Fair Winds and Good Sailing
Bryan’s morning text reads…“Nice night sailing although a bit windy to start. Up to 22 knots now back to around 10 knots. Lots of traffic. Beautiful sunrise – very pink.”
At last, the weather forecast seems to tie up with the wind that the guys are getting. The next 48 hours should bring with it some higher winds – comfortable though up to 20 knots and an improved SSW direction. It finally seems like there is an end in sight and some good sailing at this stage will really help.
Bryan always puts in his call to me at the same time every night although a few nights ago the call did not come through at the appointed time. Not very much time had passed, ten minutes or so before I started to worry a little. I worked through the possible reasons; phone packed up, no signal, busy doing other stuff, some problem. After another ten minutes and just as I was sending an SMS to check all was OK, the phone rang. The reason for the delay…the boys had been having a hearty morale boasting supper!!! And what a supper! Fresh yellowfin tuna sushi (caught that day) and a bottle of champagne. So good was the meal that the call had been delayed. And there was me feeling sorry for them.
One of my pet hates when we are on passage is cooking. There is so little space and nothing stays where you put it. On top of that, being down below always makes me feel queasy, The boys seem to have no problem though and it seems as though they have had a few culinary successes – so at least it won’t turn into Lord of the Rings before they get back.
Fresh supplies are holding out but fuel continues to be a concern. That should not be too much of an issue now they have had a few days sailing. Water (bathing not drinking) is also on the low side so Bryan warned they may be a bit smelly when they arrive back. I think we will greet them with buckets and mops and several litres of disinfectant!
20 September 2009
Bryan’s morning text reads “Wind steady 17 knots true so making good progress under reefed sails”. The last few days have seen low winds and flat seas so the engine has been on low revs to keep them moving forward, so the increase in wind speed will be a welcome relief to push them close to land and they are now a day or so from the tip of Ras Al Hadd from where they will then hug the coast back up to Fujairah. A passing ship had given Bryan a message about higher winds up to 25 knots along the coast, but so far I have not been able to find any reports to verify this. Most of what I am seeing is up to 17 knots which is exactly as reported today
Bryan checked with a passing ship how visible Aroha was to them on the radar. The reply was a huge comfort – they had picked up Aroha at nine miles off. Though Aroha has radar reflectors on board, most of the hull is fibreglass and in relation to the expanse of sea and size of other vessels, she really is a tiny speck. We had encountered a freighter which came much too close for comfort on the way back from Chagos in the middle of the night and I had tried to get confirmation of whether the vessel had seen us on the radar. Language barriers and, by my reckoning, a half-asleep watchman, didn’t get me an answer to the question. The rule of thumb always has to be to assume that they haven’t seen you. These boats are far too big to get in the way of. Nevertheless, confirmation that Aroha had shown up on the radar so far off does bring a little peace of mind.
I am getting excited about welcoming the boys home. It is going to be fantastic to finally see them heading to a safe harbour. It is just as well Ramadan finishes today since I have been instructed to bring beer and KFC with me when they arrive. I have visions of a rugby-style brawl as they fight each other off the boat to grab the chicken and hops feast. Maybe they will spot their loved ones waiting too? Just a few more days..!
Follow and like us to be notified of future blogs!
