Windhorse Sailing

I pulled the 5am to 8am shift. With my headlamp on I read my book about pirate William Dampier while the wind vane steered. The sun came up with not a cloud in the sky auguring a good day. I was anticipating Stevo waking up for his shift. I don’t know if he is a morning person or not, but I was hoping he would make a deal. I was willing to take his shift at the helm for the benefits of his culinary expertise.

He took the deal and 20 minutes later I was eating hot apple muffins slathered in butter followed by two loaves of bread. While hard at work in his research laboratory the buzz of the fishing line sang out. “Fish on.” And for the third day in a row we reeled in a dorado (mahi-mahi) about 8lbs. Yet again a perfect size for the 3 of us to consume in a day.

At just past noon the wind died down to less than 5 knots. As the boat bobs in the swell the sail collapses and fills and collapses and fills again until the snapping of the sails makes you think you’re going to snap. It was clear the lull would last a while so we took down the sail and sat.

The ocean was relatively calm, almost flat, the water a vibrant blue with the sunlight reflecting its immeasurable depth. At 85 degrees it was cool in the shade, but hot in the sun. Only 2000 miles from shore it seemed like a good opportunity for a swim. We took turns at the helm while the other two swam and threw out some floating line for safety.

Swimming literally in the middle of the ocean was quite a sensation. The visibility was something like 25 meters and I kept looking around to see anything moving and there was nothing, only Shangri-La’s perfect hull. After our swim we had some lunch of grilled dorado with onion and tomato on fresh bread.

Finished with lunch and still not much wind. It was time for the super light spinnaker. The first time we hoisted it, a 20 foot seam gave way with out any provocation. I had sewn that seam (picture that), but I hadn’t yet checked the rest of the seams that could possibly go next.

Obviously if I buy a boat in South Africa I’m willing to take a chance, so we put it up. Snap. It filled with air and stayed filled with no tear. We averaged 6.5 knots in an 8 knot apparent wind. It was beautiful. We rode that horse for the next 6 hours into the sunset.

After dark we doused the the spinnaker in favor of the more manageable and less fragile genoa headwall. We are now doing only 4 knots and sometimes only 3 with the occasional collapse and fill. Stevo’s got the 9pm to midnight shift and I am not hungry so Stevo will have to serve his time with a headlamp and a book as the wind vane steers.

Good night and Happy Easter.

To my nieces and nephew, the Feaster bunny found me and left a big chocolate egg.

On the 19th we made the decision to alter course to Buenos Aires. The south Atlantic high has been stationed fairly far south for most of the season. Therefore traveling to St Helena Island at 16 degrees south latitude is way farther north than we need to go.

Having left Cape Town behind schedule, and then 5 days pit stop in Luderitz, Namibia, we were anxious to get some miles under our belts. We left Luderitz last Monday afternoon and sat becalmed for 4 days in the fog that develops over the cold Atlantic off the Namibian dessert. 40 miles in 4 days. We had looked forward to visiting an Island with so much history, but honestly, the longer we sat the more it seemed just a rock in the middle of the ocean.

Our decision has been rewarded with a return of the trades and clear skies. Since Friday we have averaged 140 miles a day in ever warmer waters heading now due west at 24’south. We estimate that by skipping St Helena we save ourselves 1 to 3 weeks getting to South America.

In the calms off Namibia we motored for a few hours everyday to get further offshore. But in an effort to conserve fuel we mostly waited for wind. Being such purists it seemed a crime to motor at all, but we did it to charge our batteries so we could watch DVDs and run the fridge to keep our 30 days store of meats frozen. You know, ostrich, pork chops, legs of lamb, that kind of stuff. Those 4 days weren’t all that bad. Add to that we did catch a Yellowtail, a Dorado and an Albacore. Surf and turf, all the hard work is paying off.

Now in the trades we are moving fast and our spirits are high. For the sailing reader we are on a broad reach and our wind vain is working great. (the gizmo that steers the boat by the constant wind.) The guy on watch can read or do chores while the wind vane keeps course. If it goes off course for any reason the sails let you know. Overall Shangri- La is well balanced and we have experimented with every sail configuration to find that balance.

By day we have gone full main and headsail (genoa). At night we go to the second reef of three on the main and furl the headsail as needed. With a gybe preventer on the boom we feel well prepared for squalls or heavy seas, which have yet to appear. So far 15 to 25 knot southeasterly with a moderate SE swell. Hopefully it will be clear sailing all the way to Argentina, and precaution will be our insurance.

The 3 of us work the helm 4-hour shifts in the day and 3hour shifts at night. That way we have a different schedule everyday. Getting used to the schedule makes us sleep odd hours, I’m almost nocturnal, but we are starting to settle in. Off time is spent writing, reading, or in my case sewing a twelve-foot tear in the spinnaker. Francis has been working with his sextant and Stevo has been deciphering an 8-plait eye splice (rope talk for a complex weave of a large anchor rope.) Stevo also bakes bread as fast as we can eat it; sourdough, pepperoni/cheese bread, you name it.

As far as reading we are short on novels so we read technical books on diesel engines, rigging, rope splicing, and for me Spanish slang reader. Francis got me a gift of a book called “hide this Spanish Book"-Berlitz. I can’t believe the stuff in it. I am sure to be prepared to yell obscenities at a soccer game. We figure to be there in 35 days roughly April 18th give or take.

Letters or packages to: L, F or S
Hold for Shangri La (yacht in transit)
Yacht club Argentino
Viamonte y Costanara Sur, Darsena Norte
1107 Capital Federal, Argentina

We’ve been drinking Windhoek Lager at the Luderitz Yacht Club. Windhoek is a Namibian beer and we are in Namibia. We left Cape Town March 3rd headed for St. Helena Island and detoured here to the port of Luderitz to repair a leaking stern gland. A mechanic known only as Duppie sorted us out on that score. And Jahn our bartender has made sure that in this town surrounded by dessert we don’t go thirsty. After 3 days we motored out on March 12th. However our batteries started to over charge. So back to Luderitz until we figure this one out. That is when I knocked the elephant off the bow.
 
As everyone knows, sailors are superstitious. I am not and it was an effort to remain unsupersticious that knocked the elephant off the bow. The elephant was a small wood carving about the size of a baseball that we sicoflexed to the bow light. He was our “good luck charm” given to us by our friend and electrician William. When we first pulled up our anchor to leave Luderitz we had a hell of a time. It was fouled in a heavy old mooring chain. It took an hour to work ourselves free. All the while I was noticing the little elephant. Out of anger I whacked the elephant with the gaff I was using to pick off seaweed to see the chain. Later Francis took the rest of the chain off with that gaff and it was so heavy it took the gaff to the bottom. Don’t mess with the elephant.

Look closely (center) for the elephant on the bow
 
After 20 minutes of motoring out to sea we smelled smoke. We discovered the alternator was over charging the battery. That was it. The elephant got it in the form a string, a weight and the Atlantic ocean. We went back to the harbour, dropped the hook and got out our books looking to diagnose our problem. It turns out the starter battery was being charged the same rate as the house bank. This morning, confident we had the right diagnosis we turned to an expert for the solution. An expert named JC. Not the “JC", just a guy named JC. We should have the problem sorted  out tomorrow and be on our way in the afternoon. As for tonight I’ll go drink some Windhoek at the yacht club with Jahn.
 
We are not discouraged by our situation. These are things we need to learn and indeed can only learn by  doing. It is better now close to shore than out at sea where we would be forced to go with out certain comforts. As well Luderitz has a small commercial fishing fleet maintained by some hardcore guys that are keen to show us what they know compared to the prima donnas in Cape Town. And we are keen to learn. (For the gear heads out there I’ll explain in more detail the engine and battery problems later.)

Now about that elephant. William gave us that as a gift at our party. Back on February 10th Francis Stevo and I had a party for all those who helped in Cape Town. Ed and Katy’s friend Alfie suggested a great place called the Woodstock Lounge, a trendy bar in a bohemian part of town. The owners Martin and Beverly gave us the run of the place and made us and our guests feel right at home. We invited everyone from Dirk and Nicky to the rasta guys Wycliff and Tawanda we met at the local craft market.

Stevo and our rasta friends

Unfortunately we don’t have any pictures. We used a disposable and the flash didn’t work so the pictures didn’t develop. Take my word for it, a good time was had by all. We served pizza and open bar. It was a big hit as apparently open bar is rare occurrence in Cape Town and everyone took full advantage including Stevo and I. Francis as usual displayed the sang-frued of someone twice his age as he and our spanish friend Felix chatted up the two Portuguese models.
 
I was very glad that Ed and Katy were there. They brought with them Kirsten and Glenn whose house I had been to for a braai (BBQ). I am especially grateful to all of them for extending such hospitality to me and my friends. Ed and Katy were always game to show us the town on our time outs from work. As well Dirk and Nicky took us to their beach house in Hermanus where Francis and Dirk dived for our Lobster dinner. They served us late night dinners in their home many times as Dirk sorted us out with jobs on Shangri-La. We won’t remember Cape Town with out thinking of all these great friends.
 
As for the rest of the guests; the rastas had a crowd around them in the courtyard. The owner didn’t mind at all. Belinda and Meghan the girls from HoneyBee productions who made our Shangri-La t-shirts were passing out shots to all (whether they wanted them or not.) Dave Anders and his wife Sharon hung with William and his wife Belinda talking I guess about things local or jobs at the Yacht club. Nathan and Tanya from the yacht Birkha made the rounds meeting new friends and having a great time. As for us, I remained the gentleman host (as long as I could). Stevo…well he was drinking Manhattans from the word go. And while our friend Felix drew a masterful portrait of the Shangri-La on the wall in chalk Francis chatted up the two Portuguese models. As the party wound down Stevo lounged on a couch. Wycliff passed out under the bar surrounded by empties on the floor.

William chose this time to give me the gift elephant and warn me about the dangers of the open sea, though admittedly he has never been more than 5 miles offshore. I thanked him then for the elephant and I apologize now for what has become of that elephant. “Francis, where are the Portuguese models?”
 
Good party.

Follows is an excerpt from an email from Anne Kotze, the mother of Dirk, the previous owner of the yacht Shangri-La. “Dirk, his wife Nicky, Howard (a friend of Luke’s) and I were at Royal Cape Yacht Club to see the three sailors off. They were very excited but relaxed and confident. I had only met Luke, Francis and Stevo once before and that only briefly so it was a great privilege to see them off on their quest. There was a very stiff south-easterly wind blowing, this being the prevailing summer wind in this part of the country and fondly named the “Cape Doctor” by the locals. We spent about an hour with them and in that time the sun set so they left in the dark. We waved and whistled and shouted, as did they, until they were out of Cape Town harbour.”

Anne was also kind enough to provide the following pictures and accompanying descriptions as well…

Some of the yachts at RCYC moored to a floating jetty. The bow of Shangri-La can just be seen right front. Table Mountain is in the background, partly covered by a tablecloth: a typical sign that the wind is a s-easter.

Captain Luke with the fruit hammock and from the old to the new

Francis, the Captain and Dirk and getting Elvia’s e-mail

The smile on the face of the Captain, Dirk loosens the last rope to terra firma, backing out of the mooring

The last rope, moving at last and there she goes!

Thanks, Anne.

All - more to come.

All is good. We are ready to go. The last days have been busy with provisioning and paperwork. We have many stories to tell, but no time to sit down and write them, as of yet. However, as we get underway and decompress we will enjoy telling you of our party, our safari and trip to Jeffrey’s Bay and our shakedown sail that went very well.
Until then, farewell to Cape Town, our home away from home, and all the great people who took such good care of us over the past months, namely Katy Naish, Ed Griffin, Dirk Kotze and his wife Nicky, Beverly and Martin, Dave Anders and all the people at the Royal Cape Yacht Club and Action Yachting.

Thank you. Sincerely, Luke Francis and Steve.