Daily report #62

Dear readers,
Every day we draw a position on the map. They are “oversailers”, large maps with an entire Ocean or a large part on it. The oversailer we are using now is that of the southern Indian Ocean. The map gives an extra dimension to sailing because the plotter indicates where you are going but not where you are going over.
The oversailor paints a picture of what lies beneath that vast expanse of water. Mountains, valleys, plateaus, troughs and cracks. I don't know if Prince Edward was very happy when a "fracture zone" was named after him, but maybe it was a package that also got a few islands named after him. Sometimes I drop something from the boat, a piece of iron from a clothespin and then think that it will end up somewhere on a 3000 meter high top of the “Africana sea mountain”. Maybe next to a few cannonballs because I believe the French boucaniers have done a good job here.

Yesterday's beautiful day that Ton wrote about had a tail. 24 hours of severe weather from 25 to 40 knots. We knew it was coming and now we know what it looked like. During my watch the sea built up quickly and this time, because the wind shifted to the north and we are sailing to the southwest, no tailwind. To keep course we sailed to half wind and that makes the experience very different. In the course of the evening it became a terribly wild sea with huge waves with overtopping crests. The Kalosini held up great but bounced back and forth, dove into the waves, slid down sideways and spilled huge amounts of water and kept sailing. The watch was lavishly flooded (nothing is more annoying than starting your watch with a complete saltwater bath) and in the meantime had to keep the course with the strings and the windvane. And again it was almost impossible to move on the ship. By now we have sea legs I can assure you but the last 24 hours you needed full focus to be smacked against a cupboard or pole. In bed then, where the art was to stay in it. The pendulum sails rigged and extra pillow under the mattress, feet against the wall, hand under the mattress and eyes closed. Halfway through my night I found myself in the sling sail. That's great, so that works, otherwise I would have been rolling on the floor with some loose shoes and free-spirited junk. We have learned something again, pay attention, continue calmly and sit out the bad weather. This afternoon around half past two it was suddenly over and the wind and then the sea died down. Suddenly I smell the land, wood fire, grass and when I look towards the continent there is a yellowish haze. How delightful! Country! I can't see it yet, but I can smell it. This is one of those moments when you have an answer to what's fun about sailing. Seeing land and smelling land and getting the creeps. Now we are sailing with a lovely swing and speed towards Port Elisabeth. Tomorrow morning we will be there and we have had another varied passage. We're going to text and call again and have a South African beer while waiting for a weather window to sail to Cape Town.

Regards,
Tony and Mark