Skippers log #38
50 30s 61 44w at 17:00 GMT with Punta 878 miles to go
I have overtaken Minuro on Shuten Dojhi and now lead him by almost 100 miles. He is really suffering with his sail damage and in light airs. He wants 30-40 knots, and in todays SSB sked, it do not matter what direction, as long as it was plenty of wind. I have 10-14 knots from the SSE and broad reaching my way north. Tomorrow I will be out of the Furious Fifties and back in the Roaring Rorties. The sea is calm and it is a lovely ride. When I get my boat speed up to 8 knots or higher, there is a new sound coming from the hull that I have not heard before. It sounds like a fly wheel racing, but it is no where near my engine, but at the mast bulkhead. I do not have a clue what it could be. Well, Cockie most likely did not survive the big storm as there has been no trace of him. I have moved back to living in the saloon and I am up and down a lot during the night and would certainly have seen it if it was still around. In my conversation with Jesse Martin on Lionheart, he was having medium strength head winds and was sailing east still. He sail it was so steady, that he was able to finish a book in one day. Neil Hunter on Palladin continues to close the Horn with less than 400 miles to go. Soon Neil, Minuro and I will be eating steaks ashore. Soon I will see sunshine. I got a report from Cape Town on the motion picture meetings. Sounds like the producer, Jerry Li, had an interesting and revealing time with my family, and he hopes to shoot a part of the picture in CT, but most of it will be in Ireland.
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Skippers log #39
47 50s 61 41w at 16:40 GMT with 828 miles to Punta
It has been a varied 24 hours. I was in the cockpit last night before sunset, just sitting. The wind was not strong and there were birds feeding. A turn was ahead and as we approached, it tried to get out of our way and become air born. It ran on the water, trying to paddle itself with its wings spread for lift, but it must have eaten so much fish, it was unable to get airborne. It kept going the same way we were going, and this went on for a few minutes before the bird ran off to the left and crashed exhaustedly back into the water. There were several large fishing vessels on the horizon. Then right at sunset, my spaed dropped from 7 knots to 2 knots, but the wind was still the same. I felt a change in the motion of the boat straight way, and thought that I had picked up a fishing trap. Nothing could be seen, but there was definitely something holding me back. Eventually after trying to take the boat, I realized I had picked up a huge chunk of kelp around the keel. I got out my boat hook trying to snag it so that I could drag it free, and promptly my boat hook broke in half with the hook floating off and I unable to retrieve it. I spent two hours maneuvering trying to get free. All the time I thought about an e-mail I got from the children at Cainhoy Middle school saying never give up. Well, it kept me fueled through that challenging task. I had also heard from Cainhoy Elementary school. These are two rural schools near Charleston. I hope that the students will realize that they do have a future, and that by working hard now at school, they are building the habits of successful individuals. Success doesn't happen, it is engineered a little bit every day, 7 days a week, and school is a part of that engineering. They are the engineers of their destiny. Today I spent a long time talking to Jesse Martin on Lionheart sharing with him how we built the No Barriers organization from nothing to where it is at present. He is young with tremendous potential. I learnt a lot building this organization, made some mistakes, but met some great people who helped make this organization into what it is today. I am encouraging him to take a similar business approach with honesty and integrity to build his own structure using his non stop voyage as the platform from which to grow. Success has no secrets. The more people who share the same interests who become successful fuel each other. The only competition is to stay away from people who by their actions are negative and destructive. We are here to help, not to keep secrets from each other. Any one willing to make the effort to learn from us, we will give them the time and support.
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Skippers log #40
45 11s 60 49w at 16:20 GMT with 669 miles to Punta
Last night I could see the lights of Cape Town. No, its not a hallucination. To my north east the skies were lit up like Table Mountain is lit up, and yes, it appeared like I could see all the way across the Atlantic. The lights were the bright halogen deck lights of what I counted to be a fishing fleet of over 40 boats. I have never seen a fishing fleet so large. Fortunately they were spread along a north-south line, and I was inshore of them about 8 miles and passed without incident. This morning I saw one of the stern trawlers close by, with hundreds of birds circling it. I am curious what they are fishing for. With so many boats visible at one time, there must be many, many more. What chance does the fish stand with all those nets? The CD player that was given to me by Prudential Insurance Company is dead as a door nail. On the last leg it got wet and started giving trouble, but on this leg it will not even power up any longer. So it is very quiet on board with no music, and it will be a tough leg 4 helming with out the CD player. My friend Chuck Hooker asked about what I wanted for the next leg, so Chuck, a few books on tape will be great as I do have a portable tape player still alive. I am reading my last book aboard as well, so in Punta I need to get a few English books. I have been reading a few spy novels, enjoying Ludlam and Forsyth. I think I have read every Clancy he has written now. My favourite author this leg has been Wilber Smith, having read three of his earlier books. I have found a nice balance between duties on board, reading and resting. Currently a part of the No Barriers team is looking at us participating in the Cape To Rio race in January, in a bigger boat where I can take a developmental crew of sponsors and teenagers. We are discussing the concept with on sponsor already, a world wide conglomerate. For any company who is trying to develope brand awareness in South Africa, this could be a good marketing venture.
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Skippers log #41
43 48s 59 08w at 16:45 GMT with 564 miles to Punta
Late yesterday afternoon the clouds disappeared and the sun came out. The winds went light, but I did not mind as for the first time in weeks, I felt warm again. Another piece of kelp got entangled in my rudder this time, but in minutes I was free. Looking over the side, I saw the shapes of dozens of little white bodies. Floating about 10 foot down were fish, whether alive and hovering, or dead and drifting I could not distinguish. The sky remains clear. For a while in the middle of the night I sat on deck just looking at the heavens. The Southern Cross, Orion's belt...so many stars in the Milky way. Then a shooting star streaked from horizon to horizon. It must have lasted a good 10 to 12 seconds. I watched a satellite transit. Early sailors navigating these waters too have looked at the stars in awe, except they would not have seen satellites. I am starting to run out of favorite foods. Tonight I will have the last of Gwen's curries. There is one chocolate bar left. All the cookies are gone. Two liters of custard remain. It is time to get to port. Sometime Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning I will be ashore. The sooner the happier. At 16:00 today I spoke with Neil Hunter on Palladin. He had 15 miles to go to the Horn, and could see it. He was sailing in the company of dolphins. Each evening now I am able to raise Fred Chew, call sign KWS578, in Fall River Massachusetts, USA. He is a SSB land operator with whom for the last 5 years I have been in touch with on the radio. I last spoke to him a few weeks before arriving in Cape Town, so its good to have him back on board. He is a part of this event's safety net. If only now the phone worked and I could talk with Gwen. Brent Walters asked me if I am still supplying the Cape Times with up-dates, and it is yes, they get it daily.
