Skipper's Log #41
31 58S 11 45W at 19:45 GMT
The gale resumed again before down and has lasted all day. The winds started out of the North, but slowly the winds have come into the NW and have eased. The barometer fell, but now is steady. We have set a new passage record of 186 miles in the last 24 hours, with now 1525 miles left to Cape Town, and on a more direct course, though still going south of the destination. I felt poorly today. A touch of seasickness, heavy head, acid build up in my tummy. Not a nice way to feel, but all things come and pass. Just another of the many experiences that this trip brings. Neil Hunter and Robin Davies have been coming up on the radio skeds, which are morning and evening. It offers a nice distraction to catch up with them. Today I listened to a book on tape. Tomorrow I will listen to one I have heard already. I am tending to leave the Prudential CD player on around the clock just to subdue the shrilling cries in the rigging. I put the cover over the hatch to keep the wet out and the heat in. My friend Ken Bonerigo made a great hard dodger 4 years ago, and today I was really pleased that he had done so. It rained all day, and I stayed in my rack. Well, it time to file a voice report with Quokka sport, talk to the boys, and call Gwen.
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Skipper's Log #42
32 55S 09 14W at 19:30 GMT
Last night was exhilarating sailing. The winds were very fresh. We were surfing up to the maximum of 14 knots, but our average speed remained close to 8 knots. At about 2 am GMT, conditions eased off rapid when the cold front came through with its deluge of water. It must have rained solidly for 90 minutes. I was considering the idea of a shower, but it was cold and I was in no mood for fighting hypothermia. After the front passed through, the wind direction changed and I had to tack the boat over. That was a welcome relief, as it is the first tack since three days after the equator, about 15 days ago and over 2,000 miles last. Soon there after the wind died away and we drifted till sunrise going nowhere. I hung every piece of sail I could. The early morning did bring some SW breeze. It also brought sunshine, which has been lacking for five days. I used the opportunity to run the broken reef line, retire the second reef and service a winch. I had to climb out onto the end of the boom to put the first reef back, a prospect I did not enjoy. Fortunately there was enough wind to keep the boom from flogging and tossing me into the water. I got this exercise on video. To celebrate, I cooked a huge meal of potatoes. Some I made potato salad with, the rest I deep fried. So with a full belly, I am running dead downwind with the Phillips Industrial Services mainsail out one side and the genoa pole out on the other side, and the Prudential CD player blearing away. Tonight I will sleep in a dry blanket, and rest my head on a dry pillow, as I put them out to air. Tomorrow, I am going to open the time capsule and see what all is in it, and read the children's mail.
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Skipper's Log #43
34 00s 06 19w at 20:00 GMT
Last night I had to put two reefs in the mainsail, and shorten up to half a genoa, as I surfed downwind, with the headsail poled out to one, side and the Phillips Industrail Services main on the other side. I cranked up the Prudential CD player, to drown out the shrieking wind, as I surfed up to 12 knots, the boat swaying from side to side like a drunken sailor. A front came through, with it rain. Things eased off after that, and by sunrise I was back up to full sail. The sunrise was incredible this morning. It was a clear red cannon ball rising out from under the horizon. I went to bed at that point, planning to be awake about 9 am GMT to turn on the phone, as I was expecting a radio interview. It was the beginning of a frustrating day. I over slept, sailed off course 10 miles. The call did come, but the satellite reception was so poor, we could not complete the interview. Then I started getting electronic troubles. The power to my computer is intermittent and I could not fire up the computer. My instruments died and I tried to resurrrect them, but could only get a part of the system working. It is a job for port. A few days ago I broke a bolt on my chainplate, and finally I found the spare bolt and was able to install it. While doing that, I dropped the wrench overboard. So I decided it was time to call it a day and do something that I knew would pick up my spirits. I started by listening to the book on tape, "Into Thin Air", the fateful 1996 Everest Expedition. Each day I enjoy 30 minutes and expect to listen to the last of it as I sail into Table Bay. I am at the point where the South African Everest Expedition has told the other teams to "Go to hell." The team leaders were trying to coordinate the final onslaught, and the South African team refused to cooperate. Sad! With 30 minutes up, I took out the time capsule and read some of the letters from the children at Springfield and Midland Park Elementary Schools. The letters are incredible. The children quickly picked up my spirits. I dove deeper into the capsule to see what else there is. From Cainhoy Elementary School is a gift for the children of South Africa. You will just have to wait till I get to port and present it, to know what it is. I have decided that I would like a student from my high school, Livingstone, to accept it on behalf of the youth of South Africa, and the gift will be displayed at Livingstone. I guess I am biased toward my school, but in our school's song, there were lines sung that no mountain is too high or ocean too wide to cross. That song is about having a no barriers attitude, and through the teachings of the school and my parents, I grew to be who I am. I now need to think about the criteria for this person to represent our country to help with this reception. Then, really to pick me up, I had a great e-mail from Dr. Katrina Lewis, a close friend, and Gwen. Now I am going to have one of Gwen's soups and Russian tea to end the day.
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Skipper's Log #44
34 00s 03 55w at 19:30 GMT
I am struggling to keep power to my laptop computer. The head winds are back, and progress is slow. I have nearly caught up to Robin Davies and his rudderless South Carolina. Each evening after the logs are sent out, we are able to talk. He is having a tough race, especially now with the head winds. But this race is about people with courage, who keep going even when the chips are down and gear is breaking. If our youth can learn that courage is one of the greatest values we can have, and couple it with persistence and a sense of definite purpose, then success will come. So many people quit when the going gets tough, some quit just fractions of millimeters away from success, and never knew how close they came. Listening to "Into Thin Air", sailing a boat around the world is easier than scaling Mount Everest. But so many people never leave their neighborhood and don't know that there is a great world out here. This morning I tacked after sailing for a while to the northeast. I managed to have an interview with Radio Good Hope today. I will be doing a daily interview with them from now on that goes out about 1:10 pm. I was later informed that the inverview was heard by more than half a million people. It looks like Cape Town is going to be a major publicity hub for our campaign. With plans to have some of the countries leaders out sailing, (Leadership from the Cabinet to students), presentations and appearances, it is going to be a hectic stop over, starting hopefully some time late next week. One of the tasks that must be accomplished before I leave port, is that we must find a communications sponsor. I have had to turn down radio interviews that could reach large numbers of people because I do not have the budget. What I really want to do is talk to our schools daily, and use the radio media to motivate people whom I normally can't reach. Being a sailor demands so many additional skills. We must be life long learners, if we are to advance in today's world. Now I better return and learn how I am going to get power to this computer.
