Over 5000 Miles Sailed 225 to go!

Looks like we are close to Fremantle finally! While 225 miles is almost the distance between Mumabi & Goa, after 5000 miles it does seem close! The wind continues to play its games so still not sure about the time it will take but two more days should be a fair guess. If the wind holds tonight this will be the last quite night before reaching as by tomorrow we should start encountering some traffic and would mean keeping a watch to avoid collision. Didn't write anything for the last two days. While the main reason was pure laziness, there was also little happening with light and shifty winds, an overcast sky and a feeling of heading nowhere! Kept myself entertained watching old Holywood moves so thoughtfully stocked by my crew Lt Cdr Abhilash Tomy. While I am enjoying my vacation on the boat the poor chap is running around from pillar to post in Delhi getting his deputation arranged for joining me in Fremantle as the support crew. The plan was for him to be present before we arrived so that things could be tied up better, but looks like we will beat him to it! The boat builder, Ratnakar is leaving aside his business and planning to drop by to get the boat ready for the next leg, which is when me and Mhadei will have our first brush with the Roaring Forties. So far it has been smooth sailing but things will get serious once we enter the Southern Ocean.         

     As I write, the Sun would be crossing the Equator and entering the Southern Hemisphere. It is the Autumnal Equinox today, the beginning of summer in this part of the world. One of the considerations for starting in Aug from Mumbai was to get maximum summer time in the Southern Hemisphere and we seem to have achieved it, just a day or two late!

     Tried clicking snaps of my feathred companions, without much luck! Difficult to capture their grace on a camera. Looks like there is no substitute but being at sea to really admire them! When I started writing and uploading the photos, I was keeping an eye open at the shifty and light wind which was barely able to hold the boom from thrashing and making us sail almost 40 degrees away from Fremantle. By the time I finished writing the wind had crossed 25 kts, making me run and put a reef in the main and I am still wondering if I should have put another reef! Looks like it will not be as quite a night as I thought, not complaining though as the wind is making us head straight for our destination at a healthy 8 kts!

One month at Sea

It has been exactly a month since we left Mumbai which needless to say is a distant memory. Feels almost unreal thinking about it! There have been so many changes! For one when we left Mumbai it was so hot I couldn't wait to get my T shirt off, now I think twice before getting out of my clothes to go to the loo! The doldrums have been replaced by the "Coldrums" and the equatorial squalls by the cold fronts. We have covered over 4600 Nm so far and still need to cover about 750 Nm. Not really in a hurry, not that it would make any difference if we were, since our progress entirely depends on the winds. Good winds of 25 to 30 kts through the day with a large following sea making us do almost 90 Nm through the day. Another front passed us couple of hours back. Getting used to them now, which helps in reefing and getting ready to face them so much easier. The day was duly celebrated onboard with a "Bhelpuri Brunch"! Looks like another long night ahead with the winds regularly touching 40 kts and a large swell following us. the last time that happened, we were becalmed for the whole of next day! Lets see what tomorrow has in store for us. For now enjoying the fast progress towards destination!

Encounter with a Cold Front

We had our first encounter with a Cold Front last night. Having lived in the Tropics all my life this was my first experiece. Luckily I had read about the various stages of approach of a front in the morning so could understand what exactly was happening. I was watching a movie on the laptop late at night when suddenly the boat crash gybed with the boom slamming on the windward runner and the autopilot gave up. Realised that the wind had suddenly shifted making the boat gybe on her own. Got the boat under control, setting her on autopilot again, this time on the wind vane option to avoid any more accidental gybes. We were already sailing with one reef in the main and the Genoa, enjoying good speeds through the day. My wishful thinking that the wind shift was a one off occurence and that we will continue to enjoy steady winds came to a naught as the wind kept rising and shifting direction. By around 3 AM the wind was blowing over 35 kts with gusts of 40 kts, while backing slowly, making us head North instead of East with the boat almost out of contol! No choice but to reef, furl up the Genoa and then Gybe to get back to an Easterly course! By the time all this was over, dawn was breaking and I was desperate to get in the sleeping bag! The night had just gone by!

          My feathered visitor of yesterday had managed to get inside the boat during all this and must have been quite petrified what with me jumping around every now and then and the boat moving around changing her heel making it go skidding from one corner to another. Got the bird out at noon and helped him climb up the cockpit as sitting inside the boat, though safe, it would have starved to death. It spread its wings as if stretching itself in the sun, went to the stern and when the next wave lurched the boat, was gone! There were other birds around so couldn't make out which one was our visitor. My best guess is that it accidently landed in the boat at night instead of landing on the water and then couldn't take off as it needs space to do that. Or was it a real smart guy who sensed an approaching gale and rode it out in absolute comfort! We will never know!

Passenger on board!

Another good day of sailing! With a 25 to 30 kts of NWly breeze and 2 to 2.5 mtrs of SWly swell, Mhadei cruised along through the day clocking almost 100 Nm  since morning. If only these conditions last for the next couple of days! Though the forecast is for lighter winds for the next two days and already the wind seems to be reducing in strength. Its amazing how much difference sailing downwind makes as opposed to upwind. With similar conditions upwind we would have been slamming around as we did in the Trades, now, going downwind, anything below 20 kts is suddenly a cause for concern!

         

          This evening as I was making dinner, I heard a loud thrashing in the cockpit such as I have never heard before on the boat. After almost a month of solitude it made me jump, so left everything and took a look outside, only to find a passenger onboard! Not sure if the bird is hurt, tired or just missed water and landed onboard. Being a hospitable boat had to offer him something so in the absence of fresh fish, which I presume is its only diet, tried some dried prawns but it does not seem to be interested. Doesn't seem to be too scared of me as I discovered when I patted it a little and took these snaps. It tries to go out of the cockpit once in a while, needs a bit of help to climb up but then comes back instead of flying away. Not sure if it is unable to fly because it is hurt or it requires a running start to take off as I have seen them doing when they land on water. These type of birds have been following us for days now and we have developed an unspoken companionship so they are always welcome to hitch a ride! I think I will just let him be for the night. Will need to watch my step if I need to go out at night if the wind shifts or dies out lest I step on the poor thing. Maybe Adm Awati will be able to figure out what bird it is! 

Surprise Visitor!

Another good day with decent progress towards the destination. The 15 to 20 kts South Westerly wind made us head straight for Fremantle at a steady 7 to 8 kts through the day. Unfortunately that seems to be dying as I write. There is a Cold front couple of hundred miles to the South causing gale force winds, the swell created is rocking us nicely, unfortunately there is a huge High pressure system advancing on us from the West which will stop all wind. So we are going to have a deadly combo of swell and light winds. Really bad for the boat!

          Had a surprise visitor this morning in the form of a large fishing boat. I was on deck repairing some of the blocks that had got deformed due to the wallowing in the "Coldrums" when suddenly on the port beam saw this large fishing boat, less than 100 yards away! I had been working on the deck for over an hour, making trips to the mast etc but just didn't notice him till he was that close! It is the first ship or boat of any kind sighted since over a week and I had grown complacent about keeping a watch as there was no one to watch for nor did I expect to find anyone over 1500 Nm from the coast away from shipping lanes. Will need to start being more careful again. With the winds dying out, tonight seems to be another night of frequent trips out to take in or ease the main sheet. It is quite cold now so every time I go out I need to be dressed in warm clothes with shoes and by the time I get out of them and get in the sleeping bag it is time to go up again! What an exciting way to spend a night!

Out of the Coldrums finally!

The last three days in the High pressure system were probably the worst since we crossed the Equator! The sky used to be completely covered with clouds, no sun in sight, virtually no wind and enough swell to keep the boat rocking and the sails thrashing about. The nights were the darkest I have seen! Despite a half moon somewhere in the sky, its light just wouldn't pass the thick clouds. Difficult to sleep as either you are going up and tightening the main sail to prevent it from thrashing about or easing it as soon as you feel a whiff of wind. The autopilot would keep getting confused and start beeping every now and then leaving no option but hand steering. The auto pilot needs the boat to move to be able to steer her, once she stops moving it suddenly doesn't know what to do and starts calling your attention. Also in such light winds with swell the wind vane sensor keeps moving in all directions due to the rolling of the boat, the autopilot tries to follow it for a while and then gives up! These nil wind conditions are definitely more taxing to the boat and the crew than the blustery Trades, as I have started realising from the damage that has been inflicted on the boat in the last three days.

          Amongst all the frustations of the "Coldrums" something interesting happened late last night. It was drizzling slightly and I had stumbled out in the cockpit yet again, barely awake, to tighten the main sheet as the boom had started thrashing about. Suddenly felt as if a live 230 V wire had touched my face and I almost jumped out of my boots! How on Earth could I get a shock so strong with the whole boat wired for 24 V. Lightening? But I hadn't seen any lightening since the Equator! Fully awake by now, it slowly dawned on to me that it was static electricity! There is a small strop that keeps hanging from the end of the boom. I keep it there as it comes in handy to hold myself when the boat is healing. The strop was wet with the drizzle and had been swaying around due to the thrashing of the boom, developing a large amount of static which it promplty discharged the moment it touched my face! What a jolt!

          After the three dull days, today turned out to be an excellent day of sailing. The clouds cleared and the sun came out finally. The sea was calm, light cool westrely breeze just enough to make the boat move in the right direction and the sun just right to warm oneself sitting on the deck. It was an absolute pleasure to shed the woolens, sit in the sun and do some minor repair work. Plenty of birds around, counted atleast four different types. Its fun to watch them come and sit on the water. As they are about to land they lower their webbed feet and skid on the water almost like a waterskier. While taking off they almost start runnng on the water till they are airborne. Its a pity that it is almost impossible to capture them on camera in a moving boat.

            

Whales Ahoy!

          Yesterday was another windless yet busy day. Changed and reset some chaffed ropes in the morning, cleaned and arranged the boat a bit after the bashing of the trade winds. In the afternoon when it looked as if the wind was picking up a bit went up and as I was easing the mainsheet saw one of my worst nightmares coming true! The Padeye holding the mainsheet block had uprooted itself! This strong fitting basically attaches the boom to the boat and if it gets uprooted there is no way to control the boom which would start thrashing about causing serious damage including a possible dismasting in strong winds. Tried to tighten the padeye only to realise that two out of the four bolts attaching it to the boat had sheared off. Immediately shortened the sail and temporarily attached the boom to another padeye on the Port side. Consultations with the Boat Builder over the phone followed, with a conclusion that the only way to carryout any repairs was to cut a large hole under the Roll bar on which the padeye was attached. Sailing was stopped forthwith, the Shipwright summoned who spent the next couple of hours drilling a large enough hole in the roll bar to approach the padeye. That done the broken bolts were removed, new bolts fitted and all bolts secured with nuts to keep them in place. Thanks to Ratnakar's foresight all the necessary tools and spares were available and by midnight we were ready to sail again. The Shipwright with bruised fingers and glass fibre all over himself, with the resultant itching, had managed to do a fairly decent job and salvaged an otherwise tight situation for which he was duly awarded an "On the Spot" commendation and more importantly a hot bath past midnight!

       Another sleepless night followed in the shifty and light, often non existent, winds. Getting up and easing the main everytime the wind picked up and securing the boom to prevent it from thrashing once the bit of wind died out. We are close to a High pressure system and this is expected, the strong Westerlies lie to the South of this area. I have started calling it the "Coldrums", a colder version of the Doldrums! Thankfully the squalls are missing. The sky has been completely overcast since the last two days and it is getting colder by the day. The warm clothing is out and shoes are being worn at all times except the rare occasion when inside a sleeping bag. As I was having my morning cup of coffee Mhadei was greeted by the local residents! I counted atleast four whales who came quite close and I could hear them snorting. Thankfully they didn't want to play around with Mhadei, lost interest after giving her a lookover and went their way! Just a curtsy call perhaps!!