Good Daily Runs
25 August 2009
John
After we departed Walvis Bay, we had 20 to 25 knots of wind from the south-southwest, accompanied by a 2 to 3 metre swell out of the southwest. The wind has been giving us a good boost with good daily averages of 6.4 knots. However, the swell has made life a little "difficult", especially when our cook-of-the-day has to prepare our evening meal. Well, no meal has ended up on the floor as yet.
We have had one fishing line out but have had only caught a small Bonito, which was consumed in the form of fish cakes on Monday night with Andries doing the honours. It was his first time making fish cakes and he mastered the art quite well. Tonight we are having "Boerewors and Pap with Tomato and Onion Breedie". For the uninitiated, Boerewors is a South African sausage, mostly cooked on the coals of an open fire. Pap is maize meal which is cooked to a very thick consistency. Mmm, my mouth is watering!
As we have a new engine in the port hull, it needed it's 50 hour first service. First Mate Hardy is also our chief engineer as well as the smallest of the three of us aboard. He spent half an hour in the engine room yesterday, doing the service and came out with a handful of "treasures of the bilge" - screws, washers and nuts that were dropped by the factory staff and could not be found. We tend to collect a small bag of these bits and pieces during deliveries and keep them in case we ever need some spares. The photo above is Hardy doing his thing in the engine room.
For those who are not aware, on the right of this blog are some links which you can click on. There is one called "ShipTrak", which if you click on it, it will give you a map of the world and my last 60 days positions. I send in a position report at ships noon each day and you can keep an eye of our progress or lack of it.
We are finding this boat quite a pleasure to sail. As stated in a previous blog report, we are quite loaded with extra diesel and water and a good supply of provisions and other load gear. She is not a racing boat but we are managing to get some quite good speed out of her, which is helping us to get to our destination quite nicely. We should pass St Helena Island on Friday and let's see how she performs on the 1800nm stretch from the island to our next waypoint, located between the Brazilian coast and the island of Fernando de Noronha. More to follow as we progress. So, for now, regards from the crew, Andries, Hardy and myself, John.