Day 123

On the occasion of this important holiday – the Annunciation – the ocean has decided to give me respite.  On Sunday, the wind calmed to 10 knots, but the waves are still large and oceanic, of course.  The sky is clear and the air is frosty.  It is a beautiful Autumn day.

An albatross passed by magnificently, flying around the boat without once flapping its wings, and disappeared in the direction of South America.  I was finally able to stand up in the cockpit and stretch out.  All this time I’ve been crawling or on my knees.  There is always a danger in standing up: if a wave can knock you overboard even the safety belt won’t save you.  Climbing back into a boat in full gear and yachting boots isn’t easy.  Only once in my life have I fallen overboard, in 1990, during my circumnavigation of the Earth on the yacht “Karaana”.  I was fastened, and the boat was going 3-4 knots, and it dragged me alongside it, fastened to the yacht.  It is very difficult to get out of the ocean back into a boat, especially when you are alone and fully dressed to the conditions of the Southern Ocean.

The weather gave me the opportunity to bring the boat into order.  I opened the whole boat to air out.  The damp has gotten into everything inside and mould has started blooming.  There isn’t a single dry item on board.  There is condensation everywhere.  All of the electronics on board are still working, but it’s not good for them either.  It’s like a greenhouse in there.

I’ve started the desalinator and replenished the supply of fresh water, including the emergency reserve.  Sometimes I use it when it’s storming hard and I have to use the water I brought with me from New Zealand.

The wind is forecast to start picking up again, and in a day there will be a storm with 40-knot winds.  It is good, however, because the wind will be in a favourable direction, allowing me to go South-East along my course.  Right now, when there is less than 950 miles to Cape Horn, I have to get further South.  Ideally, I should already be at 53 degrees South.  The rugged South American coast lies ahead, and it is safer for me to be further South, well into the Drake Passage, than being further North.  It is safer to row more miles and go around Cape Horn into the South Atlantic than to find myself at the Chilean Coast.

Greetings to all,

52’24 South

93’51 West