Day 37 -Final Sprint

We started off making 4.2 and 4.3 knots with the engine turning at 1800 rpm. At hour later our speed was just above 5 knots, which I could attribute only to the calmer sea. Then outside I got the bright idea of rolling out some headsail to take advantage of the 7 and 8 kt wind coming off the starboard beam. This brought our speed up to 6.1 and 6.2 kts, almost a 50% increase.

By the time I finished the movie I was looking at speeds of 7.2-7.8 kts. I think that the wind had picked up and the sail contributing more. I was actually on duty while I watched the movie because I was able to keep a close eye on our course on the chart plotter just above the laptop screen. Since the beginning of the run the autopilot had disengaged once.

At 7 PM we were 142 miles from CT. I switched on the radar for the night then went outside into the early evening. The sea was calm, the headsail was full from the 10 kt wind off the beam, and the boat was moving effortlessly through the water. I would try to stay up until midnight which would give us another 35 or 40 miles so I returned to the cabin, made a cup of chocolate, and selected the next movie.

At 8.15 PM I decided to give the sail a try. I put the engine into neutral and was surprised to see the boat speed holding up at almost 6 knots. I shut down the engine, rolled out more sail, set up the Monitor to do the steering, and there we were making over 6 kts off a 12 kt wind with just a headsail. The keys were the calm sea and the wind on the beam. Most important, it would allow me to sleep while we were moving. I immediately went to bed at about 9 PM while the getting was good. At the 11 PM and 1 AM checks the boat was still moving well and on course. By then I had enough confidence in the situation to return to bed with no alarm set.

I was up at 4 AM to find the boat still moving well (about 5 kts) and on course, and we were only 70 miles from Cape Point. The grib file had predicted generally slack winds but with variation within the tiny 2 degree by 3 degree patch of ocean that I was looking at. One frame reported winds of 2.4 kts at 36S and 15 kts at 34S. I was at about 35S and was not expecting much help, particularly since grib files always seem wrong against my favor. But this time fortune was with me at a very important time. We had gained about 40 miles while I slept and were still moving well. It is quite likely that the 8 hours of motoring had put me in this fortunate position, and had I not done so we might still be drifting with no wind. Ya gotta win a few.

Over a cup of coffee I saw that the tanker Fida was headed my way and would pass close by in about 50 minutes. Because the boat was constantly changing speed and course while sailing in lumpy seas the CPA number (Closest Point of Approximation) kept jumping around between 1.5 and 2.5 miles. I would watch the ship but was not too worried, given that I had the VHF radio, the engine, and daylight. I raised Fida when she was 40 minutes away and reported my situation. I told the officer that he should be able to see me on his AIS. He told me that he was aware of me and I wished him a good day.

The wind suddenly backed and I found myself on a heading directly for Cape Town. This was not good because it would make my arrival at about 10 PM and a night entry into a strange port was out of the question. There was also the unacceptable risk that a wind shift in conjunction with the current would cause me to overshoot Cape Town. I hardened the headsail and put the boat hard to weather, which gave us a heading toward Cape point and also slowed the boat somewhat. I was not too concerned because I had at least 8 spare hours up my sleeve and could tack to the south if needs be.

The 0630 SAMMNet session went well. For the second morning someone named Trevor was acting as controller but for the second morning Sam broke in from a mobile station to give me a personal weather report. The dedication of the people running these HF radio nets for seafarers never ceases to amaze me. The thought crossed my mind that those hours that I spent studying for the Ham licenses during that 5 week bus trip through Mexico with Brenda had paid off big time because without a Ham license I would have had no access to the marvelous services of SAMMNet.

Thankfully Sam did not freak out at my position somewhat to the north of the ideal. I explained my plan of slowing the boat down and arriving in the morning and he seemed OK with that. His weather report was quite favorable too. At noon I could expect SE winds of 15 kts, pretty well what I was experiencing at the moment. At 1800 and midnight the wind would veer to the south at 10-20 kts. This was very good because it would provide gentler conditions and allow me to steer E or even SE, enabling me to make my turn to the north from south of Cape Point. I would then be able to amble northwards throughout the night, possible drifting or motoring if the wind was too light for sailing. In the morning the wind would be S-SE at 10-20 ktw. That was as good a prediction as I could ask for.

At 7 AM the wind backed again and we were headed too much to the north. I wore ship hoping to achieve SE on a port tack but the result was disappointing and we could barely make a S heading so I put us back on the starboard tack with shortened sail. We were making 025T at 3.3 kts but I expected the wind to veer back toward the south in the afternoon which would allow me to close more directly to the land. I would have to keep my wits about me until I tie up and I was very happy that I had gotten a good night's sleep. Outside it was a cloudless and brilliantly sunny day. During the SAMMNet session I heard complaints of still more hot weather. I must admit that I had reverted to underclothes sailing. I put the navigation seat cushion in the sun to dry it out.

I got a weather update from SAMMNet after passing my situation data. At midnight tonight the wind will be from the S at 10-15 kts and at 0600 tomorrow morning it will be S 5-15 kts. This is a splendid wind forecast for my arrival, particularly since the Cape Town waterfront faces the north and is protected from the south (although Table Mountain can actually concentrate high SE winds). Sam asked my ETA at RCYC and I told him 0900 UTC, though I might make it earlier because I am pretty sure that Cape Town is on UTC+2 time.

At noon our position was 34S37, 017E29, giving us a n-n distance of 117 miles in the direction ENE (062T), which included that 8.3 hours of motoring. We were 55 miles WSW of Cape Point and 64 milers SW of Cape Town. The barometer had fallen 5 points to 1018 but the weather was splendid. The wind had veered toward the S as expected so I rolled out some sail and we were making 3.5 kts directly for Cape Town.

As the Africans say, Safari Sagoody.

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