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logbooks of the week
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2003-11-20
Hi there,
The Doldrums seem quite friendly this year. I haven’ t yet been becalmed, and so am ma...
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2003-11-19
Hi there,
The weather’s really changed: there was some lightning late last night, and some dark, ...
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2003-11-18
Hi there,
The nights go by, but are very different from each other. Yesterday, there were flying...
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2003-11-17
Hi there,
This morning, it was time for a good clean. I put 32 flying fish that had dropped onto...
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2003-11-16
Hi there,
Since Friday evening, I have been making good progress with some nice trade winds. I’m...
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2003-11-14
Hi there,
It’s already been a week since I left. I haven’t noticed the time going by. This morn...
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Logbook of 2003-11-20 |
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Hi there,
The Doldrums seem quite friendly this year. I haven’ t yet been becalmed, and so am making good headway to try to pick up the SE trade winds as quickly as possible without pushing things too far...
Of course, I had a lot of work to do, especially yesterday afternoon and during the night, in some fairly strong squalls (35 knots). They forced me to lower the genoese in a bit of a hurry. I went through these squalls with just the mainsail with one reef without any problems, and managed to get everything back up again an hour later.
I had a good shower yesterday afternoon in a stormy squall, and last night I saved myself some fresh water. My little makeshift shower equipment (a black plastic water-bottle to heat the water) is full to the brim.
If the wind keeps up for me like this, I’ll reach the Equator sometime on Friday night...
See you tomorrow,
JL VDH
Second day in honour of Clémence’s sandy-coloured teddy bear that I forgot to say was called WINNIE !
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Logbook of 2003-11-19 |
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Hi there,
The weather’s really changed: there was some lightning late last night, and some dark, threatening clouds are hiding the sun... You’ve got it! I’m moving into the Doldrums, the zone, which separates the NE trade winds from the SE ones. I’ve had time to rest before reaching this difficult section with its ever-changing winds, where you can be becalmed one day and be going through a squall the next, which means you have to make a lot of adjustments all the time. And they can be tough at the best of times, when you are single-handed on a large yacht like Adrien.
I’ve also got my soap, shampoo and towel ready to get scrubbed up out on the deck, taking advantage of a shower that is long enough to wash me off. I’m always afraid when I take these showers from the skies that the rain will stop while I’m still all lathered up. I could always rinse myself off in some seawater, but that’s never so pleasant because of the salt.
Finally, my wish is that we won’t be slowed down here and that we’ll quickly be able to get out of the Doldrums!
Until tomorrow,
JL VDH
A day in honour of the little sandy-coloured bear in the blue T-shirt and Clémence’s beautiful red scarf.
PS: Just to inform you. There will be a report on VDH’s attempt in the Thalassa TV programme on France 3 on 21st November.
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Logbook of 2003-11-18 |
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Hi there,
The nights go by, but are very different from each other. Yesterday, there were flying fish; today I found five squid on the deck. I’m wondering how on earth they managed to jump so high, for the waves didn’t wash them up there. The wind has abated and the deck is perfectly dry. In any case, they will be going into the pot this lunchtime for a paella!
Apart from that, I managed to get out of the passage through the Cape Verde archipelago, even if I was slowed down by the absence of wind, that Adrien is suffering from, as I write to you.
The island of Fogo is very impressive with its summit reaching up above the clouds. It was so beautiful set against the background of the setting sun that I just forgot to take a picture of it. I should really have taken advantage of it.
I crossed the latitude of Dakar during the night, and am taking advantage of it to offer greetings to all those, who work in the Adrien Group here, and who are following my progress in this adventure.
See you tomorrow,
JL VDH
A day in honour of Emma’s cuddly toy, the little white mouse.
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Logbook of 2003-11-17 |
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Hi there,
This morning, it was time for a good clean. I put 32 flying fish that had dropped onto the deck back into the water. As some of them hit something hard on Adrien and split open their heads, they begin to bleed. Moreover, they leave scales everywhere and a fairly strong smell, which puts me off cooking them. In short, washing down the deck was unavoidable, but took quite an effort, as picking up water in a bucket while going along at 10 knots requires a certain know-how! As planned, I’m in the middle of the Cape Verde Islands. At dawn, I passed between Sal and Sao Nicolau. On the other hand, contrary to what I thought yesterday, I’ll be going between Santiago and Fogo this evening.
Fogo isn’t the biggest island, but is the highest in the archipelago at 2829 m. It would be a good idea to leave it on my starboard side, in order not to lose the wind and to get away as far as possible from Santiago, which is 1392 m high. Let’s hope I keep in these good trade winds until I reach the Doldrums!
See you tomorrow.
JL VDH
A day in honour of Aurélien and Tiphanie’s cuddly toy, which rings a little bell, when there are big waves!
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Logbook of 2003-11-16 |
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Hi there,
Since Friday evening, I have been making good progress with some nice trade winds. I’m still ahead of where I was before on my previous attempts, even last year’s, which wasn’t that bad either.
I have however been very cautious sailing with the genoese, and I’ve put the spinnakers away in a safe place waiting for calmer days. I’m trying to head off as far west as I can, in order to be as well placed as possible to go through the Doldrums.
But for the moment my eyes are glued to the charts, as just ahead of me there are the Cape Verde Islands. Taking into account the wind, I’m going to have to go through the middle of the islands, probably to the east of Sao Nicolau and to the west of Fogo and Brava. Consequently, this evening I’ll be getting into the mood with some local music.
I picked up my first flying fish, which landed in my cockpit last night. I put it back in the water. I haven’t put out my line to catch any sea bream. We’re going a little too fast, and for the moment I’m taking advantage of the quiet life at sea!
Until tomorrow,
Weekend with LULU, the little Belgian giraffe.
JL VDH
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Logbook of 2003-11-14 |
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Hi there,
It’s already been a week since I left. I haven’t noticed the time going by. This morning, I crossed the latitude of Palma, the island the furthest north west of the Canaries, and this afternoon I went down below the latitude of Hierro. I didn’t want to get too close in order to keep the wind going, and I am too far away to be able to see them.
Adrien could certainly do with a little wind! Yesterday afternoon, the trade winds almost completely gave up the ghost again and for several hours I sailed along with between 4 and 6 knots of wind. Sailing down wind with the spinnaker out, it will take more than that for Adrien’s 30 tonnes to get a move on! Fortunately, the wind got up again in the night, but 10 to 12 knots is still not really enough to get a good average speed going.
I’m now beginning to feel the heat, except at night, when I have to cover myself up. When I’m sailing along with the spinnaker at night, I’ll be sleeping aft out on deck. In that way, if anything strange happens to the spinny, I’ll be woken up immediately. Moreover, when the weather is like this, it’s a real pleasure to sleep out under the stars!
See you on Sunday.
JL VDH
A day in honour of « Milie Doudou, the little green cuddly mouse from « ATLAGEL ».
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