Day 22, March 28 -Thriving Seabird Life

I woke up at 10.30 to find the boat moving well at close to 6 kts. We had been averaging over 5.5 kts since the noon marker. Earlier I had tweaked the Monitor airvane to take us further north an we were within a mile of 40S, about to cross into the 39's. The moon was nearly full and the visibility outside was very good.

I looked at the projected path of the high providing these winds and it was moving from a position 42S, 42E today at noon to 41S, 50E on Friday noon, at a rate of about 4 degrees of longitude per day. We were now at 52E30 and moving at about 2.2 degrees of longitude per day, which would put us close to 56E on Friday noon. So the high was gaining on us but we would still manage to stay ahead of it for a few days, and I wanted to milk it for all it was worth. These were rough calculations based on forecasts but they did provide a guide.

I tweaked the airvane to arrest the drift to the north because with the high slightly below us I wanted to avoid being so far north of its center that I would get SE winds. I then had an apple and returned to bed.

I woke up at 0530 to find the boat moving to the NE and we were now at 39S51, so I altered course a bit to the south. During the night I had woken 3 or 4 times to check the boat, scan the horizon, and do a few sweeps with the radar, and all was always clear. It was Sam who contacted me from ZS1SAM and he came in very scratchy but I manage to get a short weather forecast relayed to him by Graham. As usual, he could hear me better than I could hear him. My transmitter seems to be putting out more power than before Mexico and I attribute it to following Jim Putt's advice to keep the antenna cable out of contact with the backstay using spacers, and that Dynaplate ground shoe that I had installed in Mexico.

I set a marker at 40S and mid way between the longitudes of Cape Town and Fremantle, so my calculated way point was at 40S, 067E12. I was 635 miles from the midpoint.

At 8 AM I started the engine in order to charge the batteries. It had been 3 days since the last run and the house bank was down to 12.2V. The wind charger had contributed greatly to the power supply but it could not do it alone without help of the solar panels idle under the cloudy skies. We had a bit of wind and were moving at 4.5 kts so I tried running the engine at 1000 rpm instead of the usual 1500 rpm and was delighted to see that 58 amps were going into the batteries, only 10 amps or so lower than what I expected at 1500 rpm. At 1000 rpm the engine could consume as little as 1 liter of diesel per hour.

For weeks I've been meaning to comment on the seabird life in this passage. Let me say up front that since passing the Agulhas bank I have seen by far the best seabird life ever in a blue water passage, with the exception of the short segment from Drake Passage and up the east side of Staten Island. Bird lovers can rest assured that seabird life is thriving in the southern Indian ocean. There are always seabirds around the boat. On the second day of my iceberg vigil a few days ago I was up and topside at the crack of dawn and estimated that there were between 100 and 200 seabirds around the boat - big ones, little one, brown ones, white ones, etc. Sometimes the boat seems to be in the middle of a carnival of birds, with them zooming around all over the place with amazing speed, energy, and zest. I have to work hard at reliably identifying birds, but here is a short list of ones that I am sure of. There is the White Capped Albatross, which I should have identified as albatrosses by the majestic and effortless way in which they glide. There are plenty of Little Shearwaters that are a delight to watch as they dart around by making instant rolls to the left and right. There are Great Winged Petrels and the most numerous, the White Chinned Petrels. The White Chinned Petrels are ALWAYS around the boat, even at night. They seem to be curious, adventurous, and totally fearless. Many times I have sailed within feet of one resting quietly in the water without it showing the slightest concern over this gigantic hull approaching. The bird numbers I get in the early morning and late day are greatly bolstered by tiny little birds that dart around at wave top level. I haven't been able to get a good enough look at one to attempt an identification, but a candidate would have to be the Southern Storm Petrel, and in particular the Black-Bellied Storm Petrel.

I may be experiencing one of the benefits of sailing above 40S. The temperature is noticeably warmer and the butter is no longer rock hard.

Graham gave me a promising wind forecast through to Sunday. I can expect mainly southerly winds at 10-15 kts for the rest of today and all of tomorrow. If the wind does not drop below 10 kts I should be able to keep the boat moving and continue making steady progress. The day after tomorrow, Saturday, I can expect the effects of an advancing cold front that late in the day will give me NW winds up to 25 kts. At 6 AM on Sunday I can expect WNW winds 20-25. I am very pleased. My fears of laying becalmed for a day or two in the middle of that advancing high have been put to rest.

At noon our numbers were as follows:

POS 39S44, 53E52
NND 125
DMG 1742
DTG 3051

We were 616 miles from the mid point of the passage.

As darkness approached we were making a modest 4.5 kts against a moderate SE wind, but at least we were moving. At least I could enjoy a quiet and comfortable night in the boat.

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