Location: 31° 58.5′S / 29° 19.7′E Ordered Course: Hove-to
Day’s Run: 117 nautical miles
Distance to Cape Town, South Africa: 677 nm

We’ve had a little bit of weather that set us back about 12 hours of being hove-to, but we are underway again, bound for Cape Town!

Last evening’s 4-8 Watch was busy, but not too bad. Haul tight weather braces and the same old routine. The seas were still swelly but we did not pay much mind anymore. Overnight the weather changed and kept the watches on their toes. At 0100 the wind came ahead to N x W and the 12-4 Watch braced sharp on a starboard tack. The Mate altered the ship’s course at 0130 because the wind was ahead and down, and the order came to take in and stow all square sails. At 0200 the Watch set the foretopmast stays’l and at 0215 the main engine was fired up. By 0300 the wind had picked up and the forward lookout was moved to the bridge because of waves sloshing up to the foc’s’l head, and the Picton Castle’s course was altered to W x N.

When our watch came on deck at 0350, it was really windy and gusty out, at least a Force 6 (strong breeze), which is a far cry from the Force 2 only a short while before. At 7 PM we had been making between 9.7 and 10.9 knots and now, at 0400, we were making only 3 knots in strong headwinds and headseas. At 0410 the ship’s course was altered to NW x W and we were ordered to take in the inner jib, a routine task that becomes hazardous if you are not careful on a night like last night. The members of our watch had to move about the foc’s’l head and decks in a buddy system for a time because walking was difficult and with the wind on the foredeck, it was dodgy to be up there alone. Tracy and Rebecca went out on the head rig to quickly stow the inner jib. I was standing by on the foc’s’l head to keep an eye on them and Maggie came to watch me and Torunn had to walk her there. By 0530 the wind force was a strong 7 (small gale) and there was salt water in the air. At 0535 I was ordered to put the helm hard left and we hove to. The Picton Castle would heave-to until the near-gale conditions improved. When I stood down from forward lookout at 0750, the wind was up to a force 7-8 (moderate gale) and there were streaks of foam on the surface of the water behind the white caps. We all got wet and we were a little chilly, but the swells were not that terrible and the watch went well and without incident.

At 5 PM this evening the weather had improved significantly, and Chief Engineer Danie was ordered to fire up the main engine and 2nd Mate Greg was ordered to steer us SW x W toward Cape Town! An hour ago the breeze freshened and our Watch loosed and set headsails, spanker and the topsails. We are now motor-sailing along at 7 knots! Our watch really likes to go aloft and work and then come down to deck to sail handle. Springing into action at the last minute has got us all wired up and giddy, even though we’ve just been sent Watch Below. We’ll see what adventures the waters off the coast of South Africa bring to the Picton Castle tonight and tomorrow.

In the evening we had a little sing along with Jean Claude on squeeze-box, and Logan on strings in the carpenter’s shop up under the foc’s’le head.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 15th, 2006 at 12:50 pm and is filed under South Africa, World Voyage 4.