Year 3 -26 August 2026 -Day 8 Cape Town-St Helena

Julian and I had the 8.00pm to 11.00pm watch and the wind held up and the Blue Baron was working well pushing us along at 7-9 kts in 12-15kts of wind. By 9.00pm the wind was dropping to 10 kts and it will fly at that level but it is not as stable.

The problem we had was that the wind would change about 40 + degrees in a short period of time and the sail struggled to keep up with the auto pilot. At one point it went from about 180 degrees (South) to 118 degrees in the space of a few seconds. This would of course mean (as we were on wind vane mode) that this would put us of course. We had to change the angle of the sail to cope. We eventually managed to stabilise the sail and we continued. At one point the wind dropped below 10 and we saw 7’s then 6’s 6.2 and I thought oh no we are going to have to get it in. However, luckily the wind picked up and heard my pleading and we handed over to Mark and Dave. I went to bed and expected to be called up to get the sail in but the gods were kind and we flew the sail all night.

Julian and I were on watch again at 5.00am and we were sailing well and reasonably on course and still eating up the miles. I did a weather check and the wind will stay about the 10-15 mark for the day and let’s hope this is the case so we can continue to use the Baron. 

I checked the time in St Helena and it is GMT so we will need to change by 2 hours (as we were still on Cape Town time) and so I decided we would go back an hour today and another tomorrow so we will do an extra hour on our shift. This made sense as it did not get dark until after 8.00am South African time.

We handed over after our 4-hour shift at the new 8.00am and I made poached eggs on toast with smashed avocado which we delicious and keeps the mood of everyone high. The crew were commenting that the standard of food on board is very high and this is important as it raises the bar and keeps everyone happy and motivated. The conditions are cramped as it is and food makes a big difference. It also allows the freedom to try things that they would not do at home – making bread for example.

Mark decided to make some houmous for lunch. Julian prepared a loaf of bread. We chatted, rested, worked or did jobs. Mark and Dave got on with the daily checks and Mark did a stock take of the freezer. I used the generator to charge the batteries, make water and to make hot water and this all needs to be monitored and takes time. However, I had a rest after.

Dave prepared lunch which was houmous, bread, salad and cheese and some leftovers. Mark is planning a  

Mushroom Risotto for tonight’s supper. Our daily run for the 24 hours to 12.00noon was 187nm so not a bad day.

The afternoon wore on and the wind died down to about 8-10kts and although the Baron was flying is flopped around a bit and we struggled sometimes to properly fill it. Julian put his bread dough in the oven and it came out well despite the oven being switched off by accident part way through.

Julian and I took over at 4.00pm and the wind continued to be fickle and I thought about whether to bring it down bit that meant motoring as the white sails (mainsail and genoa) would not have filled properly and would have flapped with the swell.

I decided to wait until sunset to see if things changed. As sunset approached the wind increased enough and then went to 11+ kts which was enough to push us along quite well and would have made motoring unnecessary. As out shift continued the wind continued to be strong enough and the gods were being kind.

Mark cooked a chicken and mushroom risotto which we all enjoyed and I reflected on another positive day. It looks like we will get to St Helena on Saturday night or Sunday morning.

We settled down for another night and will probably gybe during the night so we are not too far off course as we are about 30 degrees at present due to the wind angle. There is no moon tonight as there is full cloud cover but we hope we may see some sun tomorrow.  

 The picture of the day is Julian being very proud of his loaf of bread.

 Need/Opportunity Year Three

I am now on the way to St Helena, Cape Verde, Azores and back to the UK. 

The blog will continue as we continue the journey. If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog then do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com