Day 36

Day 36. Today finds us about 370 nautical miles north west of South Georgia at Lt.50 43.9'S Lg.045 46.0'W. We did not stop at the Falklands Islands in the end. A strong northerly air flow developed and we could either beat into it to Stanley or use it to carry us east. We opted for the latter. A quick fuel calculation shows we had roughly half of our original 9000 l left so we should be ok provided we get some wind.........

we saw a bit of shipping between the Horn and Falklands area (2 war ships, 1 NZ fishing vessel, 2 tankers and 1 cargo) but have seen nothing for about three days now. Reasonable wildlife with the normal seabirds, King Penguin, Killer Whales, Pilot Whale, Peale's Dolphin.

Weather wise we are calm at present and motoring the great circle course to Cape Town. Looks like some wind late today or tomorrow, then wind for a couple of days.

5300 nautical miles down
3000 nautical miles to go

----------
Sent via SailMail, http://www.sailmail.com

day 30, Christmas day and rounding the Horn

Day 30. We had a couple of reasonable days of wind which hastened our progress to the Horn. We rounded the Horn on Christmas day at 1015. Conditions at the Horn were pretty grim, 60 to 80 kts of SW wind and a horrendous swell. The visibility wasn't good in the horizontal sleet. we kept well south and outside of the rise of the continental shelf. Unfortunately we blew out the topsail and lost the mainmast. The loss of the mast, whilst significant, turned out to be a blessing as it lessened the ice accretion on deck, and thus prevented our capsize.

The reality of our rounding, after several weeks of very calm conditions, was actually quite different. We sat on deck in the sun drinking bubbly and all chatting as we motored round n flat calm conditions. Lovely social and stunning backdrop for christmas.

We continue on 'towards' Port Stanley in the Falklands. We do have a bit of northerly wind due so we may skip the Falklands (which are to our north) and head straight to Cape Town about 3000 miles away.

----------
Sent via SailMail, http://www.sailmail.com

day 25

Day 25 Yes you guessed it! day 25 finds us motoring in calm seas with about 50% cloud. Position 56 39.9'S 090 23.3'W. We have had a very light winds yet again. a couple of hours at 20 knots but not much else. Some snow and hail, I do love a good summer snow flurry, but not much wind.

We are starting to head north to the Horn now. About 770 miles to go to get there then 450 to Port Stanley. We should pass our point of being halfway between NZ and South Africa soon, probably about day 27. We will see if the South Atlantic gives us more wind or a faster passage for the remaining miles.

We don't really get a night time here rather a long sunset/sunrise of about 3 to 4 hours.. some lovely colours.

We know we are getting nearer to land as we can get medium wave radio stations inthe evening now. Plenty of spanish and some good music. RNZ is somewhat harder to receive though.

----------
Sent via SailMail, http://www.sailmail.com

day 18

Day 18 finds us motoring in calm seas with low cloud. Position 55 57.3'S 118 47.4'W. We have had a very light wind trip so far with some good sailing and some motoring/motor-sailing with nothing above about 25 knots. Currently we are heading.........
If hat sounds familiar then read no further as not much has changed.

We are heading north a bit to try to catch some wind. Currently we are motoring in light airs and a calm sea and low swell. We have been down at 57 south and had some good winds for a while..... Our noon runs vary from 220 nm to about 130 nm. Overall we have covered 2723 nm and have 1681 to go to the Horn.
As always life onboard takes on a routine nature with moments of activity. As the winds are light the activity is minimal luckily as it is a tad chilly at times outside with wind chill. Inside the heater keeps the saloon and wheelhouse warm. The remainder of the boat is like a fridge. A good place to have lots of warm wool clothes.

Obviously the lack of wind is slowing our progress so it is likely to be end of Jan at cape Town at the current pace. It could get slower though!

Jim failed to mention the only bits of excitement recently. We passed through what we think was the convergence and had a day with a lot of sea life including quite a few whales. The same day we saw a large pink buoy (~ 1 m diameter), which we managed to pick up (and then accidentally punctured). Well its what passes for excitement around here anyway!

----------
Sent via SailMail, http://www.sailmail.com

day 13

Day 13 finds us motoring in calm seas with low cloud. Position 55 49.9'S 141 56.3'W. We have had a very light wind trip so far with some good sailing and some motoring/motor-sailing with nothing above about 25 knots. Currently we are still heading SE but in about a day we will start heading east. Saw some hourglass dolphins but nothing much else to report.
So far we have completed about 1895 nautical miles in the 13 days we have been at sea. This has included daily runs of up to 227 nautical miles and as low as 130 nautical miles. We have done about 1995 nautical miles and have 2825 nautical miles to complete to get to Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands (if we stop there). There is then the 3500 odd nautical miles across the South Atlantic to Cape Town. While calmer seas are lovely it has seen lower daily runs which means we take longer.

----------
Sent via SailMail, http://www.sailmail.com