Year 3 -27 June 2026 -Day 6 -Route to South Africa

I got up about 7.00am to check on the situation and we were sailing well but a little West of ideally where we wanted to be. However, we were making our best course. The sun was coming up and it was a pleasant morning.

As all was well I showered and got breakfast ready and we had some delicious pineapple with our usual granola and yoghurt.

The day was a complete contrast to yesterday being a record-breaking day. This was a quiet relaxing day. The wind lowered over the morning to 10-14 kts and our speed accordingly dropped and the wind began to move a little more to the East pushing us more South. The sea was relatively flat and we just eased along -a bit like champagne sailing.  

I had been looking at the weather quite a lot and to me it did not make sense to head anymore toward Richards Bay as the wind would not take us there. I looked at our timing on Predict wind and it was suggesting that we would get into Durban on the late afternoon/evening of the 30th June. The only issue is that there is a weak low which comes through on the evening of the 29th and is weakening and gone by the morning of the 30th. It turns the wind South -25-30kts and seas to 4m but we would only have to endure it for 7 hours or so and it looked doable and manageable to me especially as it will be some way out from the Agulhas current when we pass through it. There will therefore not be wind against the current. I reported our position to Des and waited for his reply.

Dear Nick & co -Thanks for latest 0500UTC 27\6 at 28 09S 40 40E -210nm last 24hrs - Richards Bay 450nm\265T - Durban 510nm\258T. The gribs show wind E16 gusts 20 - swell E2.4m@9seconds - cloud - sat shows scattered light cover - no rain - current W1.8kts. Tomorrow towards next current wpt at 27 45S 34 48E - wind E\ENE16 gusts 21 - swell S2.5m@11 seconds - cloud <35% - no rain f\cast - current SSW0.7kts. The gribs show a small coastal low pressure coming up the coast (this is what I have referred to above) and the top edge gets to Durban on Mon midday with SSW27 gusts 35. This system collapses north of Richards Bay and the wind switches back to NE on Tue midday. At your current SOG could possibly sneak into Richards Bay just as it comes through but would not be pleasant to get caught. Alternative is to detune and head for Durban when the front has gone through and the wind switches back to NE on Tue. Food for thought. Have a safe day.

I looked at it again myself and discussed it with the crew and we all thought that we should head for Durban and monitor thee low but if we had to withstand it we could cope. We would be some way off the coast and currents and the sea state would be no worse and in fact less than the first day when we set off from Reunion.

The sail plan we had was pushing us South and I knew that the wind was going to change to more North Easterly about 11.00pm tonight when we would gybe across and head for Durban and as the wind continued to go North it took us down to Durban. We therefore had to make the best course we could with what we had. I therefore decided we would take in the main and sail with genoa alone as we could come off the wind more.

We therefore sailed under genoa alone and due to the reduced wind we were only making 5-6 kts -quite a contrast from the last 24 hours being record breaking. It was time to breathe relax and let the world go by. John and I had the 12.00noon to 4.00pm watch and we enjoyed the sun, chatting and keeping watch. The 24 hour run to 12.00noon was 201nm – equal to our previous record before yesterday. It just shows you the pace we have been able to maintain. Hisham made lunch which was nice and Jenny made a Stormbird loaf and Keith another banana cake. John got the fishing line out but again we were unlucky.

I managed to get some rest and to keep monitoring the weather. It seemed that some forks had fallen out of the drawers due to our rolling and so I had to empty the locker under the galley floor and we found quite a few things under the floor which had fallen out of the drawers.

We had got out of the freezer a chilli/spag bol mix that Keith had kindly prepared so John and I heated it up added carrots and we all had it with couscous – very welcoming indeed. Keith had also made another banana cake so we had a slice after supper – very satisfying.

We settled down to another night waiting for the wind to back and so we can gybe on to the starboard tack for the first time on this trip. We are all into the routine and groove now and know that we are nearing the end with some challenges to deal with on the way.

As we are doing this passage there are regular cargo and tanker ships passing North and South which we had to avoid. Some of them are huge 0.22nm long which is 407 metes roughly and they can carry up to 22,000 containers. Many obviously see us on AIS in advance and alter their course. However, some do not and we have to call them on the radio and if they do not move we move. You would not want to be hit by one of these.

The picture of the day is of one of these huge ships passing by.

 Need/Opportunity Year Three

I am now on the way to Durban and will then head for Cape Town and then on to St Helena, Azores and back to the UK. 

I have now found additional crew for the moment. If at all interested in joining me at some point please contact me on my email below or WhatsApp +44 7931360372.

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