Leg 5 - Wellington to the Falklands via Cape Horn

Date: 21 February 2004

Day: 212, (This Leg Day 30)

Local time: 1200 GMT-6

Leg Number and name: Leg 5, 'The Royal'

Focus of leg: Mitigation and protection of Albatross breeding colonies


Position - Latitude, Longitude: 53/12'S 091/59'W

Position relative to land: 850 nm west of Cape Horn

Distance travelled in last 24hrs: 134 nautical miles

Distance sailed this Leg: 3,799 nm
Total distance from Ardmore: 19,046 miles
Course: 112 T

Speed: 5.9 knots

Next Port: Port Stanley, Falkland Islands

Approx distance to next port: 1,293 nm

Wind: Nor'nor'Westerly F5-6 (17-27 knots)

Sea: Moderate;

Barometer: 988 falling

Air Temp: N/A Nick's Silva Windwatch has drowned.
Sea temp: 10.3 C


Cloud cover: 100% with cold driving drizzle

Bird sightings over the day:

- Grey headed Albatross

- White-headed, Juan Fernandez, Grey, White-chinned, Stejnegers, Petrels;

- Sooty and Little Shearwater.



Notes: Grey foggy day. Much peering all round from the dome. The wind
began NNE and veered all day until at midnight we have a westerly gale from
a starlit sky, between clouds.



The scuppers have suddenly gone green with algae. At 0900 I found a 4" fat
silver fish lying there, like a plump sardine. Brent thinks it is a fish
from the deep, come up at night. Big eyes, and bio-luminescent median line
are the clues. What is it? Is it fully grown or a baby big fish? It looks
good to eat.



The main action today has been Francois' and Nick's re-inforcement of the
aft walls of the doghouse. Two of the three matrimonial planks have had to
be divorced for this. Normally they form 2/3 of MC's and my
bed-in-the-doghouse, when we are at anchor or in port. This goes well with the cd player, but that's succumbed to the recent wave invasions as well.
Francois does a lot of spraying of circuit boards but it's wishful
thinking. The two planks are at right angles and on edge and they are
braced fore and aft by the stainless steel tube which was part of the
ineffective Iridium satellite phone aerial and two saloon table legs for spacers. It all looks ok but writing this up here alone at two in the morning, I can hear the old rollers rumbling up behind me in the dark. The sailing ship men called them widow-makers. I've got the white bone-dome but it's not quite handy enough at present. I'm clipped onto the pad-eye in here.



We have one person at a time in the doghouse or even both in the saloon. Life is a little more re-assuring in daylight, when we can see the old grey-headed albatross coasting along.



Into the mist......



John Ridgway

Date: 22 February 2004

Day: 213, (This Leg Day 31)

Local time: 1200 GMT-5

Leg Number and name: Leg 5, 'The Royal'

Focus of leg: Mitigation and protection of Albatross breeding colonies


Position - Latitude, Longitude: 'S 'W

Position relative to land: 741 nm west of Cape Horn

Distance travelled in last 24hrs: 130 nautical miles

Distance sailed this Leg: 3,929nm

Total distance from Ardmore: 19,176 miles

Course: 140T

Speed: 6.0 knots

Next Port: Port Stanley, Falkland Islands

Approx distance to next port: 1,163 nm

Wind: N F4-5 (11-21 knots)

Sea: Light to moderate

Barometer: 1005 rising

Air Temp: N/A Nick's Silva Windwatch has drowned.

Sea temp: 10.5 C

Cloud cover: 100%

Bird sightings over the day:

- Grey headed, Black-browed Albatross

- White-headed, Juan Fernandez, Grey, White-chinned, Stejnegers, Petrels;Sooty Shearwater; Phalarope sp.Thin-billed Prion, Prion sp.

- Long finned Pilot whales



Notes: Wind fell away as the glass rose steadily all day. We are stubbornly holding on SE to be sure to come towards Cape Horn directly out of the west. Ahead lies the most notorious coast in the world, this is not a rehearsal.



Knowing this, at 0200, we are nodding along at a couple of knots on a pitch black night under a canoply of glittering stars. It's a bit of a respite.



A day to catch up with jobs. The Panda ran a couple of times as usual. The Mercedes main engine had its weekly 1/2 hour run up to temperature. Igor and Francois serviced the the last of the Barlow 32 winches and continued with the doghouse barricade. Nick re-adjusted his new steering lines on the wind vane steering and continued his struggle to get good weather reporting helped by Ken Leap his chum in New Mexico. As ever, when we've needed it, help has come - "Hands across the sea" Good old USA!



Brent spotted a Phalarope bobbing up and down on the water. He thinks it is down here from the Northern Hemisphere for the summer. Apparently it swirls its feet, creating a spiral in the water which draws up the plankton for its supper. Like us, it will need to set off north soon, as winter approaches down here.



About 15 Long-finned Pilot whales appeared in the dusk. Long black
creatures with blunt noses they look similiar to the ones we see at home, cruising about on the surface like large dolphins.



Into the mist......



John Ridgway

Date: 23 February 2004

Day: 214, (This Leg Day 32)

Local time: 1200 GMT-5

Leg Number and name: Leg 5, 'The Royal'

Focus of leg: Mitigation and protection of Albatross breeding colonies


Position - Latitude, Longitude: 54/46'S 085/46'W

Position relative to land: 642 nm west of Cape Horn

Distance travelled in last 24hrs: 110 nautical
miles

Distance sailed this Leg: 4,039nm

Total distance from Ardmore: 19,286 miles

Course: 107T

Speed: 6.2 knots (under engine)

Next Port: Port Stanley, Falkland Islands

Approx distance to next port: 1,053 nm

Wind: ENE 2 (2-6 knots)

Sea: Light to moderate

Barometer: 1005 rising

Air Temp: N/A Nick's Silva Windwatch has drowned.

Sea temp: 10.5 C

Cloud cover: 100%

Bird sightings over the day:

- Grey headed, Black-browed, Sooty, Southern Royal Albatross

- Magellanic Diving, Stejnegers, Petrels;

- Hour Glass Dolphins (probably)



Notes: Starry night led to pink dawn and calm. And then for the first time since leaving Wellington harbour 32 days ago we rolled the sails away and motored. Within 8 hours (10 gallons of diesel consumed) I was relieved to switch the motor off as Nick sailed SE, hard on a rising breeze.



"Just like Antarctica - motoring to the Melchior Islands" muttered MC, well muffled up at the wheel.



The sun a watery yellow disc in a grey blanket of a sky, the wind may not hold for too long before we are becalmed again as a small Low comes down the coast of Chile. In a couple of days the next big Low, rolling in from the west, should assert itself and have us pushing east toward Cape Horn.



Francois fitted the stainless steel bracing pipe to complete our doghouse defences but when I think how a wave lifts a 500,00 tonne tanker I hope our blue canvas sheet will deflect it up and over the doghouse roof rather than try to block it at the after wall.



Sooty, Grey-headed, Black browed and Southern Royal Albatrosses visited us from time to time, across the empty grey wastes. But the most startling appearance was a small black and white bird with very rapid wing beat keeping low over the water. "Diving Petrel - probably Magellanic" chortled Brent leaping for his camera. It reminds me very much of home, the Black Guillemot, or Sea Pidgeon, which is always somewhere about on Loch Laxford.
The first daffodils are showing there now...



Into the mist......


John Ridgway

Date: 24 February 2004

Day: 215, (This Leg Day 33)

Local time: 1200 GMT-5

Leg Number and name: Leg 5, 'The Royal'

Focus of leg: Mitigation and protection of Albatross breeding colonies


Position - Latitude, Longitude: 55/51'S 083/29'W

Position relative to land: 588nm west of Cape Horn

Distance travelled in last 24hrs: 90 nautical
miles

Distance sailed this Leg: 4,099nm

Total distance from Ardmore: 19,346 miles

Course: 074T

Speed: 5.3 knots

Next Port: Port Stanley, Falkland Islands

Approx distance to next port: 993nm

Wind: ESE 6 (22-27 knots)

Sea: Moderate, very lumpy, giving a wild bumpy ride as beat to windward
Barometer: 1000 steady

Air Temp: N/A Nick's Silva Windwatch has drowned.

Sea temp: 9.6

Cloud cover: 100% Very grey cold drizzly day

Bird sightings over the day:

- Grey headed Albatross

- Magellanic Diving, Giant Petrels;

- Prion sp



Notes: Nodded down to 56S by dawn, placing us 588nm due west of Cape Horn.



Nick and I tacked the boat in cold grey rain and then the ESE breeze filled in to a near gale by lunch as the boat crashed and slammed NE. I found MC's hot thick soup was best taken standing up, it was so bumpy. Bracing my back against a post in the saloon.



The poor old boat kept falling off waves and into holes. Then the Panda
played up, it wouldn't work on a slant. Heeled over when hard on the wind, its oil pressure sensor showed a shortage of oil, when in fact it was full. Francois took stern measures, making extractions with his pliers. It came to heel.



Dr Francois Dolittle, Animal Specialist, was called in again at nightfall. This time the patient was Nick's Mouse. Without his Mouse Nick is rendered speechless and for him that is intolerable. He reeled back white-faced, as Dr Francois removed the poor wee thing's skin, muttering in Franglais "I'm going in - and I'm going in deep". He cut all its sinews and then set about re-connecting them. Watched over by Igor in the dome above them, Nick never left the Frenchman's side, squeezed together on the navigator's bench seat in the saloon and lit only by the dull red chart light, the operation seemed to last for hours. Eventually, Dr Francois spoke: "He moves!".



Nick was shaken but clearly stirred by his French colleagues skill. He had left a spare mouse back in its warm home in Melbourne.




Into the mist......



John Ridgway

Date: 25 February 2004

Day: 216, (This Leg Day 34)

Local time: 1200 GMT-5

Leg Number and name: Leg 5, 'The Royal'

Focus of leg: Mitigation and protection of Albatross breeding colonies


Position - Latitude, Longitude: 55/28'S 081/45'W

Position relative to land: 495nm west of Cape Horn

Distance travelled in last 24hrs: 60 nautical
miles

Distance sailed this Leg: 4,189nm

Total distance from Ardmore: 19,436 miles

Course: 096T

Speed: 4.2 knots

Next Port: Port Stanley, Falkland Islands

Approx distance to next port: 903nm

Wind: ESE 5 (17-21 knots)

Sea: Light, smooth sailing.

Barometer: 1002 steady

Air Temp: N/A Nick's Silva Windwatch has drowned.

Sea temp: 9.4

Cloud cover: 100%, grey cool day

Bird sightings over the day:

- Black-browed, southern royal, Antipodean Albatross

- White-chinned, Stejnegers, Magellanic Diving, Giant Petrels;

- Sooty Shearwater,

- Black-bellied Storm Petrel,

- Probable Macaroni Penguins



Notes: Midnight found us, becalmed and in a slop, waiting for our west
wind. Nick sensed a zephyr from the SW at 0400 and unfurled a bit of extra sail.



This is it. Six individuals each with their own thoughts, alone in the
darkness of their bunks.



At 0800 I gybed the boat onto port tack, unfurled all the No 2 yankee - and waited.



MC passed up and I threw overboard, some savoury biscuits which had been spoiled in the flood of a few days back. A magnificent Southern Royal Albatross, complete with white leading edges to its wings, came gliding in over the low waves and landed by the floating discs and at that moment as if by magic, a breeze sprang up from the north west. We were off.



Shortly after, a couple of Stinkpots, black and ugly, joined our train,
then a Black-browed Albatross, smart as a painted lady and a cautious
Antipodean came along too. With the coming of the wind, the place had come alive.



Igor and Francois came up the ladder to take over the Watch at 1000 and
Brent poked his nose out to see what was going on in the bird line. I gave my report. "Good work, John" he remarked going below to grab his giant camera. Igor raised an eyebrow at me and nodded. I felt maybe I might make a "twitcher" after all.



There was a big "Whoosh" and Igor jumped into life shouting "Whale!,
Whale!". I just glimpsed a long shiny back rolling up with the "blow" and sliding away in a long, long curve. At the very end a small sickle dorsal fin appeared. Maybe a Fin Whale. But it soon lost interest and slipped astern.



Nick put up the mizen staysail after lunch; its red, white and blue bulge had us racing along at 7-8 knots all afternoon. I was not so sure. At 1800 we put it away for the night.



Brent was thrilled to see three penguins stitching the water beside us,
maybe Macaronis.



This great trip has served as a a most useful interlude for Marie Christine and me. Each of us has probably seen Acts 1 and 2 of our (hopefully) 3 Act lives. If Act 1 was all up until we married and went to live at Ardmore in the 1960's, then Act 2 the 35 years of our working life at Ardmore. Act 3 pretty clearly begins when we (very hopefully) return home this summer. And Margaret Drabble's "Radiant Years" provides us with plenty of headings for discussion before we go to sleep each night. Another great challenge - as three year-old Molly says "Let's do it Grampa!.



Into the mist......



John Ridgway

Date: 26 February 2004

Day: 217, (This Leg Day 35)

Local time: 1200 GMT-5

Leg Number and name: Leg 5, 'The Royal'

Focus of leg: Mitigation and protection of Albatross breeding colonies


Position - Latitude, Longitude: 55/42'S 077/20'W

Position relative to land: 344nm west of Cape Horn

Distance travelled in last 24hrs: 150 nautical
miles

Distance sailed this Leg: 4,339nm

Total distance from Ardmore: 19,606 miles

Course: 099T

Speed: 5.3 knots

Next Port: Port Stanley, Falkland Islands

Approx distance to next port: 753nm

Wind: WNW F6 (22-27 knots)

Sea: Moderate quartering sea, giving a rolling swaying motion, some white caps.

Barometer: 1000 steady

Air Temp: N/A Nick's Silva Windwatch has drowned.

Sea temp: 9.4

Cloud cover: 100%, Fog, damp grey cool day

Bird sightings over the day:

- Grey-headed, Black-browed, southern royal, Antipodean Albatross

- White-chinned, Stejnegers, Magellanic Diving, Giant Petrels;

- Black-bellied Storm Petrel,

- Thin-billed Prions, Prions sp.

- Hour-glass Dolphins



Notes: All the grey days strung together, trap people in the boat. They
need a sunny day to air their heads and bodies.



I recite my poems and sing my songs at the wheel. Just like with Andy
Briggs 20 years ago. Reel out, reel in.



After difficulty with the hoisting of the mizen stay sail, a shackle pin was spotted loose on the wire topping lift on the mainmast. Nick screwed it back in, wired it up and taped it secure.



If the pin had come out, we could have had a disabling 60' wire cable
lashing around mast and sails on a dark and stormy night - off Cape Horn.



The only solution would be for someone to climb the mast and undo it from the top. It's only a game...



Into the mist......



John Ridgway

Date: 27 February 2004

Day: 218, (This Leg Day 36)

Local time: 1200 GMT-5

Leg Number and name: Leg 5, 'The Royal'

Focus of leg: Mitigation and protection of Albatross breeding colonies


Position - Latitude, Longitude: 56/02'S 073/11'W

Position relative to land: 203nm west of Cape Horn

Distance travelled in last 24hrs: 140 nautical
miles

Distance sailed this Leg: 4,479nm

Total distance from Ardmore: 19,746 miles

Course: 102T

Speed: 6.6 knots

Next Port: Port Stanley, Falkland Islands

Approx distance to next port: 613nm

Wind: WNW F5-6 (17-27 knots)

Sea: Moderate quartering sea, steadily growing with a rising wind.

Barometer: 1001 falling

Air Temp: N/A Nick's Silva Windwatch has drowned.

Sea temp: 10.3

Cloud cover: 100%, Fog, another damp grey cool day

Bird sightings over the day:

- Wandering (Snowy), Black-browed, Northern Royal,Southern Royal Albatross

- White-chinned, Stejnegers, Magellanic Diving, Giant Petrels;

- Sooty Shearwater,

- Wilson's Storm Petrel,

- Thin-billed Prions, Prions sp.

- Fin whale

- Hour-glass Dolphins



Notes: "Noir comme dans un tunnel" mutters Francois. He's right, it's inky.



The sun made an effort to burst through the murk around 0630 and with the temporary brightening, a team of maybe a dozen small black and white Hourglass or Harlequinn dolphins surrounded us. As if to welcome the sun they slapped their tails on the water with a loud clap, each time they jumped through a wave. I thought it was all very jolly. But Brent said "They only slap the water because they're cross!



The sun really did break through at 1000, and a Black Browed Albatross
showed up for the changing of the guard, as Igor and Francois took over and set to work on tightening up the steering pedestal.



Then Francois tried to stem the leaks from the paraffin cooker. There was quite a lot of shrugging and it began to look as if it would be cold cans of sardines all the way to the Falklands. "Zees type of cooker, in France, on ze rubbish tip many year ago" he sniffed to Marie Christine who, a good few years back, got a bit of paper describing her as a "French Interpreter".



"Still, it's the only cooker we got - can you translate that?" I suggested.



We haven't had the oven since Tenerife but slowly Francois hunger got us back to all three rings on the hob and MC had the thick potato soup
bubbling in a tick. Then a very big whale, like a submarine, came alongside and banished all moans about cookers. Just in time. If the whale got cross,like the two dolphins, we're a gonner. No need for the cooker.



Against all predictions a NW gale sprang up in the afternoon. We're coming at Cape Horn from the West. Along the 56S parallel. Soon the southern islands of Tierra del Fuego will be only 20 miles to our north. Islas Ildefonso only 10. We are sleeping in our clothes. We have to slow down, everyone wants to see Cape Horn close up. I saw it close enough on the canoeing!



Into the mist......



John Ridgway

Date: 28 February 2004

Day: 219, (This Leg Day 36)

Local time: 1200 GMT-5

Leg Number and name: Leg 5, 'The Royal'

Focus of leg: Mitigation and protection of Albatross breeding colonies


Position - Latitude, Longitude: 56/04'S 069/31'W

Position relative to land: 75 nm west of Cape Horn

Distance travelled in last 24hrs: 120 nautical miles

Distance sailed this Leg: 4,599nm

Total distance from Ardmore: 19,856 miles

Course: 089T

Speed: 5.2 knots

Next Port: Port Stanley, Falkland Islands

Approx distance to next port: 593 nm

Wind: WNW F5 (17-21 knots)

Sea: Light to moderate.

Barometer: 999 falling

Air Temp: N/A Nick's Silva Windwatch has drowned.

Sea temp: 11.5

Cloud cover: 100%,

Bird sightings over the day:

- Grey-headed, Black-browed, Wandering (Snowy), Southern Royal, Albatross

- White-chinned, Magellanic Diving, Giant Petrels, Soft Plumaged;

- Wilson's Storm Petrel,

- Imperial Shag,

- Sooty Shearwater.



Notes: Thankfully, the gale eased in the night. All the same, by 1030 it was still slower, not faster, that we needed to go, if were were to pass Cape Horn by day.



After 37 days, Igor spied South America on the port bow. This was Islas Iledefonso a small group of out-lying uninhabited tiny islands lying off Tierra del Fuego. Very soon, Brent spotted his first South American Imperial Shag, complete with startling blue eyes. The Snowy Wandering, Southern Royal and Black-browed Albatrosses continued to keep watch over us and there was big rise in the numbers of Wilson's Storm Petrels.



I was struggling to arrive off Cape Horn in daylight for the fellows but even after running under bare poles all afternoon it is clear we cannot slow down enough. The forecast is for 35 knot winds from the west, too dangerous to pull in anywhere in the dark, what with 120' kelp and rocks. All the same, we've come so far, I don't like disappointing them. It looks as if it will have
to be around two o'clock in the morning.



Into the mist......



John Ridgway

Date: 29 February 2004

Day: 220, (This Leg Day 38)

Local time: 1200 GMT-4

Leg Number and name: Leg 5, 'The Royal'

Focus of leg: Mitigation and protection of Albatross breeding colonies


Position - Latitude, Longitude: 55/47'S 066/02'W

Position relative to land: 44nm past Cape Horn, heading NE

Distance travelled in last 24hrs: 120 nautical

miles

Distance sailed this Leg: 4,719nm

Total distance from Ardmore: 19,976 miles

Course: 036T

Speed: 3.5 knots

Next Port: Port Stanley, Falkland Islands

Approx distance to next port: 388 nm

Wind: WNW F2-3 (4-10 knots)

Sea: Light

Barometer: 1001 steady

Air Temp: N/A Nick's Silva Windwatch has drowned.

Sea temp: 9.8C

Cloud cover: 50%,

Bird sightings over the day:

- Grey-headed, Black-browed, Wandering (Snowy), Northern Royal, Southern
Royal, Albatross

- White-chinned, Magellanic Diving, Giant Petrels, Petrels

- Wilson's Storm Petrel, Black-bellied Storm Petrel

- Sooty, Great Shearwater.

- Prion sp.



Notes: It was ten past midnight of a Leap year's day that Nick finally saw the light. God knows, I'd been trying to get him to see it for nigh on a fairly leaping year. Cape Horn.



We finally rounded it at 0221. All six huddled round Val's cake and cocoa, surrounded by inky black. The old guard hunched in the doghouse: Nick, MC and me, while the new boys sat out in the aft cockpit: Igor, Francois and Brent. And With 35 knots of a westerly gale, huffing and puffing on Marie Christine'sparkling candles, I kept on re-lighting and shifting them across the shrinking surface as she sliced the small, round but very, very rich, fruit cake into a smaller and smaller island. We ate the lot! Rico!



We have sailed 19,000 miles since our forlorn wavings at the loved ones, as the little red fishing boat turned for home at the mouth of Loch Laxford last July, leaving us all alone on this huge, huge sea.



When MC and I came on Watch at 0600, we had a fine morning. Clinging to the Mizen rigging I clambered up on top of the Dog House and gazed back into the west at the familiar crouched grey lion which is Cape Horn, forever stamped on my mind, forged with the lonely snowy Wandering Albatross.



As on all the previous occasions I wonder: "Will I ever see them again?"



"What's it all about, Alfie?" asked a confused boy of the '60's, now nearly seventy.



Sentimental twaddle! I slithered back down the wires and into the Doghouse, like Gollum, and set about my All Bran - to keep me regular.



Into the mist......



John Ridgway

Date: 1 March 2004

Day: 221, (This Leg Day 39)

Local time: 1200 GMT-4

Leg Number and name: Leg 5, 'The Royal'

Focus of leg: Mitigation and protection of Albatross breeding colonies


Position - Latitude, Longitude: 54/22'S 064/18'W

Position relative to land: 290nm SW of Port Stanley, Falkland Islands

Distance travelled in last 24hrs: 100 nautical miles of local pilotage

Distance sailed this Leg: 4,819nm

Total distance from Ardmore: 20,076 miles

Course: 047T

Speed: 4.8 knots

Next Port: Port Stanley, Falkland Islands

Approx distance to next port: 290 nm

Wind: WSW F4-5 (11-21 knots)

Sea: Big lazy swell from SE

Barometer: 987 rising

Air Temp: N/A Nick's Silva Windwatch has drowned.

Sea temp: 10.7C

Cloud cover: 10%,

Bird sightings over the day:

- Black-browed, Wandering (Snowy), Northern Royal, Southern Royal, Albatross

- White-chinned, Magellanic Diving, Grey-backed Petrels

- Wilson's, Black-bellied, Grey-backed Storm Petrel

- Sooty, Giant Shearwater.

- Prion sp.

- Imperial Shag

- Magellanic Penguins

- Phalarope sp.

- Probable Dusky Dolphins

- south American Fur Seal



Notes: the clear fine day of yesterday held good for us. We laid our course to clear the eastern end of Staten Island on a direct line for Port Stanley some 400 miles NE.



But at midnight it had all gone wrong. Nick presented us with an easterly gale. MC and I had little enthusiasm for heading SE towards Antarctica.



Instead we turned NW for the western end of Staten Island and the dreaded 15 mile-wide Lemaire Straits, with its fierce tide races and iron-bound shores, which separate the island from the toe of Tierra del Fuego. The island itself is really a jagged range of mountains, some 30 miles long west to east but barely a couple of miles wide, north to south. Because the peaks rise 2,500' straight out of the sea there is grave danger of fierce down-draughts.



Totally uninhabited it is a great place for seabirds but not for us on a dark and stormy night with unpredictable tide rips.



MC went below but I stayed on Watch when Igor and Francois came up at
0200. Then the three of us hurtled along at up to 11 knots, fearful of plunging into a roaring tide race at any moment. With heavy rain partially obscuring the centre of the radar screen with 'clutter', I juggled the broken images on the screen with the chart while Igor relayed minor alterations to Francois out in the deluge.



"Tres interessant!" cried Francois, in somebody else's boat. But he was
good ont the detail.



Nick and Brent came up at 0400. "Have a good sleep, John" Nick called after me, as I slid down the ladder, "we'll let you lie in a bit". I slept for four solid hours of glorious sleep. Coming up at 0800 and still rubbing my eyes, I found Nick, MC and Brent had brought the old shippy up the Strait and out into the broad sea to the north. They related tales of dawn coming up to reveal a Jurassic Park, with rivers of sooty shearwaters flying out to sea from mysterious valleys in the half-light, off to greet the new day.



On our left hand, the other side of the straits, the desolate Argentinian east coast of Tierra del Fuego swept north. Now we were heading safely for the Falklands, still a couple of hundred miles ahead.



I took over once more and then it was Nick's turn for a sound four hours unbroken sleep. These spells he and I had, were the longest anyone had had since leaving Wellington 39 days ago. The past three days and nights had been pretty stressful for both of us in the pressure cooker.



"OK, we do Neek's Watch - he sleeps - we 'ave eez lunch!"shrugged Francois, 'Eeez regular, non?!"



All day we drew nearer to the great breeding ground for the Black-browed Albatross on Jason Island NW Falklands. We nosed through a group of lazy Dusky Dolphins, sluggish after gorging on fish and leaving a slick of oil on the surface.



I have to kick myself to keep alert. "More soldiers are killed returning from patrol than are ever killed going out." Dogged persistence is needed. End the race ten yards past the Finish Line. It is truly a long,long way home.



Make the most of the wonderful albatross, we'll be saying goodbye soon...



Into the mist......



John Ridgway

Date: 2 March 2004

Day: 222, (This Leg Day 40)

Local time: 1200 GMT-4

Leg Number and name: Leg 5, 'The Royal'

Focus of leg: Mitigation and protection of Albatross breeding colonies


Position - Latitude, Longitude: 53/11'S 064/18'W

Position relative to land: 160nm SW of Port Stanley, Falkland Islands

Distance travelled in last 24hrs:

146

Distance sailed this Leg: 4,845nm

Total distance from Ardmore: 20,102 miles

Course: 050T

Speed: 7.8 knots

Next Port: Port Stanley, Falkland Islands

Approx distance to next port: 160 nm

Wind: SW F5-6 (17-27-21 knots)

Sea: Very blue, white caps, moderate and confused swell from number of
different directions

Barometer: 989 steady

Air Temp: N/A Nick's Silva Windwatch has drowned.

Sea temp: 12C

Cloud cover: 5%,

Bird sightings over the day:

- Black-browed, Southern Royal Albatross

- White-chinned, Giant, Diving Petrels sp

- Wilson's, Grey-backed Storm Petrel

- Sooty, Great Shearwater.

- Thin-billed, Prion spz



Notes: Brilliant sailing on brilliant morning.



It seems so strange having no huge southern Ocean Swell, now we are in the lee of the Andes.



Brent stands on the stern, It's as if he's in his pulpit revolving through 360 as we slip silently along under full mainsail, yankee and staysail. He chortles and gurgles with glee, racing through his camera batteries, building biceps with his heavy telescopic lens.



It's great to see such enthusiasm. It's the key to success: "The spark in the eye, the grip of the hand, the spring in the step - everything else is an alibi!" so said old Henry Ford. Royal Albatrosses resting on the water, Great Shearwaters and Grey-backed Storm Petrels. Black-browed Albatrosses peering seriously. Hour Glass Dolphins explode through the waves. Brent explodes with delight when he sees the wonderful digital images his mighty white lens has captured. We old Kodak 35mm slide folk can't believe the powers of the SNAG (Sensitive New Age Guy). If only he'd shave and polish up his ear rings, he might make Governor of California. We know he's the neck for it, has he the head?



Six weeks at sea and Igor claims he can smell the pampas. He astonished us with his Albatross Spanish radio broadcasts in Australia. But now he's on his home territory, his Albatross talks know no borders. The whole of South American radio seems to want to speak with him on the satellite phone. He's always loved birds of course, now its Alexandra from Radio Uruguay and Diana from Radio Peru, talking about the symbolic Albatross, Lord of the Wings. It will be some time before we clear the east coast of South America. We must do the best we can for the poor old albatross! Seize the day!



Into the mist......



John Ridgway

ARRIVING PORT STANLEY

Date: 3 March 2004

Day: 223, (This Leg Day 41)

Local time: 1200 GMT-4

Leg Number and name: Leg 5, 'The Royal'

Focus of leg: Mitigation and protection of Albatross breeding colonies


Position - Latitude, Longitude: 51/50'S 057/54'W

Position relative to land: Motoring up Port William, Falkland Islands,
approaching Port Stanley

Distance travelled in last 24hrs: 146

Distance sailed this Leg: 4991nm

Total distance from Ardmore: 20,248 miles

Course: 041T

Speed: 6.3 knots

Next Port: Port Stanley, Falkland Islands

Approx distance to next port: 14 nm

Wind: SW F4-5 (11-21 knots)

Sea: Sheltered, short chop

Barometer: 994 steady

Air Temp: N/A Nick's Silva Windwatch has drowned.

Sea temp: N/a

Cloud cover: 25%,

Bird sightings over the day:

- Black-browed Albatross

- White-chinned, Giant, Petrels

- Sooty, Great Shearwater.

- Steamer Duck

- Upland goose,

- Turkey Vulture,

- Imperial and Rock Shags,

- Brown hooded, Kelp Gull

- Tern sp,

- Teale's Dolphin,

- Killer whale, Whales sp.




Notes: Great run up the east coast of East Falklands brought us to Port Stanley in early afternoon. Six miles out we were met by two Falkland Island Company launches, the Speedwell and the Beagle, each crowded with friendly people. After six weeks at sea, without seeing a soul, this heartwarming welcome was such a shock that half an hour passed before we had the wit to even call them up on the VHF radio. We were stunned.



Once alongside the town jetty His Excellency the Govenor came aboard and officially welcomed us to the Falkland Islands. We then set about working on our programme of talks and engagements in Port Stanley with the Falkland Island Conservation. Dry land at last.



Into the mist......



John Ridgway

Now go on to our Falklands Stopover 4-12 March 2004

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