that you put WD40 to good use.
Wishing you Godspeed, safe sailing and fair winds.
Keeping you and Jessica in my prayers.
Leon
Indiana USA
Hey Dilip, wish you a very happy 2010!
Good luck to you Dilip, smooth and safe sailing to you! May this particular passage be not too difficult for you and your ship!
Pipefish, California, Usa
Hi,
Having learnt last evening that a gale is headed yours and Jessica’s way and seeing no post, as yet today from both of you, has left me worried. Trust that both of you have not been hit too badly. What's a small gale for two brave warriors. In fact, I can hear the gales around you saying "Let's get lost - Jessica and Dilip are headed our way". Do leave a post as soon as you can.
Best of luck, Take good care, Varuna watches over you.
Subir.
Hi Dilip,
The sheared bolts reminds one about the horse-shoe nail. Small things often casue the most trouble. Second the comment about using the best quality bolts / fastners.
Will await your next post to know how badly the gale was hit by Dilip and Jessica.
Take Care,
Subir.
Hello Dilip
Firstly I would like to wish you a belated Happy New Year.
Secondly I would like to wish you safe passage and pray you are guided safely and reasonably comfortably through your journey.
You certainly have experienced some dramas and I hope you can recalibrate your autopilots. (maybe duct tape and WD40 might help) sorry a little senseless humour.
Take care and fair winds.
Regards
Evie from Bendigo
wd40 came from gd in san dieco Ca USA
Hi Dilip,
A very happy new year. Kochi gang is in awe with your progress. Glad to know the wind has reduced to allow you some time to tweek things up. All the best from all of us. Incidently 75th has added another ribbon as of the 1st though you are well above these mundane issues. take care and safe sailing
Vikram
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