Current Position: 33 48.800’S 18 08.688’’E; Timezone: UTC+2; SOG:3.8; COG: 063; TWS: 7; TWD: 006; Current Speed: 0.7 kt; Current Direction,:010; Distance to Waypoint (Saldanha): 46 nm; Total Miles Sailed: 16522 nm; Engine Hours: 393; Estimate Fuel: 60+11+50;
Comments: I woke up about 5:30 and washed the deck again. There are some clouds, but it does not look like rain quite yet. The forecast is for rain sometime between 21:00 and 24:00. For Hout Bay, the wind is 1-10 from the S veering to the W until 12:00, so there is no rush getting out of here. The route has me going due W for 10 nm, then due N for about 60 nm. If I leave about 9:00, I should arrive about sunrise while averaging 3.7 kt. I will only see double digit winds to is afternoon until dusk and again early tomorrow morning. The winds will start out from the W and veer to the S by midnight. By then I will be well clear of Cape Town. Because of the light winds and the changing directions, I will use the TillerPilot. The wind will be from the S 10-16 with gusts of 19 kt at dawn tomorrow in Saldanha, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to dock. From the photos, it looks like the docks are very sturdy (intended for big yachts), but will be easy to step onto. Using Sailclear, I submitted my Arrival Notification for Barbados for February 5. I pushed off at 9:00 sharp. Once I cleared the shoals at the mouth of the bay, I set a course due W. There was no wind, so I didn’t bother raising the sails. What little wind there was came from the W, and I was motoring right into it. I need to get out about 10 nm to catch the current. I didn’t bother stowing the mooring lines or the fenders since I will need them again in the morning. One of the screws that hold on the TillerPilot bracket came out again … the same one. Don’t understand as it has a lock washer. I put it back in with some blue Loctite. It is 10:00 and I have some white smoke in the exhausts there is some water in the day tank. I shut the engine off. Fortunately, there is 15 kt of wind from the N. I am making about 2.5 kt SOG against a 0.6 kt current in a close haul. I am circulating the fuel through the filter to try to remove any water. I raised the storm staysail with 90% of thr Yankee and a double-reefed main I was making 3.1 kt. I am going to wait to see what happens with the current before thinking about shaking a reef out of the main. Need to be careful not to go too fast. It is 10:30 and as I expected the current is beginning to rotate. The SOG is now 3.6. It is 10:40. I have not collected any water from the day tank, perhaps because I am heeled over to the port and the take-up tube is on the starboard. I turned the pump off and wait until I tack. It is 11:00 and the wind has dropped to 10 kt, but I do have a favorable 0.6 kt current, so I am still averaging almost 3 kt. The wind is from 038. I expect it to back to the W in 3-4h. I will tack sometime before then. The wind backed to 350 and I tacked at 12:30 only for the 8 kt wind to veer back to 40, so I tacked again. At 13:30 the wind direction was between 010 and 025, so I tacked again (and turned on the polishing pump). The course was parallel to the coast but towards Robben Island. If the wind does not veer, I will need to tack again in a couple of hours. I am making about 3 kt in a close haul. It is 18:00. I have been sailing 9h, but have only made about 20 nm on because the wind has been blowing directly from Saldanha, and I have been tacking back and forth all day. The wind has backed a bit, to 015, but not nearly as much as was predicted. The engine still smokes. I do not believe there is water in the tank. One or more of the injectors must be fouled. I will been to remove and try to clean them in Saldanha.
Comments: I woke up about 5:30 and washed the deck again. There are some clouds, but it does not look like rain quite yet. The forecast is for rain sometime between 21:00 and 24:00. For Hout Bay, the wind is 1-10 from the S veering to the W until 12:00, so there is no rush getting out of here. The route has me going due W for 10 nm, then due N for about 60 nm. If I leave about 9:00, I should arrive about sunrise while averaging 3.7 kt. I will only see double digit winds to is afternoon until dusk and again early tomorrow morning. The winds will start out from the W and veer to the S by midnight. By then I will be well clear of Cape Town. Because of the light winds and the changing directions, I will use the TillerPilot. The wind will be from the S 10-16 with gusts of 19 kt at dawn tomorrow in Saldanha, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to dock. From the photos, it looks like the docks are very sturdy (intended for big yachts), but will be easy to step onto. Using Sailclear, I submitted my Arrival Notification for Barbados for February 5. I pushed off at 9:00 sharp. Once I cleared the shoals at the mouth of the bay, I set a course due W. There was no wind, so I didn’t bother raising the sails. What little wind there was came from the W, and I was motoring right into it. I need to get out about 10 nm to catch the current. I didn’t bother stowing the mooring lines or the fenders since I will need them again in the morning. One of the screws that hold on the TillerPilot bracket came out again … the same one. Don’t understand as it has a lock washer. I put it back in with some blue Loctite. It is 10:00 and I have some white smoke in the exhausts there is some water in the day tank. I shut the engine off. Fortunately, there is 15 kt of wind from the N. I am making about 2.5 kt SOG against a 0.6 kt current in a close haul. I am circulating the fuel through the filter to try to remove any water. I raised the storm staysail with 90% of thr Yankee and a double-reefed main I was making 3.1 kt. I am going to wait to see what happens with the current before thinking about shaking a reef out of the main. Need to be careful not to go too fast. It is 10:30 and as I expected the current is beginning to rotate. The SOG is now 3.6. It is 10:40. I have not collected any water from the day tank, perhaps because I am heeled over to the port and the take-up tube is on the starboard. I turned the pump off and wait until I tack. It is 11:00 and the wind has dropped to 10 kt, but I do have a favorable 0.6 kt current, so I am still averaging almost 3 kt. The wind is from 038. I expect it to back to the W in 3-4h. I will tack sometime before then. The wind backed to 350 and I tacked at 12:30 only for the 8 kt wind to veer back to 40, so I tacked again. At 13:30 the wind direction was between 010 and 025, so I tacked again (and turned on the polishing pump). The course was parallel to the coast but towards Robben Island. If the wind does not veer, I will need to tack again in a couple of hours. I am making about 3 kt in a close haul. It is 18:00. I have been sailing 9h, but have only made about 20 nm on because the wind has been blowing directly from Saldanha, and I have been tacking back and forth all day. The wind has backed a bit, to 015, but not nearly as much as was predicted. The engine still smokes. I do not believe there is water in the tank. One or more of the injectors must be fouled. I will been to remove and try to clean them in Saldanha.