Good bye Thailand
Departed Nai Yang: Sunday 19-02-12 11.30
Lat: 08 59.59N
Lon: 098 17.66E
Log 4555.3 Nm
Bearing: 265 Deg M
Winds: Not much from anywhere.
With a deep breath, a little nervous apprehension and anticipation I hauled the anchor and headed west. Since leaving Langkawi in December it has been a waiting game principally for the right weather. There was very little wind from anywhere with no improvement for the rest of the week until I get further offshore. It was going to be a slow start. Everything seems to be working. Smithy (WindPilot) is on the helm and happily following the winds as fickle as they are.
Noon 20-02-12 Monday
Time: 12.00L +7UTC
Lat: 07 59.27N
Lon: 097 02.31E
Log 4622.5 Nm
Bearing: 264 Deg M
Winds: 10 – 12 Kts ESE
75 Nm since leaving Nai Yang. Winds improved though the night and early morning.
Spent the night dodging ships – AIS is a very handy tool.
Noon 21-02-12 Tuesday
Time: 12.00L UTC+7
Lat: 07 55.20N
Lon: 096 03.39E
Log 4668.7 Nm
Bearing: 264 Deg M
Winds: 5 Kts WNW
Frustrating – very little wind and usually from the wrong direction.
54 Nm sailed in the last 24. I managed to get some good sleep while the boat did circles, going nowhere slowly.
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| Smithy on the helm at sunrise |
Noon 22-02-12 Wednesday
Time: 12.00L UTC+7
Lat: 07 48.55N
Lon: 095 09.17E
Log 4731.5 Nm
Bearing: 264 Deg M
Winds: 8 - 10 Kts NE
57 Miles sailed in the last 24 hours. Lack of wind making for another slow night going in circles. I flew Big Bertha the asymmetrical spinnaker for 8 hours until 20.00 hours fantastic sailing in light winds. At midnight the sails were slatting so much in the choppy seas that I dropped all sails and went to sleep. Wind has tended to be from aft, which has meant gybing down wind to get a good wind angle. I have been in HF radio contact with Brian on "Tagish" from Vancouver, Canada. They are heading in the same direction as I am and are about 3 days sail ahead.
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| Big Bertha sailing into the sunset |
Time: 23/02/12 09.50L UTC+7 Thursday
Lat: 07 37.39N
Lon: 093 39.91E
Log 4806.3 Nm
Winds: 8 - 10 Kts NNE
We transited Sombrero Channel. Sadiqi sailing well. I chose the Sombrero Channel between the Nicobar Islands as it may have less shipping traffic. There were no ships. The cook managed to conjure up fried egg, bacon and tomato on toast followed by marmalade on toast and a cup of tea. I was called on VHF by Gary on "Mojombo", UK registered, who spotted me ahead just after sunrise. Good to have a little company. They are also heading to Sri Lanka.
Noon 23-02-12 Thursday
Time: 12.00L UTC+7
Lat: 07 48.55N
Lon: 095 09.17E
Log 4731.5 Nm
Bearing: 263 Deg M
Winds: 10 - 12 Kts NE
Great days sailing. 109 miles sailed. For 6 hours at night only had the number 3 headsail up to slow down so as not to transit the Sombrero channel at night. Sadiqi has crossed the Andaman Sea and has entered the Bay of Bengal.
Noon 24-02-12 Friday
Time: 12.00L UTC+6
Lat: 07 19.72N
Lon: 091 10.61E
Log: 4909.9 Nm
Bearing: 264 Deg M
Winds: 8 - 10 Kts NNE
Another great days sailing with 128.7 Nm sailed in 25 hours. There was an extra hour added to the day with the clocks being changed to UTC+6 hours. Time change - 1 hour for every 15 degrees of longitude (360/24 = 15). The company of yacht "Mojombo" was short as they had overhauled Sadiqi and sailed into the sunset before the end of the day. Size matters – well water line length makes all the difference to boat speed. Mojombo is 40 feet and Sadiqi 30 feet.
Noon 25-02-12 Saturday
Time: 12.00L UTC+6
Lat: 07 00.77N
Lon: 089 23.38E
Log: 4987.3 Nm
Bearing: 264 Deg M
Winds: 10 - 12 Kts NNE
It had been another great sail with boat speed up to 6.5 Knots with 108.3 Nm sailed in 24 hours.
It was an interesting night. I had noticed the build up of storm clouds to the south with flashes of lightening and sound of distant thunder. Alas, it appeared that we would converge. At 1.00am I was rudely awoken to the sound of thunder, sails slatting and banging in little wind. The calm before the storm! It was an extremely dark night no stars, no moon. There was more than enough retina searing lightening and loud, earth shaking thunder all about. One of my worst nightmares could be realised the boat getting struck by lightening and loosing all the electrics and electronics. The deluge that followed was amazing. Both boat and I had a thorough washing. I set up the 20 litre water containers at the mast to catch the rain from the mainsail and boom. In less than half an hour I had 40 litres of water. I had a smile, while sitting in the cold rain, when for a very brief moment, I did ponder the alternative of sitting in rush hour traffic in a short term car park, otherwise called a motorway or freeway or being out here. You'd have to search on "Freeway" on this blog to see the reference.
After resetting Smithy for the lighter winds I took my cold damp carcase to bed. I was roused again from a very sound sleep with the sound of slatting sails. "Oh no. Not again!" I said, or words to that affect. 5.00am and the winds had dropped to almost nothing. It was not raining and there were a few stars about. I reset the sails and Smithy and returned to bed.
Noon 26-02-12 - Sunday
Time: 12.00L UTC+6
Lat: 06 48.53N
Lon: 087 42.45E
Log: 5072.2 Nm
Bearing: 264 Deg M
Winds: 5 - 8 Kts SE
Not the best day distance wise with 100 Nm – still a good day. It has been interesting watching the swells. There has been a large languid swell (3 metres) with very long wave length from the south west and a short, choppy, turgid swell (2 metres) from the prevailing wind direction north east. When the current turns and goes against the wind the seas become distinctly nasty, the boat bounces around uncomfortably and makes the sails slat regardless of the wind strength.
Noon 27-02-12 - Monday
Time: 12.00L UTC+6
Lat: 06 41.35N
Lon: 085 45.37E
Log: 5151.2 Nm
Bearing: 262 Deg M
Winds: 5 - 8 Kts ENE
116 miles sailed in the 24 hour period.
I saw whales in the evening. At first I thought it was a dolphin leaping out of the water in the distance. Getting closer I could see that these were a lot bigger than dolphins. There may have been about 10, large, mostly black, with a long, narrow, tapering, swept back dorsal fin. They were happy playing with themselves leaving me alone.
0500 another early wake up call. I heard some rain and felt that something was not right. Once the brain engaged I found that Sadiqi was heading east. Smithy the windvane had faithfully followed the 180 degree wind shift. Smithy has no wires, no computers etc. he has no idea where he is or where he's going – he steers to the wind that he is set to. Fortunately, we had not gone too far. To be able to tell if the wind has shifted and Smithy maybe heading off course I use the cross track error (XTE) on the chart plotter (GPS). If the boat sails more than 2 miles off course then an alarm goes off. However, with the wind shift of 180 degrees there was no cross track error.
Half an hour after resetting the boat on the right course – west – the wind dropped altogether. I started up the motor and motored west charging the batteries.
Noon 28-02-12 - Tuesday
Time: 12.00L UTC+6
Lat: 06 35.31N
Lon: 084 19.77E
Log: 5202.2 Nm
Bearing: 261 Deg M
Winds: Not much from the west.
Not a great day sailing wise - 85 miles sailed and motored. It was a long night with the wind, what there was of it, coming from west. The wind picked up to about 8 knots from the north during the morning. There were storm cells all around and distant sounds of grumbling thunder. The boat is rolling around so much, wind indicator at the top of the mast is behaving like a demented mutt chasing it's tail. It didn't do much for my demeanour either.
Noon 29-02-12 - Wednesday
Time: 12.00L UTC+6
Lat: 06 31.27N
Lon: 083 16.34E
Log: 5218.8 Nm
Bearing: 259 Deg M
Winds: 5 - 8 Kts SSW
Another long day and night – pulling the sails up and pulling them down – I lost count of how many times. The wind was very capricious. I even tried Big Bertha the asymmetrical spinnaker hardly fluttered the petticoat. Four hours before sunrise I pulled the sails down and went to sleep. There was no wind and the confounded slatting of the sails drives me crazy. At first light I started the motor and headed 258 degrees. Just as well there is an extra day in the year this year.
I had the privilege of a dolphin escort at sun rise. A pod of about 30 to 40 dolphins played in Sadiqi's bow wave as we motored westwards in almost zero wind.
It was a good day to top up with fuel, bake bread and do chores in the glassy conditions. Fuel used since leaving Ban Nit, Phuket – 35 litres, approximate distance travelled 928 nautical miles. The engine has run for 36 hours.
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| Baking Bread |
Noon 01-03-12 - Thursday
Time: 12.00L UTC+5.5
Lat: 06 04.49N
Lon: 081 32.43E
Log: 5242.0 Nm
Bearing: 260 Deg M
Winds: < 5 Kts E
There was very little wind. The sea was like deep blue glass with the odd lump or two from the swell. Toward evening I shut the engine down, give it a rest and me a respite from the noise, and went for a swim. The sea is an amazing deep blue and, I guess, deep too at 4,000 metres. Sea temperature is around 29 to 30 degrees Celsius.
I managed to get three hours of peace with out the engine in the early hours of the morning. There was less than 8 knots blowing from the east – it was just enough to keep Sadiqi moving along at 2 to 3 knots. Otherwise, the engine has been pretty much running continually.
A huge pod of dolphins frolicked around the boat early in the morning. There would have been more than 50 covering a wide area. Some of them played in the bow wave, some did somersaults and leaps out of the water in the distance. Great to see and watch.
While having my coffee and breakfast a Sri Lankan fishing boat paid a visit. It must have motored more than 2 miles just to come and say hello and ask for cigarettes and arrack. I had been warned about these opportunistic fishermen – beggars of the sea. I waved politely, told them I did not have any arrack and fortunately they went on their way.
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| Sri Lankan Fishing Boat |
I changed the time zone for Sri Lanka UTC+5.5 hours. I have gained another half an hour.
I can see Sri Lanka in the distance and a lot of ships. The AIS has been picking up a ships almost continually now. The VHF radio traffic between the ships has also increased with operators confirming position and course to avoid collisions.
02-03-12 – Friday 0800L UTC +5.5
Arrived Galle Harbour, Sri Lanka
Engine: 788.4 Hours
Log: 5274.0 Nm
Winds: < 5 Kts E most of the time
Lots of ships and lots of small fishing boats as I got closer to the shore.
I hoisted Big Bertha on a starboard tack. This lasted half an hour before the wind shifted further to the east and strengthened. I gybed Big Bertha and off we went the peace and quiet was sensational.
I had to slow the boat down to arrive at Galle in day light. I hoisted the sails again in 5 to 8 knot winds from the east. The boat speed varied through 2 to 5 knots. It was a pleasant drift with a half moon and star studded sky.
At 23.30 I was abreast of Dondra Head the southern most tip of Sri Lanka. I had to dodge many small fishing boats. I was to discover that some of them fish in pairs with a gill net between .
I went a little too close to one pair of boats, not between them, and snagged a net on the rudder skeg dragging the two boats behind Sadiqi. All the one bloke to say was "fishing net damaged" repeatedly, hoping for big compensation. I furled the headsail and hauled in the mainsheet tight. By this time one of the boats was banging against the port aft quarter of Sadiqi. I lowered the swim ladder and hopped over the side to try and un-snag the net. Eventually I succeeded and we went our separate ways. I think they were a little surprised that I got into the water so quickly. Sadiqi suffered a few scratches on the topsides and rubbing strake from the fishing boat banging into it.
About 20 miles before Galle the fishing boats started to thin out and I was able to get a little sleep. The sounds, sights and smell of land were distinctive. The sounds of music blaring from what I can only assume were holiday resorts, the coast line lit up with lights and the smell of wood smoke and exhaust fumes. I was only drifting about a mile to 2 off the coast with the wind, what little of there was, was coming off the shore.
At 8.00 I called up Windsor Reef Navigation to act as agents to clear into Sri Lanka. I also called Port Control to ask for clearance. I was told to anchor near the harbour entrance, not in the channel, and wait for Navy clearance to arrive. The anchorage was very rolly not comfortable at all. I was then ask to move to a slightly more sheltered anchorage so the Navy could come onboard and give clearance to enter the harbour. Even with the new manual anchor windlass I was starting the have a sense of humour failure. The navy came on board and apparently I was not seen as a security threat and I was able to enter the harbour. I was told to tie up to the wharf and pick up the agent and the navy to disembark. I was not happy about tying up to the wharf with the surge in the harbour. The agent, Casson, capitulated and said I should go where the other yachts were. The other yachts were moored with bow anchor and stern tied to a plastic leggo like structure that looked totally inadequate for the job. This is called Mediterranean mooring and something that I had never done before. This was not easy to do single handed. The agent and his assistant were not much use on boat handling. Fortunately there were two people on the plastic dock to catch the stern lines.
The docking arrangement was going to get more interesting due to the huge surge in the harbour. I still had the nightmare of bureaucracy to go through. Immigration officials turned up in the full uniform and inspected the boat, then customs arrived again with the full regalia. The whole process with the assistance from the agent took hours with a forest full of forms and paper work to fill out. And of course, there were the requests for cigarettes and alcohol. I had bought duty free cigarettes in Langkawi for this very reason.
I walked out of the harbour grounds which has 24 hour security to the Agents office to pay fees etc. The fee for staying in Galle harbour, agents fee, visa etc for one month is US$235.00.
It took almost 13 days since leaving Thailand. The route distance from Nai Yang, Thailand, through Sombrero Channel, Nicobar Islands, Dondra Head and Galle, Sri Lanka was 1085 nautical miles. The engine was run for 66 hours for charging batteries and when the winds were too little to drive the boat. All in all it was a good trip other than the lack of wind toward at the start and at the end. It would appear that the wind becomes very fickle within 5 degrees of the equator. I would more than likely experience similar conditions to that I had experienced when sailing/motoring off the west coat of Sumatra in 2010.
While at sea blog postings have been done using HF Radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com
While at sea blog postings have been done using HF Radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com
