St. Helena to Brazil, Day 5

 St. Helena to Brazil, Day 5

November 27, 2016

Today, Sunday, is the beginning of our fifth day. Only a few hours has the wind been over 15 knots, usually about 10. So we have only been flying the spinnaker. These light conditions have their own frustrations. Below 6 knots of wind, we can't keep the wind in the sail and the boat moving. The sail collapses and starts to get tangled in other boat parts. One night we ripped a small hole  in it on something sharp. We got the sail below and have put a temporary patch on it.The spinnaker is an unforgiving sail, needing to be all up or all down. You can only do that work with 2 people out on the deck. Three of the times we have done this have been in the middle of the night. No fun! We have already done quite a few hours of motoring. You hate to do that too early in a trip in case you run out of fuel.

Monday the wind is forecast to increase, which we are looking forward to. ( As long as it isn't too much.) Our average daily miles covered is 115 nm. If we keep up this pace, it will be a 15 day passage. Hopefully, we can speed up and make it in 2 weeks. (Dec. 8) In the meantime we are still mostly doing some long term boat chores and reading lots of books. I wonder if internet on sailboats will ever become affordable. I'm sending this blog on our satellite phone to our daughter who will post it for us.

On the road again for Brazil

On the road again for Brazil

November 24, 2016

 This is the first passage that we delayed leaving because there was not enough wind to sail on Tues.  We had already cleared out Mon, but fortunately the officials are pretty relaxed in St Helena. They didn't even charge us for the extra days on the mooring ball. We enjoyed staying that extra day because we had a chance to visit with No Regrets. They arrived Tues instead of Mon, also because of these light wind.

We got together for happy hour and heard about the trip to Namibia. They said it was worth the visit. They have some repairs to do and there is nowhere to buy boat parts. Fortunately, they could get what they needed from spare parts on Tahawas. Those two boats are heading to the offshore island of Fernando before going to the marina in Jacare. This is because Bluewind will be there in early Dec. They are currently also crossing the south Atlantic. But the boat has been in the Med since being shipped there in May. They are leaving for this last leg home to Brazil from the Cape Verde islands off Senegal. The crews on Tahawas and No Regrets are flying home but the owners are not so they have more time than us for the detour. We would like to fly home for Christmas about the second week in Dec. We haven't bought tickets as the Internet was too slow for a project like that. It's better not to have a deadline when sailing anyway.

The forecasts are all for light winds this week, so it may be a long trip. It is 1800 nm to Cabadela, the nearest town, on the "bulge" of SAmerica. We have the spinnaker up and left it up overnight. We covered 115 nm the first day. It is at least a peaceful trip, and it is now tee shirt weather. We are almost at the new moon,but you can't have everything. When it is clear, the stars are amazing!

St. Helena is having their driest year in history. We are not likely then to have many squalls. But it is a serious problem for the island's water supply. For their water they use a dam and reservoir on the river through town. This is the first year there has been no extra water flowing over the dam. A desalination plant had been built at one point but not used because of the expense of moving the water made. More places in the world may have to use them despite the cost. Our's on the boat has been working great. (Touch wood)

St. Helena

View of Jamestown and harbour

Distillery - I think it's a good  business here!

Longwood - Napoleon's "home" on St Halena

Ill fated runway - too windy to land large planes!

View of the fertile centre of the island

Flax - formerly a major industry in St Helena

Jacob"s Ladder - 699 stairs straight down the mountain

Maggie and Tahawus in James Bay

St. Helena

Nov. 20, 2016

The "saints" on St Helena have lived up to their reputation as friendly and helpful, not just to outsiders but between themselves. The officials said sorry when they were late and asked what they could help with. The ferry driver will make extra trips, always with a smile. In town, cars honk and wave to all they pass, and wait for others when the roads are too narrow for 2 cars. Customers in the grocery store shared the few peaches left. Little examples, but they add up.

Passing sailboats stay on mooring balls and there is a ferry service to bring you in to the dock. There is a significant swell at the dock so it would be difficult to use your own dinghy. They have lines for you to grab and you jump onto the slippery dock at the top of a wave. The steep rock face by our boats is home to many unique birds. In town the rock is covered in wire mesh to stop rocks from falling. The town, Jamestown, the capital and only settlement, is just main street running up the valley. Our guide book says the architecture is Georgian. There are many gardens, a public pool, and the trees are in bloom for spring. It is quite pretty.

There is a free museum where we spent a few informative hours. Before long haul flights, and the opening of the Suez Canal, this was a very busy port. In particular, the Dutch East India Company stopped here regularly for 2 centuries. It has been visited by Halley, Bligh, Nelson, Wellington, Cook, Darwin, and Napoleon.  5000 Boer prisoners of war were sent here in the Boer war in SA.

In the 5 centuries since discovery it has gone through many different industries. Flax from NZ was a big product until the use of cotton and nylon replaced linen. Today, the island is not self sufficient, but partly supported by Great Britain. But the unemployment rate is 0%. Young adults get university and transit paid for in England. The cost of living is very high with everything shipped in. Being isolated, technology has been slow to arrive. Cell phones last year, some wifi but slow. Locals can use the internet free from 12 to 6, but that is not long enough to download anything much. Debit cards are coming to the bank in Jan. No businesses take charge cards so you have to keep getting cash during bank hours.

Their first airport was to open May 2016. It has taken 4 years and is complete. But the first flight to land got hit by some wind sheer, shaking up the plane. And they feel this will often be the case. The runway is built north to south, but the prevailing winds are southeast and often strong and gusty on the top of the island. For the time being the airport is sitting unused. Some designer should be in trouble.

On Friday we organized an island tour for us and Tahawas crew. Robert was our guide and driver, and a good history teacher. They have a unique English accent here so we didn't understand it all. We visited Longwood, where Napolean spent the rest of his life. The property belongs to the French government and is used as a museum with a guide. Lots of interesting info there. It was quite a comfortable place to live with nice gardens. He said at one point that the only good thing on St Helena was the coffee. They still grow and brew their own which we enjoyed.

We drove past the airport, and the old volcano crater, and many important buildings. There are remains of old forts, and the old relay stations. The Germans sunk a boat in the harbour in 1942. A part of it still projects above the water. From the heights you can see the boat in the clear water. There is a steep staircase from the harbour up to the fort. It is called "Jacob's Ladder" and has 699 steps. I see there is a marathon next weekend that involves climbing it.

 On the grounds of the Governor General's home there are several giant tortoises. The oldest was alive when Napoleon came! There is one small distillery where we enjoyed the gin and rums made from local materials and wine from SA grapes. It is the only affordable alcohol in the stores .You can buy it in a bottle with "stairs" going up the side, as a souvenir.

Another sailboat from NZ arrived last night from Namibia and Louise left to sail straight to Grenada. On Verra didn't stop here, but continued on to Grenada.  You need medical evacuation insurance to stop. (Or they will sell it to you) , No Regrets will probably arrive tomorrow night. There is a motor yacht with a helicopter and pad belonging to some Arab prince. That's it except for a handful of local boats.

Maggie will probably set sail Mon or Tues. I'd like to get our laundry done and the laundromat doesn't open until Mon. The royal mail ship, "St Helena, was leaving as we arrived Thurs afternoon. The boat brings passengers and everything else islanders need, once a month. But on Sat the workers still hadn't finished unloading the containers so food supplies were depleted in the stores. We'll try again Mon. Today, Sunday, Rob and I are doing chores on Maggie to get ready for the next passage. We made water, repaired SSB wires, replaced some lines, tackled some more leaks, and scrubbed off salt, dirt and rust. Brazil, here we come!

Arrival in St Helena

3 pm Nov. 17 2016

Halfway across the south Atlantic! It feels great to be here. We were worried about arriving after dark and having to heave to until morning but the weather gods were with us. We kept up a good enough speed last night and today to arrive in daylight. Tahawus arrived yesterday as well as Louise who passed us at one point a few days ago. Only 2 other sailboats are here
besides them. There are mooring buoys that are known to be a challenge to pick up with no lines attached. But they are large and flat topped so Rob managed to step down on it and get some lines through the ring on top.

The time zone here is UTC, the same as in England. That makes us feel closer to home.

The end of the sailing trip was as uneventful as the rest, which is the way we like it. We had to gybe regularly and the winds were up and down with varying directions but ok. It was great to have a full moon even though the skies were always overcast. You could still see a bit at night. Today was the first clear day which was a treat for seeing the island as we approached.

Customs are coming out to the boat 8:30 tomorrow so we can just relax onboard until then. It is now 18 degrees C so no more jackets for awhile. The scenery is dramatic coming in. There are very steep cliffs of rock with many birds  and caves along the face. The only town and capital, Jamestown, sits up on the hillside with some parts at sea level. Tomorrow we will get into town to finish the check in and get to the bank. They have their own currency here but also take British pounds. There are no ATM's, and credit cards are not taken anywhere. Cash is king but you pay for it and need to stand in line during bank hours. Wifi is supposed to be very slow and not widely available. We will stick to using the iridium email address on the sat phone.

Tomorrow we look forward to meeting some of the"saints", as the locals are called. The population is about 4000, and they are known to be friendly to outsiders. The history here goes back hundreds of years when ships regularly pulled in here on their way from Europe to the east, before the opening of the Suez Canal. We would like to visit Napolean's home in exile, as well as get in a tour of the island. Tomorrow, besides check in and  the bank we want to get to the tourist office, as well as doing the boring things like laundry and washing up. An early, and long sleep will also be a treat.

Climate Change Awareness in South Africa

In South Africa, I felt more like a student than a teacher about climate change. There are many articles referring to it in the local papers and magazines. The museums have educational material, as well as literature from the national parks. It is a topic on school curriculums. I haven't noticed the naysayers we hear at home.

For the African continent the most serious effect of rising temperatures has been drought. Water rationing is in effect. ( for example no hosing of the boats in the marina). In some areas the town water supply is shut down for some hours each day. These measures are accompanied by public education messages.

There was an interesting article in the SA National Parks newsletter regarding the effect of rising temperatures on the animals they are trying to protect. Biologists predict losses of birds and other animals from the conservation areas. This happens as species shift their distribution to cooler areas. Temps recorded in the 13 parks in SA over the last 50 years show trends closer to worse-case global-warming predictions. Another article discussed water quality and distribution to prevent the death of animals. Both inside and outside the parks fire is becoming an issue. One group, The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, is responsible for wildfire risk assessments. Other engineering groups are working on efficient ways to keep the farming and wine businesses irrigated.

When we visited Hermanus on the south coast, we enjoyed a few hours sitting by the bay. Our B and B host said that most tourists come to their city to see whales. Even 10 years ago, you could always see some in the bay from the shore. Today, that is not as likely. Even some of the tour boats have trouble finding any. Locals debate whether this is because there are so many more tour boats, or the Chinese whaling industry, or warmer waters.

Many of the educational programs developed are aimed at school age children. The hope is that they will develop good habits and share their knowledge with their communities. The Durban museum's presentation on climate change was impressive. It brought in the behaviours of staff and those visiting the exhibits. In a newspaper in Cape Town, I read about a secondary school forming an environmental club. They are learning about climate change, pollution,recycling, and biodiversity. Part of the educational activities is to disseminate information to their communities. Extra funding is being provided by the National Park system. These are good ideas but probably too isolated.

Thinking back to our visit to Rodrigues, the government there was serious about having legislation to protect their island. No plastic bags are allowed at all. You will receive a fine if using one. People head to the market with their baskets. There are biodegradable ones for meat. Even garbage is not bagged. The school children take the public buses to and from school. On Sundays everything is shut down. There are free classes taught on sustainable fishing and farming methods for those in the traditional jobs. It is one of the rare islands where we saw no one begging, despite being relatively poor. A small island with big ideas.

Halfway to St Helena

Last night, Fri Nov 11, we reached the halfway mark of this leg. That took 5 and half days, but the forecast is for lighter winds ahead. We have rigged up another way to tie off our main sheet opposite to the genoa to travel "wing and wing". The foresail is on a pole. It is allowing us to travel at a good speed almost downwind. It involves some setting up out on deck, and again when you need to gybe, but worth it.

This sail plan makes the boat rock and roll, but we are managing. We have read lots of books since it is too difficult to work much. We've finished Michener's Covenant and Mandela's Long road to Freedom. They were so much more interesting when you have been to many of the places. The history is so recent in SA. Enjoying some Jo Nesbo and other mysteries. The fun of sailing book exchanges is getting exposed to books we wouldn't have known about.

The weather has started to warm up a bit, but still sweaters and jackets. There has been no sun for days which makes it less cheerful.

We have heard the US election results. It would be interesting to hear all the reactions but not  without Internet. He sure is not popular outside the country.

We haven't been able to get SailMail to work again. They have been having trouble with their African station. We can receive emails through the sat phone at robharvey@myiridium.net

Starting Across the South Atlantic Ocean

We are now into our third day on passage. By noon, after 72 hours, we will have covered almost 500 nautical miles of the 1,700 nm distance to St Helena. We have been moving at great speeds for Maggie. Winds have been mostly in the mid twenty knots from the south. Lots of rocking and rolling to get used to again. Guide books say the weather is influenced by the systems off the tip of South Africa for the first several days. Then the prevailing south easterlies set in for the balance of the trip.

Maggie and Tahawus are heading straight to St Helena as a first stop. On Verra is continuing non stop to Grenada, a 6,000 nm trip! They expect it will take them six weeks. No Regrets is sailing along the coast for a stop at Walvis Bay, Namibia first. We'd love to see the desert and the animals there, but maybe it will have to be by airplane! There is often fog along the coast, coastal low pressure systems, and more shipping traffic. We all keep in touch on SSB radio at 9:00am and 7:00pm. We also send our positions twice daily to the Blue Planet Odyssey headquarters where they are posted n their website. I'm anxious to hear this morning if anyone contacted the US about the election results!

Farewell to Cape Town

Cape Town has been a place no one has wanted to leave. There is so much to see and do. The past week was filled with boat chores and provisioning, but we tried to fit in as much sightseeing as possible. That is why this post is being written while underway, and will likely not have any photos until landfall.

We got to the Kirstenbosch Gardens which are on the back of Table Mountain, still In the city. Cecil Rhodes donated his property for the start of these gardens. The setting is spectacular sweeping up the side of the mountain. Of the two square miles, seven per cent is cultivated and the rest is natural fynbos and forest. Fynbos is the local mountain scrub. Their restaurant had great food. Eating out has been a treat everywhere. The food has been good and cheap by Canadian standards. (A glass of wine in the $2/3 range, $10/14 for the whole bottle!)

Adrienne took four of us out for a day to the principal wine ares of Stellenbosch and Franshhoek. With 450 wineries, she and friends go annually on tasting trips. It is a bit like our Niagara area but on a larger scale.  And the wineries have a backdrop of a mountain range. Plenty of gardens and golf courses interspersed. We visited two wineries. The first was Ernie Ells Wines. Since Rob has watched him golf for years it was fun to visit the trophy room and see all the photos. And the wines were actually good with a good reputation. Another winery, lunch and a bit of town browsing in Franshhoek rounded up the day. Here you could see a lot of the French influence as this was where many of the Huguenots settled after fleeing persecution in France. On another day we did the "hop on hop off" bus. Even though we only did some of the routes, it filled in the background on the many places we hadn't seen yet.

One evening we had dinner with two of the other boats we had met crossing the Indian Ocean. They were able to update us on them and the many other boats we had met and who had taken the northern route to South Africa stopping in Madagascar. One of the other boats, unfortunately, was held up at knife point in a remote harbour there. Madagascar got mixed reviews, and in view of the robbery incident we are just as glad that we didn't go that route.

I had a tooth filled, hair cut, boat washed and lots of food bought. One morning was spent picking up our visa for  Brazil, and another replacing some of our worn running rigging as well as a new man overboard pole. (Lost half of the last one crossing the Pacific!). Marine supplies and services are also good and less expensive than many places. The roller furler and genoa are repaired and are working much better than previously.

On Wednesday a large fishing vessel in the harbour caught fire. During the first day the harbour, as well as the downtown city , were filled with smoke. There were thousands of styrene containers burning. On Sunday, when we left, the bat was still burning.

In the shopping malls the Christmas decor is already up and carols being played. Without Halloween and Thanksgiving they can get an early start on Christmas, reminding us that time is moving on. We needed to leave South Africa in time to get to Brazil, with flights home for Christmas. It has been fortunate that the first week set aside for this trip has a good weather forecast. The same was true for the passage from Reunion to Durban. Overnight on our first day we averaged close to 8 knots, and set a 24 hour distance record for Maggie. Of course a good current pushing us didn't hurt! After the first few days we should settle in to the moderate southeast trade winds.