Thursday May 10 – 0730 departed Gan, Addu Atoll, Maldives. Wind - none to speak of.
Engine hours: 851.2 Hours
Rhumb line distance 1,581 nautical miles, Bearing 246 degrees Magnetic. Gan, Addu Atoll, Maldives to Cap d' Ambre, Madagascar (northern cape).
Hauling the anchor in 30 meters of water was a mission. Thank goodness I had the manual windlass, otherwise I would have had a hernia. All the same it took quite some time to lift the 30 metres of chain and 20 metres of rode.
I waved goodbye to Sean and Stephan from "Finnegan" and the crowd on "Alice" (Aleche). It was a nice day to go for a sail.
Please note that the distance covered is the straight line distance from the previous days position. This does not account for changes in course or tacking. The Log distance will be effected by currents and also if the equipment is turned off - conserve battery power. Wind speeds are apparent - what you feel - not true speeds.
Noon 10-05-12 – Thursday
Time: 12.00L UTC+5.0
Lat: 00 54.06 S
Lon: 073 02.58 E
Log: 5603.5 Nm
Bearing: 200 Deg M
Winds: 5 to 8 Kts WSW
What a pleasant sail. Sadiqi drifted along at between 2 to 3 knots, most of it at 2 knots, into the 8 to 10 knot westerly wind. The true wind speed of between 5 and 8 knots from the west north west. The wind being so light meant for flattish waters in the huge swell. The depth being two to three thousand meters.
In the night Sadiqi was pushed eastwards by the South Equatorial Counter Current. This was a current of between 1 to 2 knots.
At 0900 hours the winds blew 12 to 15 knots from SSE. Boat speed between 5 to 5.5 knots. This was very pleasant sailing.
Distance covered since leaving Addu Atoll – 70 Miles
Noon 11-05-12 – Friday
Time: 12.00L UTC+5.0
Lat: 01 39.61 S
Lon: 072 32.53 E
Log: 5651.5 Nm
Bearing: 240 Deg M
Winds: 10 to 12 Kts SE
By 1300 hours the winds had dropped to 6 knots and there was a lousy residual slop from the earlier good SE wind . The motor was started and we chugged and clattered southward. By around 1500 hours the wind had swung from the south west at 8 to 10 knots – turned off the engine and sailed almost due south. Toward midnight the wind swung from the south east and increased in strength to 15 knots. Sadiqi was put on a port tack and headed south west at 3 to 4 knots against the Equatorial Counter Current. This counter current travels east at around 1 to 2 knots. Slow going.
Distance covered in the last 24 hours – 71.2 Miles
Noon 12-05-12 – Saturday
Time: 12.00L UTC+5.0
Lat: 02 30.15 S
Lon: 071 42.46 E
Log: 5719.9 Nm
Bearing: 250 Deg M
Winds: < 5 Kts SE
Winds dropped by 1300 hours – engine turned on. A few rain showers came though nothing startling – left sloppy wave chop. Lots of towering cloud cells indicating instability and probably the area of the ITCZ. Still pushing against the counter current flowing east. The actual South Equatorial Current flows west. Sadiqi should be able to get a ride on it.
The engine was run for most of the last 24 hours with the winds being generally less than 5 knots. Prior to midnight the engine was shut down and the sails furled and Sadiqi rolled around like a pig in the proverbial - bloody uncomfortable. At midnight the conditions were so uncomfortable that the engine was started again as we chugged south west. This is the doldrums after all.
Distance covered in the last 24 hours 71.5 Miles
Noon 13-05-12 – Sunday
Time: 12.00L UTC+5.0
Lat: 02 58.81 S
Lon: 070 40.23 E
Log: 5782.8 Nm
COG: 260 Deg M
Winds: 12 to 15 Kts SE
Engine: 875.0 hrs
The winds dropped to 5 knots later in the afternoon. Raised Big Bertha, the asymmetrical spinnaker, for a couple of hours, pushing west against the current. It was good to see boat speeds (SOG) of 5 to 6 knots again. It was a shy reach so had to hand steer as neither Ken nor Smithy could steer in such light conditions with the light sail.
I was distracted watching a seabird attempt to land on Big Bertha that my hat went overboard. I pressed the man over board (MOB) button on the GPS, then went forward and doused the spinnaker. Trying to turn the boat with the spinnaker up would have left a very untidy gift wrapped boat. Once the spinnaker was doused the boat was turned onto the reciprocal course. Eventually, by using the "GOTO MOB" on the GPS I luckily spotted the Tilley hat and retrieved it. A successful rescue.
The wind was too shy to fly Big Bertha at night as much as I would have loved to make some good progress. More motoring than sailing.
Distance covered in the last 24 hours –68.4 Miles
Noon 14-05-12 – Monday
Time: 12.00L UTC+5.0
Lat: 03 33.51 S
Lon: 096 22.96 E
Log: 5853.2 Nm
COG: 240 Deg M
Winds: 5 – 8 Kts SW
Mostly motoring south west slowly. Only had about a half hours sail in the morning before the wind dropped. A few rain squall and storm cells around. Sadiqi and I got a good and much needed freshwater wash in the rain.
Distance covered in the last 24 hours 84.6 Miles
Noon 15-05-12 – Tuesday
Time: 12.00L UTC+5.0
Lat: 04 33.37 S
Lon: 068 33.65 E
Log: 5916.1 Nm
Bearing: 220 Deg M
Winds: < 5 Kts from everywhere
Engine: 911.7 Hrs
Very uneventful - motoring the whole 24 hours. Decided during the night to push south to get out of the easterly current and hopefully find the south east trade winds. The boat speed went from 2 knots to 4 knots. The weather GRIB files did not looking very encouraging for the next few days. The wind direction instruments at the top of the mast have been doing the mad dog chasing their tails thing all morning. The anemometer (wind speed) looked bored and listless.
Distance covered in the last 24 hours 77.5 Miles
Noon 16-05-12 – Wednesday
Time: 12.00L UTC+4.0 (Time zone change)
Lat: 05 39.28 S
Lon: 067 57.27 E
Log: 5979.4 Nm
COG: 240 Deg M
Winds: 6 to 10 Kts E
Engine: 916.4 Hrs
Sadiqi carried on motoring south in very little wind. I attempted to use Big Bertha – the conditions weren't having it. It gave me something to do and get out of the hot cabin. Beer o clock (1700 hours) gave the engine a rest, checked oil, furled all the sails, went for a swim, then updated the blog.
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| Beer o clock |
There appeared to be just enough wind almost 8 knots easterly and the water was fairly calm that I risked putting up the sails. Sadiqi eased southwards at 2 to 3 knots. The silence was blissful the motion pleasant. Sadiqi sailed through the night and I had the best and longest periods of sleep since leaving the Maldives.
The conditions were still calm in the morning for me to top up the diesel tank from the jerry cans, check and fill the water in the batteries.
At around 1000 hours the 6 to 8 knot wind seemed to come more from the northeast so I hoisted Big Bertha again. This was short lived as the wind increased to 18 knots from the east. There was also a squall line approaching from the south east. Shortly after the squall went through dumping torrential rain there was no wind. The wind soon picked up from the south east with the approach of the next squall. There was not a great deal of wind with gusts up to 25 knots. However, the residual wave chop from the wind left Sadiqi dancing around and the mast head doing crazy figure of eights in the sky – very uncomfortable onboard.
Distance covered in the last 25 hours 75.2 Miles
Noon 17-05-12 – Thursday
Time: 12.00L UTC+4.0
Lat: 06 15.19 S
Lon: 066 16.26 E
Log: 6040.3 Nm
COG: 278 Deg M
Winds: 10 to 15 Kts ESE
Engine: 918.8 Hrs
Shortly after doing the previous days noon position there was no wind, so the engine was started. This only lasted half an hour as the wind started to build from the east south east and there were no more squalls. The sails were raised and Sadiqi headed almost due west. We were 250 miles due west of the Chagos archipelago. We were in the South East Trade winds finally. I also noticed that the Speed over the ground (SOG) was the same if not better than the boat's speed through the water. Sadiqi was no longer fighting the Equitorial Counter Current.
It was good to hear the low howl of the wind through the rigging and the water rushing past the hull, the engine cool and not rattling on. At around 2200 hours I roused myself out of my sea berth to do a check and noticed the loom of bright lights to the west. After a long anxious while Sadiqi passed about 100 metres ahead of the bows of a reasonable size boat. There goes my theory on the probability of getting run over by a ship in these waters. Oh well, I was not much good at statistics anyway. After that I checked on ships being about a little more regularly. I have only seen three vessels since leaving the Maldives waters; 1: during the day a large ship heading north in the distance – no AIS. 2: at night a smaller fishing boat that I picked up on Radar – they also had radar. 3: last nights larger boat heading south east maybe to Diego Garcia.
During the night I had furled the headsail as the wind had gone more aft and the sails were making a heck of a racket banging about. The main was left furled to the first reefing point.
Sun rise saw us still heading west at between 5 and 6 knots with just the reefed mainsail.
It was good to see the seabirds again so far away from land. The Shearwaters, Gannets, Boobies, Frigatebirds and the Tropical Birds. My guess is that they only fly in this part of the ocean where the swell is a large enough for them to soar on.
Distance covered in the last 24 hours 106.7 Miles
Noon 18-05-12 – Friday
Time: 12.00L UTC+4.0
Lat: 06 36.86 S
Lon: 064 56.76 E
Log: 6082.1 Nm
Bearing: 270 Deg M
Winds: 10 - 12 Kts SE
Engine: 918.8 Hrs
Rolling westward at 5 to 6 knots in 10 to 12 knot South Easterly on an almost cloudless sky.
Listened to the weather forecast on HF from South Africa Maritime Mobile Net (ZS2ABK). Covers Indian Ocean & S Atlantic. 14.316Mhz & moves to 7.045Mhz @ 0630hrs and also @ 1130hrs UTC. High over the southern Indian Ocean and over South Africa bringing an easterly air flow.
The winds dropped to 5 to 8 knots during the night and swung through east to the north. Sailing with reefed mainsail only I gybed twice during the night when the sail started to bang about and shake the mast and boat.
The wind picked up to 10 to 12 knots from the south east after sunrise. Great sailing.
For lunch I had visualised fried egg on toast. Alas, only two eggs in the dozen were close to edible and I ended up with omelette instead. Unfortunately, There was not much fresh food at Gan, in the Maldives. I Hoped the other dozen were ok. I had been turning them everyday. They weren't!
Distance covered in the last 24 hours 82.0 Miles
Noon 19-05-12 – Saturday
Time: 12.00L UTC+4.0
Lat: 07 27.67 S
Lon: 062 58.79 E
Log: 6165.1 Nm
Bearing: 265 Deg M
Winds: 8 to 10 Kts ESE
Engine: 918.8 Hrs
Rock and Roll westwards. This was a huge days sail – probably the best in a 24 hour period.
The wind strengthened in the evening to 10 to 15 knots SE – boat speed of 5 – 6 knots on a beam reach. The main was furled to the first reefing point.
Toward midnight the wind had increased 12 to 18 knots from the ESE. Sadiqi was rolling wildly on a broad reach doing speeds over 7 knots. The main was furled to the second reefing point to ease the motion and the speed.
Just on sunrise the wind had eased the second reef was unfurled. Toward midday the wind continued to ease and the main was fully unfurled, the boat speed still around 5 knots.
Distance covered in the last 24 hours 127.7 Miles
Noon 20-05-12 – Sunday
Time: 12.00L UTC+4.0
Lat: 07 39.31 S
Lon: 061 36.12 E
Log: 6220.6 Nm
COG: 290 Deg M
Winds: 10 to 12 Kts SSE
Engine: 918.8 Hrs
Have not seen any ships/planes for days the Pink Floyd song "Is there anybody out there" from the album "The Wall" came to mind.
It was a pretty rough night with light winds and confused sea state. I was rudely awoken before midnight with sails banging and slatting loudly and would have been tipped out of my bunk had it not been for the lee cloths. The boat was bouncing around like a cork. Initially I furled all the sails to stop the sails banging – this gave no comfort at all. The wind was easterly at 6 knots - broad reach - not enough to fill the sails. The seas were nasty, short and snappy. I eventually raised both sails to the second reefing points and Sadiqi slowly eased westwards. The movement in the boat became more bearable. This seemed ironic after having to reduce sail the previous night due to the winds being too heavy, now the sail area was shortened because of choppy waves and the wind being too light.
After sunrise the winds picked up and we headed westwards at a reasonable speed with full sails.
Distance covered in the last 24 hours 82.8 Miles
Noon 21-05-12 – Monday
Time: 12.00L UTC+4.0
Lat: 08 06.87 S
Lon: 059 56.54 E
Log: 6276.6 Nm
COG: 252 Deg M
Winds: 10 to 15 Kts SE
Engine: 918.8 Hrs
A fairly uneventful night with winds from the SSE at 10 to 12 knots. There being a new moon and a cloudless sky the stars were amazing. Sadiqi had a visit from a pod of dolphins It was amazing to watch streaks of phosphorescence turn and head toward the bow time and time again. I spent nearly an hour watching their antics in between being mesmerised by the star studded sky.
Just on sunrise the conditions became a little more boisterous as the winds picked up to 18 knots from the SE. Both sails were furled to ease the motion and slow the speed through the water. Sadiqi was getting a good ride on the westerly flowing South Equatorial Current.
At 1000 hours Sadiqi passed north of the Mascarene Plateau shoals – The Saya de Malha Bank. The wind had decreased, the headsail was unfurled and the main left with single reef. The boat was slicing through the water at a good 5 knots.
The fishing line had been out for several days. Two days prior the fish that got away - did. Today however, proved more rewarding as a reasonable sized Mahi Mahi or Dorado or Dolphin Fish took the lure. What a stunning coloured fish changing from iridescent pale blue, to bright green then gold. Fish for dinner for a change.
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| Dinner |
Distance covered in the last 24 hours 102.4 Miles
Noon 22-05-12 – Tuesday
Time: 12.00L UTC+4.0
Lat: 08 45.91 S
Lon: 058 03.01 E
Log: 6361.6 Nm
COG: 2560 Deg M
Winds: 12 to 14 Kts SE
Engine: 920.2 Hrs
The fish for dinner was ok. Filleted and fried with garlic and ginger, then on a bed of coconut milk rice – no greens as they were out of season, on Sadiqi anyway.
Another boisterous night with winds from the south east up to 18 knots and confused seas. This South Equatorial Current is a pretty wild ride.
Very pleasant sailing during the morning – rolling along at 5 to 6 knots.
Distance covered in the last 24 hours 118.9 Miles
Noon 23-05-12 – Wednesday
Time: 12.00L UTC+4.0
Lat: 09 26.25 S
Lon: 056 19.22 E
Log: 6413.7 Nm
COG: 250 Deg M
Winds: 10 to 12 Kts SE
Engine: 920.2 Hrs
Anticipating another fast and boisterous night sails were shortened to the second reefing points. Winds reached 18 knots and boat speed was still up to 5 knots. The skipper had a good nights rest.
At midday passed to the north of the Agalega Islands.
Distance covered in the last 24 hours 110.0 Miles
Noon 24-05-12 – Thursday
Time: 12.00L UTC+4.0
Lat: 10 21.57 S
Lon: 054 21.75 E
Log: 6472.5 Nm
COG: 258 Deg M
Winds: 12 to 18 Kts E
Engine: 920.2 Hrs
In the afternoon the winds increased to 25 knots from the east. This made life interesting for Smithy and I on the helm as we were heading west. This was reminiscent of the sail to Cocos Keeling – fast down wind sailing/surfing.
In the morning the winds were 12 to 18 knots from the east. Both headsail and main were reefed. Sadiqi was riding with a lot of white horses doing up to 7 knots. The sky was grey and foreboding. I had managed to harvest a couple of litres of rain water from the mainsail over night.
I heard squeaking from the fore cabin heads thinking I had mice or a bird screeching. (WTFIT?) Eventually I gave up searching, went on deck and noticed a pod of very large dolphins surfing right along side the boat. The biggest one would have been 4 to 5 metres in length. These did not have the protruding mouth/bill that the normal dolphins have. They played doing what dolphins do in the bow wave and along side. It was a pleasure to see them. When they went on their way so did the squeaking noise.
Distance covered in the last 24 hours 128.3 Miles
Noon 25-05-12 – Friday
Time: 12.00L UTC+3.0
Lat: 11 00.96 S
Lon: 052 36.77 E
Log: -- Nm
COG: 80 Deg M
Winds: 15 to 20 Kts SE
Engine: 920.2 Hrs
Time zone changed to UTC + 3 Hours.
Thursday at 1700 hours (Beer o clock) Sadiqi was 278 miles away from making land fall - Madagascar. With the aid of a beer I decided to work out the best time to approach the land and then round Cape d' Ambre. There is a strong north west current (South Equatorial Current), which converges with a strong current running north east up the west coast of the island. This can make for some very unpleasant conditions if not timed correctly. I wanted to make land fall early in day light hours. To give me landfall early Sunday morning 27/05/2012 was 60 hours away. I worked out a rough speed of 4.6 knots which makes for 111.2 nautical miles in 24 hours. I had to add an hour with the time zone change.
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| GRIB file for May 27 |
The biggest problem has been to slow the boat. Overnight with only the second reefed mainsail we still ended up doing 114 miles despite the extra hour. During the morning the wind picked up to between 15 and 25 knots and Sadiqi under reefed main and small amount of headsail showing, for comfort, was doing up to 7 knots. I decided to tack and head east – doing between 3 and 4 knots under reefed sails.
197 miles until landfall. By heading in the opposite direction for awhile I have changed the average speed to 5 knots. What happened to the 15 to 20 knots winds one was supposed to get in the south east trade winds?
Distance covered in the last 25 hours 114 Miles
Noon 26-05-12 – Saturday
Time: 12.00L UTC+4.0
Lat: 11 43.33 S
Lon: 050 52.98 E
Log: -- Nm
COG: 260 Deg M
Winds: 15 to 22 Kts SSE
Engine: 920.2 Hrs
It was a wild and woolly night with squalls coming through with up to 35 knot winds.
Daylight brought grey skies with large storm cells off to the south east. The barometer was high around 1016 mb. This was not a tropical low.
Distance off Diego Suarez - 90 miles.
Mid afternoon wind was 18 to 22 knots SE with swell of 3 metres and seas of 3 metres. Sadiqi was really rolling along with not much sail up to go slow. The squalls came through with up to 35 knots. I tacked east again to get some more time before making land fall.
Distance covered in the last 24 hours 106.6 Miles
Noon 27-05-12 – Sunday
Time: 12.00L UTC+4.0
Lat: 12 06.51 S
Lon: 048 59.53 E
Log: 6618.3 Nm
Winds: 15 to 25 Kts SSE
Engine: 921.3 Hrs
It was a very rough night with almost continuous squalls, horizontal rain and up to 35 knot winds (App). Generally the winds were 20 to 30 knots between the squalls. Being conscious of the landfall and the possibility of fishing boats I did not get much sleep and hand steered much of the time. I thought I was pretty safe with regard to other vessels around as what other idiot would be out in these conditions.
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| Sun rise |
I smelt Madagascar before I saw it even though it was night. The smell of wood smoke was quite distinct. The light houses at Antsiranana (Diego Suarez) and Cape d'Ambre were a welcome sight after almost 17 days at sea.
On Sunday, 27-05-12 at 0730 hours Sadiqi transited Cap d'Ambre, Madagascar uneventfully, hugging the 20 metre contour.
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| Cap d'Ambre, Madagascar |
Approximately 104 miles had been sailed from noon the previous day. A total 1,701 miles from the Maldives in 17 days using approximately 70 Litres of fuel. There were 7 cans of beer left from the 24 cans that I left with.
Once in the lee (north west) of Madagascar the water was flat and the wind strong. The current was strong too Sadiqi was only making 2 knots COG - the boat speed was 6 knots.
My plan had been to anchor in a bay (Mpaninabo Bay) toward the northern cape of Madagascar. With the winds being so good and making progress, all be it slowly, we pressed on. This as it turned out was a bad mistake.
Because of the change in plan I had not worked out the distance to the next anchorage that I knew about. The winds also dropped off around midday while I was having a nap. It was getting on for night and the wind picked up to 25 knots from the south. We came upon an area where the wind was against the tidal current. Sadiqi bounced around like a cork with bow pointing skywards one second, then the stern pointing skywards the next. I was running the engine pushing the boat as nightfall was almost upon us. I heard the engine falter thinking that’s all I need for the engine to fail. It did about 20 minutes from where I hoped to anchor. It was now dark. I knew what the problem was - the wind against the tidal current conditions had shaken up the fuel so much that the sediment in the tank had blocked the fuel filter. Fortunately, we were almost in the shelter of land. I unfurled the headsail and we drifted toward the anchorage - watching the depth gauge. At a depth of 10 meters I rapidly furled the headsail and went forward and dropped the anchor. What a comedy of errors, which could have ended in disaster. Evidently, "Murphy" was alive and well in Madagascar! I had a chuckle at the thought of creating some sort of monumental environmental impact if my toxic dirty laundry had washed up on shore. I guess lack of sleep does that to you. My sense of humour had not absconded. I changed the fuel filter, cooked a pasta dinner and went to sleep - much relieved. It was fairly rolly night with waves, however I was happy not to be moving and I slept longer periods than I had in the last 17 days.
I had anchored in Andronoambi Bay. There was not much in the way of coconut palm trees. There were a few baobab trees for which Madagascar is noted. There were some fairly primitive huts on shore. There was a catamaran anchored further up the bay from where I was. I took my time in the morning sorting out the boat as much as I could - almost all external surfaces were encrusted with salt.
Monday 28-05-12 I hauled the anchor, which was wrapped around rocks, and headed to the next anchorage Nosy Mitsio 25 miles away. This was a very pleasant sail in 20 knot southerly reminded me of sailing off Fremantle with the strong winds. At 1630 hours I dropped anchor at Nosy Mitsio. Very nice sheltered anchorage. There were two other catamarans from South Africa at anchor. I was wondering if it was always this windy in this part of the world.
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| Nosy Mitsio |
Tuesday 29-05-12. I spent a quiet day at Nosy Mitsio cleaning, drying and sorting things out on the boat. I had 6 beers left so had a few days before I had to head to Hellville on Nosy Be to check in with Immigration Customs and Harbour Master.
Wednesday 30-05-12 at 0730 hours departed Nosy Mitsio. Initially the winds were a very pleasant 10 to 12 knots from the east. Not too long after putting the fishing line out a nice size Spanish Mackerel was hooked. It was good to know there are fish in these waters. By midday the winds were very light and the motor was rumbling away as we headed to Nosy Be to check in. The anchor was dropped near Sakatia and island to the west of the main tourist island of Nosy Be. Alas, the engine pre-empted me by faltering and stopping. This is becoming a habit, which I will have to diagnose and cure when I get checked into Madagascar. It is just over 100 miles from northern Cap d'Ambre to the island of Nosy Be.
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| Lunch |
I went ashore on Sakatia and met Des and Nell (Gambit) South African yachties living on the island. I was keen to get some information on how things worked as far as officialdom is concerned on Nosy Be. Their hospitality was profound in that I was handed a beer and given good info.
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| Sadiqi at Sakatia, Madagascar |
Dragging anchor and nearly ending up on the beach
Sunday 03-06-12. A rain squall had past through around midnight. I was awoken from my slumbers at 0130 hours with strange motion and sounds. I scrambled out of my bunk to see that I was aground and tangled with a small power boat. I started the engine, untangled the power boat and managed to get off the bottom. I thanked my lucky stars and anything else that I did not end up on the nearby rocks. The fisherman anchor had been fouled by the chain. That's a first for ending up on a beach. There were many things, fortunately in my favour; the tide was on the rise, the beach was hard sand and the wind had eased. I was seriously questioning my sanity once I got down below. I set the anchor alarm on the Chart plotter and tried to get some sleep. I related my harrowing story to Des, Nel, Eugene, Sandra and Jackie the next morning - they were oblivious to my dramas.
That day I hauled anchor and headed to Nosy Be and officialdom to get checked in and legal. The winds around Nosy Be are generally light so I had to motor part of the way to enter the crowded anchorage in daylight.
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| Lateen rig Dow |
Sailing near the big old Lateen rigged Dows got me thinking I had gone back in time a few centuries. There did not seem like much holding the rig and sails up. Also seeing the smaller outrigger canoes with a square sail made from polypropylene fertilizer bags. These guys were very clever at using the wind.
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| Any sail beats rowing |
