01/04/2007, Bass Strait, North of Tasmania
We were very happy to sight land after 69 days at sea; King Island on the west side of Bass Strait looked positively bucolic with its gently rolling grass covered hills and grazing cows. As night fell we could smell burning bush and saw the light on Cape Wickham. Sailing conditions have been excellent, the ocean swell has disappeared and although the coastal forecasts warn of 2-3 m swell we hardly notice it. Today we have Westerly winds pushing us towards Banks Strait (The Narrows) at 6.2 knots. Banks Strait is the passage between Flinders Island and the NE tip of Tasmania. It is only 8 miles wide and tidal currents can reach 5 knots. At our present speed we should arrive 2 hrs before low tide, hopefully enough time to shoot through.
28/03/2007, Near NW tip of Tasmania
We are hove to off the NW coast of Tasmania, waiting for a deep low pressure system (966HPa) to pass south of us. Thalia rises up on the crest of each wave revealing a vista of white capped seas all around and then gently settles down to wait for the next wave. Compared to the gales in the Southern Ocean it's pleasantly warm here. We have enough sea-room to stay hove to for at least 24hrs and the conditions are predicted to moderate before then.
09/03/2007, S43.58 E97.22
We spent the last 23 hours hove to in a gale. The wind was not too bad, about 35-40 knots, but the seas built very rapidly to 5 meters. It is quite disconcerting to turn around and see a wave the size of a small family home looming above you. One of these broke into the cockpit snapping our windvane and punching out a window in the companionway dodger. Not a real problem as we carry plenty of spare vanes and we can fix the dodger.
08/03/2007, Southern Ocean
Albatross were our constant companions on this leg. We saw the large Wandering and Royal albatross, as well as the smaller Grey-headed and Sooty varieties. They are powerful birds and ride the wind eddies with ease and elegance.
02/03/2007, S45.05 E83.12
Today we have passed one of those imaginary
milestones any long ocean passage abounds in: HALFWAY LONGITUDE AT 83DEG EAST. We celebrated with a 3 course dinner consisting of a green bean salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing, followed by asparagus in cream sauce with potatoes and for dessert fruitcake soaked in rum with vanilla custard.
H.W. Tilman has the right words to express the effect of dinners like this: "fate cannot touch me, I have dined today".
28/01/2007, S39.54 E17.55
We had a hard time sailing east after leaving Cape Town. The prevailing wind was a southeaster, and the Agulhas current set us in a SW direction. It took more than a week to get east of the Cape of Good Hope. Raoul's starting to look a little tired.
01/01/2007, Hout bay
This bull seal was a permanent fixture on the waterfront. An enterprising local would take advantage of the crowds that gathered by passing a hat around and asking for money "to buy some fish for my seal"!
25/12/2006, Hout Bay
Our stay at the Hout Bay Yacht Club was memorable thanks to the many friends we made. Special thanks to Jeremy and Yvonne from Jandy who took us sightseeing, lent us tools, and Jeremy welded a pair of fairleads for our drogue, while Yvonne was a great help with the provisioning.
24/12/2006, Hout Bay, South Africa
Wishing you very happy holidays and all the best for 2007,
Marketa and Raoul
| the voyage |
13/12/2006, Hout Bay, South Africa
After 49 days at sea we were very grateful to step on terra firma. Tom, our ham radio friend who followed our progress over the last few days, as well as Yvonne and Jeremy were standing by to take our lines as Thalia came alongside.
| the voyage |
13/12/2006, Off Cape of Good Hope, South Africa
We had the most magical landfall with the Cape on the horizon and whales, dolphins and seals cavorting in Thalia's wake. We later learned the reason for this enthusiastic welcome; they come to feed on huge schools of herring that are found near the Cape at this time of the year.
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09/12/2006, En route to Capetown
As we approached the Cape of Good Hope accurate weather information and news from home became very important to us. Much to our delight, we were able to communicate with Herb in Ontario and Scott in Halifax all the way to Capetown.
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08/12/2006, En route to Capetown
This part of the South Atlantic had an abundance of sea birds. The shearwaters were our constant companions, and we had frequent visits from grey-headed albatross and Mother Carrey's chickens.
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06/12/2006, En route to Capetown
There's nothing like an ocean voyage for catching up with current literature. After 42 days at sea I finally read my way through the backlog of Red Journals on board.
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05/12/2006, En route to Capetown
Raoul's all happy after catching the noon sight. Celestial navigation provided hours of fun and the occasional correct position.
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23/11/2006, En route to Capetown
We carry 450 liters of fresh water and have the ability to collect rainwater under way, but a bucket of saltwater in the cockpit, also known as the cruising man's Jacuzzi, is hard to beat.
I became less of an enthusiast as we sailed into the higher latitudes and temperatures dropped.
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07/11/2006, En route to Capetown
Raoul is holding up a sign with our longitude. We celebrated by opening a bottle of orange liqueur from La Palma, and made sure we gave Neptune some as well.
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30/10/2006, En route to Capetown
We experienced very light winds with the occasional squall. Our cruising chute, the biggest sail on board, was much in use.
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25/10/2006, Praia, San Tiago
All fresh produce bought at the Praia market had to be inspected and washed before coming aboard, in case of roaches or other creepy crawlies. The dinghy makes a good quarantine station.
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24/10/2006, Praia, San Tiago
Tonaka is a friendly fisherman who looks after visiting yachts and their dinghies. Here he takes charge of Archie, our trusty inflatable.
| the voyage |
