Year 3 -6 July 2026 -En Route for East London/Port Elizabeth-South Africa

Continuing -Toward the end of our 8.00pm shift we gybed and due to the wind direction change to more Northerly we were able to make a good course toward our next waypoint and to use the most benefit from the Agulhas current which meant we were doing 9.5-10kts. It was a lovely clear night with plenty of stars.

We handed over to Keith and Hisham and we sailed on with just the genoa and at one point they had to reef as there were gusts up to 30 kts. They in turn handed over to Jenny & Mark. At about 3.30am I could feel the wind had lessened and got up to see how things were. We need to try to make at least 8 kts and we were consistently below this and I knew the wind was forecast to die off. We therefore put the motor on and with the current we were back to 9-9.5kts again.

John and I took over at 5.00am and it was quite cool. It is a bit of a shock to me but we are now having to wear jumpers and jackets etc. We watched the dawn come up which was later – about 6.45am as the more South we go the later it is.

We had made good progress and we were just some 40 nm from East London and from there it is 130nm to Port Elizabeth. I decided even though we may have to motor most of the way to continue to Port Elizabeth as we then only have about 400nm to Cape Town. I checked the weather and there was no wind expected until the late morning of the 7th and a Southerly buster comes up on the 8th/9th.  If we had stopped in East London we would have had probably do the hop to Port Elizabeth and then wait for another weather window.  I therefore went online and amended our passage plan that we had filed and I messaged the representative in Port Elizabeth to warn him that we would arrive in the morning of the 7th. I emailed Des with my decision and position as at 05.00UTC. He replied:

Dear Nick and co. Thanks for latest 0500UTC 6\7 at 32 34S 28 58E - 214nm\24hrs - you have the record for a mono and in pretty slack conditions. - East London 55nm\244T - Port Elizabeth 185nm\241T 3 issues. The current SW3kts diminishes as you get closer to East London - at the harbour it is down to SW0.6kts. The current heads due S and at 34 42S 28 09E turns back west but never gets close to the coast again. It will be a diminished factor in your overall speed beyond current position- SW0.6kts max. The wind drops down today to N10 gusts 14 - becomes light variable after midday and overnight down to Port Elizabeth wind is offshore W<10 no significant gusts - Port Elizabeth shows W12 by 0600UTC tomorrow morning. By sundown wind down to WSW<10 no gusts. Could make it but will have to burn some fuel. Food for thought Best wishes

Des

Ps The slight risk is worth the advantage you gain.

We cracked on and were making good progress. It was a lovely calm morning, the sea was flat, it was sunny and beautiful. We handed over to Keith and Hisham and I made scrambled eggs on toast for everyone. I then went for a rest.

It was a lovely day and we made good progress. It was also a day to see wildlife. We saw a large pod of dolphins who were very black in colour and we saw many whale sitings during the day. They I think were mostly humpback whales and we saw many blow holes and black backs as they swam along. In addition some jumped out of the water and we saw the odd tail rise as the whale dived. It was difficult to get pictures as some were hundreds of yards away. We also saw many birds-albatrosses, shearwaters and terns.

I mended the wooden paper roll holder with some glue I had been given in Durban -which had an odd name – it was called “It sticks like shit”!! Well it worked.

As you can imagine we were making good speed and I wondered how our 24-hour runs would be with this extra help from the current. The results were as follows:

7.00am-7.00am -205nm

8.00am-8.00am -209 nm (beating the 208nm-our last record)

9.00am-9.00am -214nm

10.00am-10.00am-219nm

11.00am-11.00am -222nm

12.00noon -12.00noon – 226nm

The hours after that it gradually declined. Therefore 226nm in a 24-hour period with quite a lot of it under sail is the new record.

We had lunch which was leftovers from John’s braai and salad and John put a fishing line out. Within minutes we were pulling in a large Mahi Mahi/Dorado which we filleted and gutted. That was supper sorted then.

The day wore on and we went through the shift patterns. There was no wind and it was flat although there was quite a bit of shipping around. We peeled off from the main current toward the coast which has a small current which can push you along. We therefore got about 5nm off the coast and motored along with some current and few ships coming in that close.

John and I were on at 4.00pm and watched about 5.00pm a lovely sunset which dipped down over the South African East coast providing a lovely coloured sky which changed from pink to orange to yellow and then it was gone. It was already getting cool and damp.  Hisham marinated the fish-Sudanese style and then it was cooked with Jenny making the mashed potato and green beans which accompanied it. It was delicious.

We settled down to motor through the night with a view to arriving at breakfast in Port Elizabeth. 

 The picture of the day is of the fish John caught.

 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 am now in need of 1 additional crew from Cape Town to the Azores. The new crew member would need to be onboard by 10 August and it is likely we would get to the Azores by late September or early October. If at all interested in joining me 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