In early March, the SOTW team set sail bound for Europe. Following a quick first leg from Port Stanley to Uruguay with a skeleton crew, Brian returned to the UK for a break and additional team members joined Mat and Naill in Punta del Este, for the next leg to Salvador, Brasil. One of our new participants Roger is keeping us updated on the trip.
Days 1 & 2 Departure from Punta del Este, Uruguay.
There were some jobs to do on the boat before we left. Manoeuvring the boat left me on shore catching lines. I took a photo of the boat with fenders showing against the backdrop of the tower blocks of Punta del Este. Just like at home, the cleaning and hoovering still needs to be done and just like at home you can sit out in the sunshine and prepare dinner.
Of course it all changed when we left port at daybreak, in the rain. It rained a lot on that first day and as the day progressed the wind increased.
The strongest gust we spotted on the wind meter was 56 knots. That’s about 60 mph in normal speak. For someone like me who has never ventured onto the ocean in anything smaller than a Cross Channel Ferry it was a very quick education in life on the water. I was only sick twice. After a day staggering around the boat like a drunkard, banging into walls and hitting my head six times I slept like an old sea dog. Very soundly.
Just as the sky was darkening there was an interesting activity trying to catch a flying piece of rope that was out of reach so a pole was used. It was successful. Failure wasn’t an option.
Monday was a bit of a calmer day though the swell was a lot bigger now that we are out in the ocean. Wonderfully the sky was blue. We could pay out the hydrophone that is towed 400 metres behind to listen for whales. Every fifteen minutes listening for two minutes creates a very rigid routine.
For the sailing people, we are running on the genoa (the front sail) and making about six knots bound for Salvador, Brasil.
Day 3. 20 March. Bound for Salvador
The stove in the galley is mounted on gimbals so that as the boat heels the cooking pots do not slide all over the hot rings. It works well. Or at least most of the time. Last night the swell was maybe 4 metres and the boat was heeling at times 30 degrees. The amount of travel on the stove was not enough. And what was the consequence of this? Well the vegetable quiche mixture spilled over the side of the dish in the oven and out of the bottom. The cook claimed that the housing under the cooker was now cleaner than it had been before.
This morning I awoke to a much calmer sea and the wind had dropped to only two knots. It was an opportunity to mend one of the tracks on the mainsail.
I was down in the galley when the only whale sighting of the day was made.
Oh well, maybe tomorrow.
On a sunny day there is nothing better than to sit in the cockpit with a cup of tea and learn a few more knots. Who knows when you will need them.
We launched a trawl over the stern for half an hour to gather things from the surface. The aim is to find out how much plastic there is in different places. Sad to say, we found some bits of plastic. Jack also spotted a plastic bag floating in the water as we sailed past it.
If you want to see what the wind is doing in the South Atlantic and the size of the task of the navigator in steering a course that takes you to the most favourable wind direction then have a look at HYPERLINK “http://www.windy.com” www.windy.com.
Day 04. 21 March
Towing hydrophones behind the boat is a good idea. You can hear underwater sounds made by whales. The listening is carried out automatically by one of the computers and also every 15 minutes by a human. I think this is probably the second-best job in the world. The cockpit of a boat in the warm and sunny South Atlantic is a wonderful place to have your office.
It was a fairly calm night or perhaps I am just becoming accustomed to the rolling and swaying of every flat surface.
Time is beginning to take on a different tempo. A morning cup of tea in bed always used to be a luxury. Nowadays a morning cup of tea is taken in the cockpit whilst gazing out over the ocean and marvelling at another blue-sky morning. I only wish the seats were a bit more comfortable. Perhaps I should have brought my padded cycling shorts with me.
Huge quantities of food are cooked for dinner every day. A meal is not a success unless there are left overs. These are usually finished off for lunch the following day.
There is a squall approaching from behind this afternoon. We are running downwind and the dark cloud is bearing down slowly but surely. We are expecting a strong wind period. Last night in the early hours and in the dark the wind increased suddenly and the mainsail was lowered. It was a time of a lot of noise, shouting to each other above the flapping of the sails. As I am not part of the ‘real’ crew I was able to lie in my bunk and listen to the action two metres above my head.
The squall came to little. Just a short period of rain and then the wind dropped.
Roger.
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