Leaving the V&A waterfront in Cape Town, was an exciting if nostalgic feeling. Looking back as we motored through the Bascule and Swing bridges into the bay, taking the last photographs, made us reflect on how far we had come and how lucky we were to be living our dream.
As Debbie entered the first log in the log book at the start of our southern Atlantic crossing, her iPad came to life and she had a short Skype conversation with her good friend Jane. How poignant a call - as Jane was with us a year previously, crossing the start line of the this first Oyster World Rally.
We motored for the first four hours and then had the most glorious sail up the western coast of Africa with a SSW wind, gusting up to 26 knots. The following day, when the wind veered to a SSE direction, we were able to hoist our twin headsails using the spinnaker pole and boom, to pole the sails out (see picture attached), racing across the ocean very comfortably..
Food is our passion and important to us on these passages. We don’t have a microwave so we are disciplined in defrosting our main source of protein, as we cook breakfast. Stephen is the “King of Grills” on board, whereas Debbie tends to experiment - not always successfully but whereas cooking was a chore for her on land, it has become an enjoyment on the sea. Stephen continues to control the reins on her insertion of chilli and certain spices into our daily cooking. Despite this, Debbie is able to enjoy the spicy array of dishes around the world whilst in port. We generally make all our sauces, marinades, dressings, gravies and salsas from scratch with our growing number of ingredients on board. Our store cupboard ingredients are quite different from those we used when we lived on land, which we have collected globally.
Apart from drinking in port, our lifestyle on Amelie is reasonably healthy with the odd treat of chocolate, crisps, shortbread (when we can buy it, as Debbie cannot bake this successfully; best shortbread so far is baked on the premises of the News Bar, Cape Town) and salted, roasted nuts. Working out on board is tricky with the constant movement of the boat and wave action on the hull but Debbie (with the help of Jon’s adaptations) attempts to exercise daily. Age and reduced activity equals loss of tone, despite both of us losing weight over the year. This bothers Debbie more than Stephen, as she was super fit at the start, with help from Shane at “Fitness Matters”.
On the 19th of January, we decided that we would bypass St. Helena. The sailing was exceptional and we were in the groove - why change? We set a new waypoint taking into consideration the currents, prevailing winds and obstructions. Presently our next stop is Salvador, Brazil. Neither of us have been to South America and albeit a short visit, we were keen to make the most of our time there. Stephen will guarantee to celebrate his birthday there, as originally we were most likely going to be at sea.
After one week at sea, Wally the hydrogenerator is behaving. We will need to change the electrical connection (which we know we can purchase in the UK) as the dampness seeps in and Wally groans so loudly that it sounds like a jet engine. WD40 solves the problem temporarily (why didn’t we take out shares in WD40?).
Spirits are high on Amelie; the sea state is kind and so far, the wind has remained consistent and in our favoured direction - long may it continue. Excitement levels are rising with the help of copious amounts of reading material on Salvador. Estimated arrival date around the 3rd of February.