Daily report #60

Ahoy followers,

Today is a day with many faces. At 2 o'clock last night we could finally give the engine a rest. The mainsail hoisted on the change of watch and after that I could enjoy sailing freed from the diesel fumes. Until 8 o'clock everything pico bello, nice wind ditto waves, nice pace. Beautiful moonrise, in short, 15 degrees warmer and it would have been perfect. At 8 o'clock immediately after the change of the watch, Ton was hit by a huge shower and was able to turn in the sails just in time. A lot of seaman's curses later the ship was back on course with 25 knots of wind and the waves built up. Yes, wind against current today. That gives a sea that only the petrels and albatrosses visibly enjoy, but we do not. The waves go in all directions, it bounces, bumps, slides, splashes, rolls and dives and there is a permanent salt water shower. It was a nice sun after the shower so for the watch it was nice to stay in a very small dry corner in the cockpit. On such a day you can't do more than lie in your bed and read or take a nap in the pillow on your bed. We wait for the wind to change which will happen tonight and then we head south and hope to get a bit of the Algulas current. The plan was to sail directly to Cape Town, however, this part of the Indian Ocean is difficult to predict, it was possible yesterday, today it is not possible. Port Elisabeth first and if the weather turns out to be favorable we will continue immediately. Otherwise a few days of rest and chores. Now with the closing of the day the wind has decreased to 15 knots but the waves have decided to party on for a while! Yippee, the boom hits the rhythm and the jib clap along nicely. Tomorrow the weather will be good if all goes well… otherwise the day after tomorrow, we still have a few days.

We heard it is getting warmer in the Netherlands.
Enjoy it!
Regards, Ton and Mark