This morning we woke up at 0400 in hopes of weighing anchor at 0500 and starting our long awaited passage to either Richards Bay or Durban. However, when I checked the wind it was blowing 20 knots and from the SE. I told Mary Margaret to just stay in bed since there was no way we were leaving in such winds. We agreed that I would watch the winds and if they abated and turned more to the east, then we would go.

Around 0500 David of S/V Rhythm saw that I had our salon lights on so he called me on the VHF radio. He said that he had just downloaded the latest weather forecast and it was calling for the winds to moderate around 0700 and turn a bit more toward the east. This was exciting news and helped to keep my spirits high. I also downloaded our weather forecasts and they showed the same thing even though we rely on a different forecast models. This was very encouraging. In fact, as the early morning wore on the winds did die down to 10 knots and by 0800 were coming out of the ESE. Rhythm and Gomit both weighed anchor then and we followed suit around 0830.

We motored sailed for the first 10 nm bearing east to get out into the Mozambique Current. Once we were in it we turned south and after a while turned off the engines since we were now making about 8 knots in 12 knots of wind that was 60 degrees off our port bow. We were getting a knot or two boost from the current but were being held back a bit by the 3 to 4 meter swells we were heading into.

After about an hour Mary Margaret spied a pod of whales leisurely passing about 100 meters in front of our bows. They broke the surface a number of times and we were so excited to watch them so close. They lingered near us for about 5 to 10 minutes and then passed behind us. We always believe that seeing marine life during a passage is a very good omen and we were so happy to see these whales so early in our passage.

As it turned out, we had a second bit of good fortune when a pod of dolphins saw Leu Cat and hopped and bounded over the water to check us out. There were about 6 to 8 of them and they were so much fun to watch given how excited they were in seeing us. They were a double good omen for this passage,

We have stayed in touch with both Rhythm and Gromit via the VHF radio throughout the day. Around 1600 we finally caught to and passed Gromit but Rhythm is about 5 miles ahead of us as I write this blog. Rhythm is a performance catamaran and is usually a bit faster than us, especially with all of the weight we carry.

In our first 9.5 hours of sailing we have made 80 nm, averaging about 8.4 knots. We have been sailing with a reef in the mainsail and will continue to do so. We have gone in and out of the current since we have gone as fast as 13.5 knots and as slow as 7 knots. The current must meander a bit but for the last couple of hours now we have been in it as we have been going 9.0 knots with winds of 15 knots from the east, which puts us on a beam reach.

Our position at 1800 is 24 57.32'S:035 18.57'E. Our course is 200 degrees True. Our speed is between 9 and 9.5 knots. The seas have calmed down a bit and are now only 2 to 3 meters and are from the ESE. They had been in the 3 to 4 meter range. They have a period of about 7 seconds. We are not bashing so much with them turning a bit to the east.