Date:
3rd November
Location:
12.58.00N, 57 47.0 E
Blog 4- Day nine on Indian Ocean
Blog from Crew member: Niklas Andersson
We have just hoisted the mainsail and we are really tired. It took a lot of effort from everyone to get it up. But the decision was right to hoist it. The last days we have struggled with the storm sail to get more east and away from Somalia without any success. And when the wind got a bit stronger Philip decided to try the mainsail again. Now we are racing down the Indian Ocean in almost 4 knots going southeast. The feeling to sail with the mainsail is great. It must be a beautiful sight from a distance. This is how sailing is supposed to be. Soon there will be lunch and our favourite cook Aziz is making spicy food again. Without chilli I hope!
Philip is now in an unthreatened position in the fishing competition. He has now caught six and Dirman is on second place with two. Thought Dirman almost caught a shark a few days ago. A beast, almost 1.5m between the eyes.
We were just about to drag the beast aboard when the hook snapped and it got away. The fresh food is about to go off now. Though we have lots of canned food left and the eggs are now covered with Vaseline to keep them fresh for the whole leg to Dar Es Salaam. Oh now something is happening. The parell just snapped and the yard is flapping lose and away from the mast. No time to rest, All hands on deck!
Captain's Blog-
Sailing Close to the Wind
As you will know from earlier blogs we have been trying to make progress to the east of us to avoid the pirates. However this has been difficult because as everyone one knows, Phoenician ships couldn't sail close to the wind, anything under 90 degrees is considered good. And with light north easterly winds we have only managed to go due south or worse these last couple of days. We are therefore sailing close to the wind in the metaphorical sense, as we are just some 450 miles from the Somali coast and the security advisers recommend a minimum distance of between 600 and 900 miles offshore because of the almost daily attacks taking place.
The good news is that in the last 24 hours the winds have freshened (12-15 knots) and with the mainsail now up, we are starting to make a little headway to the east and over 3 knots total speed. Tonight we expect even stronger winds and faster progress. But as far as other risks go we are still sailing pretty close to the wind and a little too close to the Somali coast for comfort. That having been said most of the recent attacks have been several hundreds of miles to the south of us, something to worry about next week perhaps. In the meantime we are, for the first time in a long time, enjoying some magnificent sailing. The shape of the mainsail is a fantastic sight and we are all happy to be part of the experience.
3rd November
Location:
12.58.00N, 57 47.0 E
Blog 4- Day nine on Indian Ocean
Blog from Crew member: Niklas Andersson
We have just hoisted the mainsail and we are really tired. It took a lot of effort from everyone to get it up. But the decision was right to hoist it. The last days we have struggled with the storm sail to get more east and away from Somalia without any success. And when the wind got a bit stronger Philip decided to try the mainsail again. Now we are racing down the Indian Ocean in almost 4 knots going southeast. The feeling to sail with the mainsail is great. It must be a beautiful sight from a distance. This is how sailing is supposed to be. Soon there will be lunch and our favourite cook Aziz is making spicy food again. Without chilli I hope!
Philip is now in an unthreatened position in the fishing competition. He has now caught six and Dirman is on second place with two. Thought Dirman almost caught a shark a few days ago. A beast, almost 1.5m between the eyes.
We were just about to drag the beast aboard when the hook snapped and it got away. The fresh food is about to go off now. Though we have lots of canned food left and the eggs are now covered with Vaseline to keep them fresh for the whole leg to Dar Es Salaam. Oh now something is happening. The parell just snapped and the yard is flapping lose and away from the mast. No time to rest, All hands on deck!
Captain's Blog-
Sailing Close to the Wind
As you will know from earlier blogs we have been trying to make progress to the east of us to avoid the pirates. However this has been difficult because as everyone one knows, Phoenician ships couldn't sail close to the wind, anything under 90 degrees is considered good. And with light north easterly winds we have only managed to go due south or worse these last couple of days. We are therefore sailing close to the wind in the metaphorical sense, as we are just some 450 miles from the Somali coast and the security advisers recommend a minimum distance of between 600 and 900 miles offshore because of the almost daily attacks taking place.
The good news is that in the last 24 hours the winds have freshened (12-15 knots) and with the mainsail now up, we are starting to make a little headway to the east and over 3 knots total speed. Tonight we expect even stronger winds and faster progress. But as far as other risks go we are still sailing pretty close to the wind and a little too close to the Somali coast for comfort. That having been said most of the recent attacks have been several hundreds of miles to the south of us, something to worry about next week perhaps. In the meantime we are, for the first time in a long time, enjoying some magnificent sailing. The shape of the mainsail is a fantastic sight and we are all happy to be part of the experience.
