Skippers log #28
52 31s 84 32w at 00:30 GMT with 638 miles to Cape Horn
I should be at the corner in about 4 days time. I am now counting getting there in hours no long days and weeks. Conditions have been ideal for being down here this far south. I just hope it all holds a few more days. I am holding my own again Minuro still, and hope to close the gap. He should be getting into lighter winds nearer the Horn. My entire adult life has revolved around arriving at this land mark, and the excitement is building. I wish Cockie would come and join the celebrations going on board. Larry sent me some new ideas to try on getting the heater working, while the boots that Ann Hacket gave me are keeping my feet dry. I have dived into the socks from Springfield Elementary school, wearing two pairs, and the on top of that at night my "slippers". The torn genoa started fouling up in the pulpits on the bow, so I have had to take a knife to it and cut the foot of the sail away. Conditions are not light enough to attempt lowering the sails and re-hoisting the spectra genoa by myself. I am looking at the option of finding a calm bay at the Horn to do this work. Many of my friends have sent e-mail via Gwen and Diane. It always gives me a boost to hear from you. To Rosie Coyne in Ireland, who shared this dream with me many years ago before I met Gwen, "I am nearly there." When the Kiwi's won the Americas Cup, they had a slogan, "one boat...3 million crew." Well, we have modified their slogan somewhat to fit this campaign, "One boat, five nations crewing." Yes, 5 nations in one way or another are involved with what we are doing...South Africa, USA, Ireland, New Zealand, Great Britain, three of which I see has home.
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Skippers log #29
52 53s 80 16w at 09:00 GMT with the Horn 492 miles to go.
We are getting there. The winds have gone SSW and blowing between 30-40 knots. I am making a course pretty much straight for the Horn, but the weather forecast is not good again. It changes daily. I am hoping that I can get south of my rumb line to keep my options open. I am running with just a staysail set as its too rough for a mainsail. I would make better progress with a genoa, but the torn genoa is still on the Profurl Roller Furler. We will look at options in 48 hours time. One is to tuck into a bay on the East side of the Horn if the weather is favorable. Another is to wait for a calm day. There is also the option of the Falkland Islands, but that takes me out of my way a bit. In one of the squalls at dawn this morning, I tore the top batten pocket in the mainsail with the Phillips Industrial Services and the Netcare logo, right above the Phillips Industrial Services top logo. The batten came out, so it will cause the sail to flap a bit when I next use it. I am trying to find out if there is a sail loft in Punta where I can get my rags stitched. Today's good news is Gwen got confirmation that we will be travelling to near Chicago on June 4 where I will be the guest speaker at the Rotary Regional Convention. I am excited about this, as we will meet some wonderful people. The theme of the conference is "realizing your Rotary Goal". It is going to be a busy year on the speaking circuit for me and a lot more travelling ahead. This time it will be by air.
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Skippers log #30
54 32s 77 30w at 17:45 GMT Cape Horn is 362 miles away.
I estimate about 52-55 hours to Cape Horn. The wind is holding, I am still sailing with three reefs in the main, but I have a full genoa set. Conditions eased off a bit this afternoon to lower the sails on the roller furler. In the process, first my favorite Guy Cotten cap got whipped off my head by the flapping sails. Then the torn genoa ended up in the water and I had to battle to retrieve it. It scooped up water, grew incredibly heavy and slowed the boat down even more. I was sailing with just the mainsail set. My fingers ached as I clawed at the canvass. It was a job which could not be done with gloves, and it was cold, making the pain worst. Plus my ears were freezing. But hard work generates heat, so after a while, huffing and heaving, I retrieved the sail, and managed to stuff it down the forward hatch, tearing it more. That sail is to be trashed, and I need to look at my budgets to see if we can afford to buy another. With the spectra genoa on the deck as well, I got out the needle and thread and be taped up the two worst tears, then set about stitching it. It was no easy task on the rolling foredeck. My fingers were numb and too many times to remember, I pricked my fingers. But during all that effort, I was thinking how fortunate I am to be able to do this task. Here I am, close to Cape Horn, living my dream. Last night I got an e-mail from Linda Aylan, the wife of Tony Aylan who works for Netcare in their Wynberg hospital very close to where I grew up. I met Tony at one of the functions Netcare put on for me. Tony was a keen sailor. He used to go out on the fishing boats out of Kalk Bay, where as a boy I used to fish and dream of my own boat one day. Well, last night I learnt that Tony has cancer, but that he is not giving up on his will to heal and live. So sitting on the foredeck, cold, working away, I was thinking of Tony who reminded me that life is very fragile and we must make the most of every minute we have. If he can fight to live, I can repair a sail by hand. So we are back up doing 7-8 knots with the spectra genoa set, and I hope Tony is feeling better.