The spiteful wit of the weather

Position 25d 33m S, 24d 36m W.

[photo posted in Durban November 20th]


We have a sail called the wind seeker. It's designed for very light winds and is so frail that it can't be flown in anything stronger than 6 kts. We use it to 'threaten' the wind, i.e., if the wind has dropped and isn't filling the normal headsails and if you go to the trouble to drop them and raise the wind seeker, the here-to-fore weak winds, just to spite you, will more often then not suddenly rise to well above 6 kts.

I was thinking about this because, certainly due to my mentioning the beautiful weather yesterday, it has just poured and poured buckets for the last 24 hours just to spite me.

We don't really mind that much. If nothing else, it washes off the salt that's accumlated on the deck fittings and also rinses all the salt and grime off the exterior of our foul weather gear.

The interior of our 'oilies' is another matter. That won't be addressed until we reach Durban.

At the Helm

Position 24d 03m S, 25d 35m W.

[photo posted in Durban November 20th]


The entire fleet has hit the high pressure system everyone was trying to avoid so our 200+ mile days have dropped to 60. Even so, the weather is beautiful with cool and breezy days sun-drenched enough to be shirtless yet comfortable, and nights full of dazzling stars and fair temperatures below decks.

A few days ago, in my priveledged position of Director of Uploaded Media* I sent in a photo accompanying someone else's diary entry that highlighted the diarist but also featured me at the helm during the race start, leading the entire fleet out into the Atlantic (for the first few hours at least). I can't begin to imagine where on the Clipper Ventures web it can be found--their logic confuses me--so you'll have to dig for it yourself.

*In addition to Director of Uploaded Media, I'm also Directer of Universal MacGyver-type Maintence and Emergency Repairs, i.e., DUM and DUMMER

Leaving Brazil

Position 19d 51m S, 33d 52m W.

It's 2:30 a.m. on Saturday and we left Brazil at noon on Wednesday. Aside from the first two days there, where the intense post-race clean up and normal repair efforts were accompanied by the utterly delightful presence of my Columbian friend Claudia (a fellow hang glider pilot fluent in seven languages who'd flew from Columbia to Brazil just to share those two days with me...bless her...and also help all our crew and even the entire race organization with language issues), the rest of the stopover was an exhausting and never ending effort to prepare for the next leg. I was, therefore, content to leave.

It seemed that we only felt prepared (and just barely) late, late on the last night, mere hours before slipping our lines at 9:00 a.m. Wednesday morning. Once back on the water, it seemed almost peaceful to fall back into familiar routines. I'll have pictures of the stopover to post here once we're in Durban.

We're headed south of the direct course to Durban to avoid the high pressure systems (and therefore low winds) that typically form on what would be the shorter course. In the end, it's worth it to add a few hundred or even a thousand miles to go faster over all. It's cooler, which makes sleeping easier, so I feel rested and content. My face and arms are as tanned as possible but that might fade in the next weeks.

Ah! Finally in Brazil

We arrived in Salvador on Thursday, four days ago, and we leave again for Durban, South Africa on Wednesday, the day after tomorrow. I´d been sending updates from our boat on our extremely limited (and temperamental) boat´s e-mail system but now see that only one of the three I wrote made it to the blog, so I´ve just now manually put them in.

I think I´ve figured out the e-mail problem and can keep friends and family better informed on this next leg. Time is short today but hopefully I can get something more substantial here before we sail Wednesday morning. Suffice it to say, I am doing very well, having a great time, and am utterly pleased with our boat, crew, and skipper.

More later, I hope.

(The photo above is from an e-mail a fellow Uniquely Singapore crew member just sent to me from Singapore. It was taken last August during our our final training weeks. I was up in the mainsail...reefed, which gave me pocket to sit in... removing an old and outdated sponsor´s sticker.)

Below the equator

Position 01d 39m S, 34d 14m W. Note that the latitude is south, not north. This morning we crossed the equator. Though I've trekked back and forth across it numerous time in Ecuador, to cross it by sea for the first time is a significant thing to sailors. We escaped the doldrums two days ago and are now on a fast (10-11kts) though relatively smooth upwind tack straight to the finish in Brazil. We should arrive there on the 18th after 25 days at sea.

Heading for the doldrums

Position 09d 07m N, 26d 57m W, just north of the doldrums, headed for what we think is the narrowest part, hoping to avoid our experience near the Canary Islands (drifting in no wind for 3 days and covering what felt like only 20 miles). The wildlife has been spectacular; whales breaching only 50 yards away, daily dolphin shows, flying fish so plentiful that many strike our boat in the dark. A few have actually hit people. I knew this voyage would be hard, and it has been...quite…but I’m quite relieved to find how quickly I’ve been able to adapt.