Location: 1500 miles south of Pitcairn island 2022 miles sailing miles to cape Horn 1140 miles north of the Antarctic ice pack
Day's Run: (23 hours) 171 nautical miles
Saturday November 25th, 2000
0930 hours. The wind dropped down during the night leaving us with a large, left-over slop. By 2am it was becoming variable in direction, and by 0230 we decided to motor to save damaging the sails as they crashed and banged around when Seamaster rolled with the swells. We are still motoring – in the right direction even though the wind is up to maybe 15 knots right from behind. Our wind forecast that we receive each day through the Internet shows not much more wind than this for the next day or so but it is good for the engines to have a run to keep them in good condition for later on, because when we are in the Beagle Channel of Tierra del Fuego, or amongst the ice floes of Antarctica, our sails will rarely be used.
It’s a grey day and rather cold. Not like yesterday afternoon that had the sun shining and the seas a deep blue. Even though the exterior temperature was only 8 degrees, it was so warm in the saloon, (26 deg C), that we put the window covers on. It foretells well for colder climates. It is now nice to get into your bunk with your socks, thermal trousers and thermal top on and get right under the thick duvet and feel good. Sleep is also easier, but I guess much of that is because we have now been at sea awhile and have become used to the different modes be our vessel thundering along in mountainous seas in a full gale, with the sea-tops sweeping the deck, or as were are right now, motoring along with little wind.
Our “Crew-of-the-Day” is Tracey. She is our cook and has one of the most arduous jobs onboard, but she also likes to wind the coffee-grinder winch handles when we change sail combinations, and will often be found on watch in the middle of the night. She is another very important member of our team, but also someone who thrives on adventure, and going places with an unknown element. Tracey undertook all of the provisioning in New Zealand before we departed, for approximately 15 people for between 6 and 9 months. This was a huge task, because it entailed working out the individual menus first, then quantities, then buying and storing onboard such that all of the items can be found without a long hunt. How all the food was packed away, I find hard to believe, but it has been “swallowed-up” by every locker, shelf and small spaces available – under bunks, on bunks, up forward for the fresh food, down aft for the overflow of tins, in the freezers, loo rolls behind the freezers, half a tonne of flour, a quarter of a tonne of rice, 26 litres of soy sauce, masses of honey, butter, apples, tomatoes, oranges, bananas, steaks, fresh eggs, dried foods, and an almost endless supply of Hellaby’s Corned Beef – hurrah!! I asked Tracey if she would like to write a piece for today’s Log, and the following is all hers.
Sir Peter Blake
"Having vision is not enough. Change comes through realising the vision and turning it into a reality. It is easy to espouse worthy goals, values and policies; the hard part is implementation."
Learn about Sir Peter Blake and his journeys around the globe
