Leg 6 - Stanley, Falklands Islands to Horta, Azores (cont)

Date: Sunday 28 March 2004

Day: 248, Day 16 Leg 6

Local time: 1200 GMT-2 (We changed the clocks today)

Leg Number and name: Leg 6, Falklands to Azores


Position - Latitude, Longitude: 34/12'S, 31/00'W

Position relative to land: 1,100 miles east of Uruguay

Distance travelled in last 24hrs: 90 miles for 67 miles forward.

Distance sailed this Leg: 1,590nm

Total distance from Ardmore: 21,659 miles

Course: 342T

Speed: 4.0 knots

Next Port: Horta, Azores

Approx distance to next port: 4,342 nm (straight line/great circle route -
it'll be further the way we go to make the most of the wind) (Ardmore 5686)

Wind: NNE F4 (11-16 knots)

Sea: Calm, small wavelets

Barometer: 1016 steady

Air Temp: n/a (sorry, pre-occupied with heavy rain)

Sea temp: 21.3C

Cloud cover: 95%

Bird sightings over the day:

- Albatross: Nil

- Petrel: Atlantic, Spectacled;

- Shearwater: nil

- Storm-petrel: Wilson's;



Notes: Very light winds. Much tacking around black rain clouds, 90 miles sailed for 67 forward. Around lunchtime we had heavy and prolonged rain and
Igor and Tim gathered some in buckets. We've been out 15 days and used 57
gallons of drinking water. I think this is turning out to be a bit
different from being an Observer on a fishing boat for Tim - no clothes
washing machine - in fact there's not a lot of other things too. "Who will
crack first?" cries MC. Everyone keeping quite calm. Snore wars averted
since Tim has moved into the Saloon.



The first flying fish in the scuppers, a good big one - poor blighter. A
pod of 20 or so Pilot whales just looking about on the surface.



"That big old male Wandering - he'll probably be the last albatross you'll
see" said Tim, thoughtfully. Although we saw Yellow-nosed albatrosses in
this latitude last September, that was the spring and the cold water was
further north. Now, in the autumn, the water is warm at the end of summer.
It's sad. We are still 660 miles from the 'tying the knot 'waypoint but
that 660 miles, while still 58 degrees, does seem to be steadily becoming
nearer due east. Must be patient and relax.



Into the mist......



John Ridgway

Date: Monday 29 March 2004

Day: 250, Day 17 Leg 6

Local time: 1200 GMT-2 (We changed the clocks today)

Leg Number and name: Leg 6, Falklands to Azores


Position - Latitude, Longitude: 34/19'S, 30/33'W

Position relative to land: 1,100 miles east of Uruguay (still)

Distance travelled in last 24hrs: 30 miles for 35 miles
progress.

Distance sailed this Leg: 1,620nm

Total distance from Ardmore: 21,689 miles

Course: 291T

Speed: 1.1 knots

Next Port: Horta, Azores

Approx distance to next port: 4,355 nm (straight line/great circle route -
it'll be further the way we go to make the most of the wind) (Ardmore 5,692)

Wind: NE F2 (4-6 knots)

Sea: Calm, small wavelets

Barometer: 1020 steady

Air Temp: 20C, with wind chill 15C

Sea temp: 22.6C

Cloud cover: 100%

Bird sightings over the day:

- Albatross: Atlantic Yellow-nosed

- Petrel: Atlantic, Spectacled;

- Shearwater: Great;

- Storm-petrel: Wilson's, Band-rumped;

- Other: Long-finned Pilot whale



Notes: 15 miles progress for 30 miles sailed. Everyone showing restraint in
the face of frustration with our progress.



Marie Christine has chosen to operate like a relentless generator (one
tough Granny). As well as doing Watches throughout the voyage, during the
250 days she has never once sat idly by.



Here is her schedule:



Midnight - 0200 - Kneads dough to make our daily bread and prepares
potatoes, cabbage, onions and carrots for the coming day, while
hand-feeding bull-frog at doghose chart table above her galley.



0200 - 0600 - Reads meaningful book and sleeps intermittently, while
fielding hypochondriachal questions from dozing bull-frog.



0600-1000; Ascends ladder into doghouse at dawn. Nibbles two Weety-bangs,
moistened with water and sprinkled sparingly with milk powder and sugar;
slips into nodding unison with bull-frog, as Prophet Stoneface declaims
with certitude, through his muesli nosebag in native Ulster pulpit mode.
Learns afresh that Melbourne is the centre of the Universe. After the
Prophet Stoneface has "left the building", bakes bread, prepares lunch for
five and boils water for six flasks while skirmishing to prevent bull-frog
from reaching the last jar of peanut butter.



1000 - 1200: Performs ablutions in one pint of warm water. Sits up in bunk
and frenzies never-ending (since 1968) Elizabeth Bradley floral tapestries,
while de-snored bull-frog slumbers in bunk three feet away.



1200 - 1400: Cooks and dishes out lunch for five. Enjoys triangular
conversation at 200th-odd lunch with Prophet Stoneface and Bull-frog in
saloon, while Igor and Tim are on watch on deck. Washes-up and dries dishes
alone, in own galley.



1400 - 1700: Collapses into bunk. Reads meaningful book to improve word
power, in the unlikely event good for nothing bull-frog ever agrees to play
Scrabble and lose, again. Continues endless tapestry. May fall asleep with
exhaustion, while in saloon, Bull-frog entertains yawning crew with yarns
she, and even they, have heard so many times before.



1700 - 1900: Prepares and cooks supper for five, while boiling water for
six flasks. All on 3 paraffin rings, using a bank of pressure cookers and
steamers. Often sports a white Hong-Kong 'flu mask, to combat nasal
disintegration from meths fumes. Enjoys supper on watch alone with
bull-frog in doghouse, while Nick, Igor and Tim eat in the saloon and do
the washing-up.



2000 - Midnight: Retires to bunk in darkness. Reads a meaningful book by
Petzl head torch, to "stretch and grow" in order to broaden mind to
comprehend bull-frog's mindset: "hard, sharp - and narrow as a chisel".
Slips into sleep and hears Prophet Stoneface's wheedle: "Hello, Marie
Christine. Hello, John - it's quarter to twelve".



And what a contrast with that loud-mouthed, lardy, hypocritical,
sanctimonious, idle, self-publicist, old fart of a husband of hers.
Whenever will the meek inherit the Earth?



Into the mist......



John Ridgway

Date: Tuesday 30 March 2004

Day: 250, Day 18 Leg 6

Local time: 1200 GMT-2

Leg Number and name: Leg 6, Falklands to Azores


Position - Latitude, Longitude: 34/30'S, 29/27'W

Position relative to land: stuck 1,150 miles east of Uruguay

Distance travelled in last 24hrs: 70

Distance sailed this Leg: 1,690nm

Total distance from Ardmore: 21,759 miles

Course: 094T

Speed: 1.5 knots

Next Port: Horta, Azores

Approx distance to next port: 4,371 nm (straight line/great circle route -
it'll be further the way we go to make the most of the wind - and yes -
it's getting further away!) (Ardmore 5,692)

Wind: NNE F2 (4-6 knots)

Sea: Calm, small wavelets

Barometer: 1021 steady

Air Temp: 23C, with wind chill 21C

Sea temp: 23C

Cloud cover: 10%

Bird sightings over the day:

- Albatross: Atlantic Yellow-nosed

- Petrel: Atlantic, Spectacled;

- Storm-petrel: Wilson's;



Notes: Very light airs again. Nothing at all, or from just where we want to go.



In the morning I finally decided we must get the out the Drifter, a huge
light weather genoa headsail in stirring red, white and blue. What they
call a loose-luffed furling sail. A glorious fresh sunny morning with only
3 or 4 knots of breeze. The drifter was an instant success and we were off
on our way again with a new string to the bow for the 5,000 miles ahead.



We saw three majestic Yellow-nosed Albatrosses which helped lift the
spirits as well.



Marie Christine and Nick have been such towers of strength over these 250
days. What an experience it has all been. Igor battling bravely on the long
haul. The complete strangers we lived with in this pressure cooker. The
wonder of learning about the Albatrosses while among them, seeing so many
of the different species.



The omnipresent risk of it all, bearing down on me all the time. The dramas
unfolding in each port. Will I look back and say - That's when and how I
actually killed myself?



Hopefully not.



Into the mist......



John Ridgway



1600 Greek bulk carrier "Lamyra" Brazil to South Korea crossed our bow N-S.
Their radar not "on" had difficulties picking up VHF Channel 16 until 'High
Power' put on. We must keep alert.

Date: Wednesday 31 March 2004

Day: 251, Day 19 Leg 6

Local time: 1200 GMT-2

Leg Number and name: Leg 6, Falklands to Azores


Position - Latitude, Longitude: 34/09'S, 28/24'W

Position relative to land: STILL stuck 1,150 miles east of Uruguay

Distance travelled in last 24hrs: 50

Distance sailed this Leg: 1,740nm

Total distance from Ardmore: 21,809 miles

Course: 060T

Speed: 1.2 knots

Next Port: Horta, Azores

Approx distance to next port: 4,337 nm (straight line/great circle route -
it'll be further the way we go to make the most of the wind - and yes -
it's getting further away!) (Ardmore 5,621)

Wind: NNW F1 (1-3knots)

Sea: Calm

Barometer: 1019 steady

Air Temp: 25C, with wind chill 23C

Sea temp: 23C

Cloud cover: 50%

Bird sightings over the day:

- Albatross: Nil

- Petrel: Atlantic, Spectacled;

- Storm-petrel: Wilson's;

- Blainville's Beaked whale



Notes: "Captain, what is your Action Plan?" gasped the elderly cabin boy in
the darkness, having contrived to knock himself senseless in the Forward
Heads, on this, his first night aboard.



It was indeed "A dark and stormy night." We were butting into a gale, in
fog, hard by the Nantucket Light. Lobster buoys rat-tatted vicously on the
hull, their broken lines entwined round the prop shaft.



The Captain (your humble correspondent) grey-faced with anxiety and trussed
in his demi-bunk high in the doghouse, snapped back "What Action Plan?"

Now, three years later, we are again in need of an Action Plan. In the
last four days we've covered only 180 miles toward the "Tying-the-knot"
waypoint.



We are in danger of submerging in Mental Plonk and need to focus on the
Aim: On 24 June, we must be in Rome, with the Petition.



There are precious few albatrosses this far north, right now, we can always
"tie the knot" further north if necessary. But Rome 24 June, is the benchmark.



All the same, there are some advantages which spring from being becalmed:
the mind readily plays tricks. Wrapped in ghostly total silence, monsters
of the deep are all the more formidable in a glassy calm, by moonlight. For
a start, those lights blinking on the horizon - are they a ship, a ship? Or
only moonbeams ready for the jar? If a giant octopus writhes up to the
surface, how safe are we in the saloon?.....better have the axe handy, just
in case.



Well at 0930 we spotted four small whales about half a mile on the
starboard beam. "Not Pilot whales" said Tim, peering through his Leica
binos. Four hours and only six miles later, again a foursome surfaced on
the starboard beam, nearer this time and cruising very, very slowly in the
calm. Tim flushed pink with excitement. There was a pinkness about the
largest whale too. Maybe fifteen or sixteen feet long it had a beak and two
huge teeth protruding upwards from its lower jaw, like barnacle-encrusted
pom-poms.



"Blainville's Beaked whales" Tim proclaimed after checking his book "they
have the densest bones in the animal kingdom."



But it's not just little-seen whales that become visible in these unvisited
places on a flat calm day. The deep blue sea itself, appears to be a soup
of living organisms: the very basic living stuff of the planet. Knocking
this mighty link out of our chain might prove careless indeed: we should
remember that the survival of the Albatross serves as a beacon of a
healthy ocean.



Into the mist......



John Ridgway

Date: Thursday 1 April 2004

Day: 252, Day 20 Leg 6

Local time: 1200 GMT-2

Leg Number and name: Leg 6, Falklands to Azores


Position - Latitude, Longitude: 33/31'S, 27/37'W

Position relative to land:

Distance travelled in last 24hrs: 54

Distance sailed this Leg: 1,794 nm

Total distance from Ardmore: 21,863 miles

Course: 039T

Speed: 6.3 knots

Next Port: Horta, Azores

Approx distance to next port: 4,297nm (straight line/great circle route -
it'll be further the way we go to make the most of the
wind) (Ardmore 5,604)

Wind: E F4 ( 11-16 knots)

Sea: Very light

Barometer: 1019 steady

Air Temp: 19C, with wind chill 16C

Sea temp: 23.4C

Cloud cover: 90%

Bird sightings over the day:

- Albatross: Nil

- Petrel: Atlantic, Spectacled;

- Storm-petrel: Wilson's;

- Blainville's Beaked whale



Notes: A good breeze at dawn blew the dithers away. When Nick handed over to MC and me at 0600 we were bounding along right on track for the 'Tying-the-knot' waypoint.



"A couple of days of this", he chortled "and we'll nearly be there."



"One swallow doesn't make a summer" I muttered. But the SE breeze held on
more less all day and the whole crew brightened again. Igor polished everything in sight. Tim saw a Long-tailed Jaeger which could be the Arctic or Pomerine Skua of home. I wonder if we'll get to see the fabled Scarlet-tailed Tropic Bird of yore.



Sailing down the Atlantic, how we looked forward to seeing that lone bird, some hundreds of miles west of Ascension. Circling the main mast, snow white with a scarlet streamer on a background of cloudless blue sky, like a solitary Dove of Peace signalling: red, white and blue - all is well with the world.



Tim (Doubtful-stock Australian) says this is a load of rubbish: the only
Red-tailed Tropic Bird ever recorded in the Atlantic was seen in Kommetjie, South Africa. So I asked him what year, because it was probably that one - on its way to Kommetjie. By the way is the French flag red, white and blue horizontal or is that the Dutch flag? Or am I getting really old?




Into the mist......



John Ridgway

Date: Friday 2 April 2004

Day: 253, Day 21 Leg 6

Local time: 1200 GMT-2

Leg Number and name: Leg 6, Falklands to Azores


Position - Latitude, Longitude: 31/55'S, 26/00'W

Position relative to land: 1,700 miles ENE of Buenos Aires

Distance travelled in last 24hrs: 120

Distance sailed this Leg: 1,914 nm

Total distance from Ardmore: 21,983 miles

Course: 034T

Speed: 6.3 knots

Next Port: Horta, Azores

Approx distance to next port: nm (straight line/great circle route - it'll
be further the way we go to make the most of the wind) (Ardmore 5,500nm)

Wind: E F4 ( 11-16 knots)

Sea: Becoming lumpy, growing, on starboard bow, some whitecaps.

Barometer: 1021 steady

Air Temp: 23C, with wind chill 19C

Sea temp: 24.2C

Cloud cover: 10%

Bird sightings over the day:

- Albatross: Nil

- Petrel: Atlantic, Spectacled;

- Storm-petrel: Wilson's

- Shearwater: Sooty;



Notes: All morning we were pulling steadily to the NE side of of the south
Atlantic High Pressure system. Smooth seas grew bumpy as the wind freshened.



In the afternoon the SE wind slowly veered. And by sunset it was blowing
strongly from the NE and we couldn't even make north. So we had to tack and sail off to the south of east.



Just a little dose of frustration. Look on the bright side of life -
Blimey! Next thing we'll be on the blinking crucifix.



I'm writing this at quarter to one on the morning of Saturday 3 April. We
are 3 hours behind British Summer Time and the NE wind is howling in an unpleasant manner. A small pool of yellow light on the chart of the Western Portion of the South Atlantic shows that if we could steer due north we would cut our outgoing track in under 300 miles. Alternatively, it is also 345 miles to the 'Tying-the-knot' waypoint on a bearing of 054 True - what a puzzle, we could do with a break in the weather. Just hang on I suppose.



Thelma phoned this morning. She had also phoned while we were in Wellington
and spoke with Nick, as Marie Christine and I were ashore arranging the talk in the Te Papa Centre. THis morning Thelma told us she sent a message to the Falklands, which we never received. The point of this is that we have never met Thelma, she is someone who has been following my Daily Log on BBCi H2G2.
Unfortunately we are unable to call up H2G2 from the boat, so nobody who
has ever sent us a message via H2G2, has ever got through directly to us. So they may never have had a reply either. This of course was not how we imagined our involvement with the BBC would work out. Among the many changes at the BBC over these past 8 months, perhaps BBCi H2G2 has been downsized, I'm afraid we don't know.



This has been a very long trip, rather exhausting and I do apologise and I
do hope that you are still following the Log and persuading your friends to sign the Petition, which is the best thing we can all do just now.



Meanwhile I do imagine I am speaking with you each night and trying not to
sound too much like the "Whinging Pom" which I am.



Into the mist......



John Ridgway

Date: Saturday 3 April 2004

Day: 254, Day 22 Leg 6

Local time: 1200 GMT-2

Leg Number and name: Leg 6, Falklands to Azores

Position - Latitude, Longitude: 31/26'S, 24/50'W

Position relative to land: 4,187 miles due south of the Azores

Distance travelled in last 24hrs:70 miles

Distance sailed this Leg: 1984 nm

Total distance from Ardmore: 22,053 miles

Course: 003T

Speed: 6.3 knots

Next Port: Horta, Azores

Approx distance to next port: 4,187 nm (straight line/great circle route -
it'll be further the way we go to make the most of the wind) (Ardmore nm)

Wind: ENE F4 ( 11-16 knots)

Sea: Light and easy

Barometer: 1022 steady

Air Temp: C, with wind chill C

Sea temp: 25C

Cloud cover: 5%

Bird sightings over the day:

- Albatross: Atlantic Yellow-nosed

- Petrel: Atlantic, Spectacled;

- Storm-petrel: White-bellied;

- Shearwater: Great;



Notes: Bashed our heads against the brickwork going SE until dawn.



At 0605 I saw a solitary Yellow-nosed Albatross crossing our stern. "It's a
sign!" laughed Nick "we must tack north". As I watched the great bird lazily roll onto its side, swinging up its white underwings, edged in black, I thought maybe I could just make out a word per wing: "TACK" and "NORTH". So we did. It was a sign alright.



The sun burned into the day and the weather was just grand for our new
course for home. Even the fluffy white clouds, were marching along with us and the sea fell smooth helping us on our way north, away from the South Atlantic High.



The sea water temperature reads 25 degrees centigrade and the old boat is
beginning to heat up inside. Small black flies, from deep in the vegetable boxes are coming grinning into life. And Igor does not like them interrupting his ablutions in the forward heads of a morning.



"Beyond the Southern Cross, there are millions of stars" cried Marie Christine, gazing at the velvet night sky through the binoculars. We have full moon, Venus is so bright we almost need
sunglasses. The boat had sailed due north all day, the first straight line for quite a while. Nick closed up to midnight hand-steering, coaxing every mile out of a dying breeze.



Into the mist......



John Ridgway

Date: Sunday 4 April 2004

Day: 255, Day 23 Leg 6

Local time: 1200 GMT-2

Leg Number and name: Leg 6, Falklands to Azores


Position - Latitude, Longitude: 29/42'S, 24/56'W

Position relative to land:

Distance travelled in last 24hrs:107 miles

Distance sailed this Leg: 2091 nm

Total distance from Ardmore: 22,160 miles

Course: 356T

Speed: 4.6 knots

Next Port: Horta, Azores

Approx distance to next port: 4,082 nm (straight line/great circle route -
it'll be further the way we go to make the most of the wind) (Ardmore 5,365nm)

Wind: ENE F4 ( 11-16 knots)

Sea: Light and easy

Barometer: 1022 steady

Air Temp: 23C, with wind chill 21C

Sea temp: 24.2C

Cloud cover: 5%

Bird sightings over the day:

- Albatross: Atlantic Yellow-nosed

- Petrel: Atlantic, Spectacled;



Notes: Moving steadily north. A litle glum yesterday as turning away from
the albatross, our constant companion these past six months through thick
and thin. First seen by me six decades ago and probably never again.



All of Mantovani's violins playing at once couldn't say enough could
they? Nick has a new theory. I've already been an albatross, in a past
life. Now I'm on the slide - a human. In the next life I'll be a small
cockroach in the GPS trying to keep warm. Pity I had to find out.



Tim saw a large whale jump out of the water about a mile away on the port
side. We all rushed up to see it but it only breached that once. It could
have been a sperm whale in these waters.



The steering is becoming stiff again, as it was on the trip down in
September. I think this is a feature of things expanding in hot weather.
But we can't decide what is expanding. Possibly the rubber collar at the
top of the rudder tube. Unfortunately the Monitor wind vane self steering
cannot work with the stiff wheel so it is all hand steering again when the
breeze falls below 10 knots.



Into the mist......



John Ridgway

Date: Monday 5 April 2004

Day: 256, Day 24 Leg 6

Local time: 1200 GMT-2

Leg Number and name: Leg 6, Falklands to Azores


Position - Latitude, Longitude: 27/53'S, 25/31'W

Position relative to land: 1,100 miles ESE of Rio de Janeiro

Distance travelled in last 24hrs: 121 miles

Distance sailed this Leg: 2,212 nm

Total distance from Ardmore: 22,281 miles

Course: 346T

Speed: 4.3 knots

Next Port: Horta, Azores

Approx distance to next port: 3,971 nm (straight line/great circle route -
it'll be further the way we go to make the most of the wind) (Ardmore 5,262nm)
Wind: NNE F3 (7-10 knots)

Sea: calm

Barometer: 1018 steady

Air Temp: 25C, with wind chill 25C

Sea temp: 27.5C

Cloud cover: 50%

Bird sightings over the day:

- Albatross: nil

- Petrel: Spectacled;



Notes: Almost full moon. Sliding silently along, it all looks so easy.



We heard tonight that United Kingdom will at last ratify the Agreement to
Conserve Albatrosses and Petrels.



I'm sure many people will rejoice, few more enthusiastically than we fogies
out here these past 256 days and nights.



Ratifying now, will allow UK a seat at the first real meeting, early next
year. Further delay and UK would have qualified only to be an observer and
that after all the effort the UK has put in to make ACAP a reality.



The Aim of our voyage "To prevent the needless slaughter of the Albatross"
has taken a step forward tonight. Press Association says "Conservationists
are also urging people to sign a Petition, to be presented to the United
Nations in June, calling for action against pirate longline fishing. The
Petitioners are hoping for more than 100,000 signatories". Hey, that's us,
folks!! Please do try and help us reach 100,000 signatures.



I suppose we are trying to see if one person can still do something to make
a difference in an over-crowded world of 6,000 million people. My thoughts
tonight are of those splendid ladies who voluntarily and selflessly put
their shoulders to the wheel for the albatross as we sailed our way round
the world. Tenerife - Monika Gilbert. Cape Town - Christina Barlow.
Melbourne - Heather Roberts. Wellington - Doreen Green. Falklands -
Marjorie McPhee and Natalie Smith.



You see, we knew none of these ladies until we arrived in their home town.
They belong to no association and they were just helping the albatross. But
these are the people who individually do make a difference in this world.
When they come together, the quiet pressure they exert, makes puffed up
males who never listen but have instant opinions and who like to turn left
on entering airplanes, Quake, in democracies round the world. And as a
result ACAP's get signed.



Good on yer Ladies.



Into the mist......



John Ridgway

Date: Tuesday 6 April 2004

Day: 257, Day 25 Leg 6

Local time: 1200 GMT-2

Leg Number and name: Leg 6, Falklands to Azores


Position - Latitude, Longitude: 27/18'S, 25/49'W

Position relative to land: 1,000 miles ESE of Rio de Janeiro

Distance travelled in last 24hrs: 45 miles

Distance sailed this Leg: 2,257 nm

Total distance from Ardmore: 22,326 miles

Course: 072T

Speed: 1.1 knots

Next Port: Horta, Azores

Approx distance to next port: 3,937 nm (straight line/great circle route -
it'll be further the way we go to make the most of the wind) (Ardmore 5,205nm)

Wind: SE F1-2 (1-6 knots)

Sea: calm

Barometer: 1017 steady

Air Temp: 25C, with wind chill 25C

Sea temp: 27.1C

Cloud cover: 50%

Bird sightings over the day: nil




Notes: We had twelve hours of calm after midnight. Sails were furled to
prevent damage from slatting back and forth.



"Come on - you must look at the sky!" called Nick, as MC and I crawled
sleepily up the ladder from the galley at 0600, it had been a hot, hot night.



On deck we found ourselves at the centre of a huge circle of blue sky,
surrounded by towering purple clouds, which masked the early sun. There was
never a ripple on the glassy surface of the sea. "It was around here that
GBII was hit by lightning" remembered Marie Christine."Or we could have ten
thunderstorms all at once, like on the Amazon - it's only over there" I
pointed west.



Anyway, the sun came on up and got its revenge. It burned off the clouds of
the night and we were left scanning the ocean for a catspaw of wind.



For the first day in his life, Tim (41) never saw a single bird. Igor
shaved Birdman's head with a razor for a penance.
Hour after hour we sat there motionless, a painted ship on a painted ocean.
A 60ft long patch of shadow 15 feet wide at its broadest, projecting down
into the violet 3 mile-deep water.



I have read the survival books about hapless of sailors adrift for weeks,
months even, after being sunk by whales. Drifting in round, canopied
liferafts,colonies of fish coming to live in their tiny patch of shade. Now
it was happening to us. A shoal of nine Dorado attached themselves to our
shadow. Each 3 feet or more long, exquisite torpedoes of blues, greens and
brightest yellow, with their typically blunt foreheads.



We began to trickle along at maybe 1/2 a knot. The leader of the pack,
longer than his juniors, began circling the boat restlessly, while the
others sank from view, appearing only now and then. A much larger shark
cruised 50 yards out to port.



Nick came on deck, all smiles, finished with his morning ablutions.
"Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,....." he laughed, pointing at each fish in
turn. "One time on The Aegre, we were becalmed nine days - we named each
Dorado and speared one according to it's day, we had a mobile larder."



A tiny Puffer fish, maybe an inch in diameter, came drifting along the side
of the boat like a big dapping fly. The leader of the pack rose like a huge
trout, took a close look at the prickly little blighter - and turned away,
sinking back to take up station with the others, now we were moving, in the
shade under the stern.



The Puffer made a break for Brazil, fins frothing a frenzy. A big mistake.
Huge. The leader streaked back up and its front teeth crunched that spiny
chestnut. No hol in Brazil.



I've always loved fishing, fly fishing mostly. And I've caught plenty of
Dorado, towing a plastic squid 50 yards astern. Haven't fished on this
trip, we need the power from the towing generator more.



Marie Christine could tell what I was thinking, "We don't need it, Johnny,
they're too beautiful. We've plenty of food."



Maybe it was the Albatross whispering, "the secret is not having what you
want, but wanting what you have..."



Into the mist......



John Ridgway

Date: Wednesday 7 April 2004

Day: 258, Day 26 Leg 6

Local time: 1200 GMT-2

Leg Number and name: Leg 6, Falklands to Azores


Position - Latitude, Longitude: 25/20'S, 25/23'W

Position relative to land: 160nm from closest point on outward track

Distance travelled in last 24hrs: 117 miles

Distance sailed this Leg: 2,374 nm

Total distance from Ardmore: 22,443 miles

Course: 020T

Speed: 6.4 knots

Next Port: Horta, Azores

Approx distance to next port: 3,820nm (straight line/great circle route -
it'll be further the way we go to make the most of the wind) (Ardmore 5,111nm)

Wind: ENE F6 (22-27 knots)

Sea: Modereate and building

Barometer: 1018 steady

Air Temp: 24C, with wind chill 20C

Sea temp: 27.5C

Cloud cover: 100% with heavy rain

Bird sightings over the day: Wilson's Storm Petrel




Notes: Midnight found us in just perfect conditions, unlikely to be
repeated on this voyage: a full moon, a smooth sea, a good breeze and a good boat, gliding silently to windward. Having all the factors in balance is rare. The moon is only full once a month for a start.



Up in the bow, far out in the pulpit, checking the luffs of the headsails
to see everything is pulling right, is made more pleasant with rain-washed decks - no salt to encrust the hot weather clothes. There's something about the shape of a boat: harnessed wind-power combined with grace. When it's just right it's magical. When the boat has been so far with you over 30 years.....



The trick seems to be in appreciating the moment, when it is staring you
right in the face. It's all too easy to be in too much of a hurry.



Talking with Tim, I have to realise that with over 5,000 miles still to
sail, it really is most unlikely we shall see another Albatross of any kind, let alone the great cruising shape of a Southern Royal or a Wandering Albatross caressing the waves.



Part of me is always out there with them.



By dawn the wind was piping up. The first and only bird for two days was
seen: a Wilson's Storm Petrel. Now shining bald, Tim looks quite different. He mutters things like "this is how the whole world will be, if we go on using everything up the way we are." He's spent so much time as a solitary observer on fishing boats in awful conditions in the Southern Ocean. Tim has had plenty of time to think things through alright. He's teaching me an old Australian poem, "The Man from Snowy River," it starts something like this:



"There was movement at the station
For the word had passed around
The colt from Old Regret, had got away"



By noon we had a rough grey sea and near gale of wind out of the east. At
last, the cavalry was breaking into a trot. Igor and Tim were on watch in steady torrential rain, which offered clothes washing, showers and "chilling-out", all at the same time. We are short of fresh water so it was gathered in the three black buckets and every container we could find.



As the day wore on into night the going got rougher, we were flying, under
just scraps of sail.



Into the mist......



John Ridgway

Date: Thursday 8 April 2004

Day: 259, Day 27 Leg 6

Local time: 1200 GMT-2

Leg Number and name: Leg 6, Falklands to Azores

Position - Latitude, Longitude: 23/10'S, 24/50'W

Position relative to land: 60 miles south of closest point on outward track

Distance travelled in last 24hrs: 128 miles

Distance sailed this Leg: 2,502 nm

Total distance from Ardmore: 22,554 miles

Course: 009T

Speed: 5.1 knots

Next Port: Horta, Azores

Approx distance to next port: 3,692nm (straight line/great circle route -
it'll be further the way we go to make the most of the wind)

Wind: E F5 (17-21 knots)

Sea: Moderate, just forward of starboard beam, very blue, frequent
whitecaps, and building.

Barometer: 1021 steady

Air Temp: 25C, with wind chill 22C

Sea temp: 27.9C

Cloud cover: 20%

Bird sightings over the day: Wilson's Storm Petrel



Notes: Bumpy moonlit night. Making good progress to NNE towards "Tying the
knot". We kept pressing on and the wind held fairly steady.



The excitement just now is the imminent crossing of our outward track and
thus the completion of our circumnavigation.



Beyond that the tactics for reaching the Azores depend on how soon we cross
the western border of the south east trade winds.



South east winds will free us off to choose our position to cross the
Equator, and the doldrums and so line ourselves up to cross the contrary north east trades on the far side. Nick has refined his three layered kite rig for going to windward in the stronger winds 25-30 knots we are now encountering.



He brings this from his high speed (50mph) NZ land yachting days, when he
would sail alone for thirty miles on a beam reach straight along a deserted sandy beach and thirty miles back in time for lunch (unless he had a break down!!).



Essentially, the rig is three tall sails each a tight bar, with a long leading edge (luff) backed by a short body. For us this is a scrap of No2 Yankee, the full staysail and 1/4 mainsail. The boat is fueled by the wind drawn through the two tall slots between the three sails. It pulls like a tug-o-war team whilst hardly heeling the boat over - amazing.



Into the mist......



John Ridgway

Date: Friday 9 April 2004

Day: 260, Day 28 Leg 6

Local time: 1200 GMT-2

Leg Number and name: Leg 6, Falklands to Azores


Position - Latitude, Longitude: 20/54'S, 24/23'W

Position relative to land: 280nm east of Isla da Trinidade (The treasure

island featured in 'The Cruise of the Alerte' by

Distance travelled in last 24hrs: 148 miles

Distance sailed this Leg: 2,650 nm

Total distance from Ardmore: 22,702 miles

Course: 011T

Speed: 5.5 knots

Next Port: Horta, Azores

Approx distance to next port: 3,559nm (straight line/great circle route - it'll be further the way we go to make the most of the wind)

Wind: ENE F5 (17-21 knots)

Sea: Moderate to rough

Barometer: 1019 falling slowly

Air Temp: 24C, with wind chill 20C

Sea temp: 27.9C

Cloud cover: 10%

Bird sightings over the day: Wilson's Storm Petrel



Notes: We tied the knot. Just before midnight we crossed the outward track we made on our way to Cape Town on 13 September 2003.



I'll have to deal with this event in a day or so, it deserves more gravity than I can muster just now. Afraid I suffered a minor indisposition today, it could be simple sea sickness or upset stomach from over eating Igor's desperate lunchtime paste of sardines, hot chili, raw onions, raw cabbage, herbs, lemon juice. A death blow for the pensioner.



I lay in my bunk all day gazing into the abyss of self-pity. The boat
roared on. I could hear distant revelries for Tim's 42nd birthday. I moaned best wishes as he sang Happy Birthday to himself in Australian Spanish.



Lying there, I fell to thinking how we might have done better for the
Albatross when we were in Australia.



"Mr Newman? Mr Sam Newman?" I stood on the slatted marina pontoon in Melbourne, squinting up the many storeys of Mr Newman's palatial cruiser.



"Yes" came the answer, muffled by the thrum of the mighty engines. He peered down at me, an abrasive ex-Australian Rules footbal player, turned controversial TV commentator.



"John Ridgway",I stammered,"I'm sailing round the world, trying to prevent the needless slaughter of the Albatross - I wonder if you'd like to join us for a cup of tea on the boat?"



"Sure, I'll be right down."



One of the things Mr Newman is known for is for painting a mural of Pamela Anderson on the front of his house. My life was about to be en-riched. This was a real Aussie.



But it wasn't. This conversation never took place. True, Mr Newman shouted at me one day for taking one of the marina wheel-barrows parked by his ship, but other than that, we just peered suspiciously at one another as he motored in and out.



And so, what with Sadam Hussein's capture and Christmas celebrations
already under way,the poor old Albatross was swamped and washed away. But I still feel Mr.Newman could have opened doors for the old bird in Australia.



Why didn't I have the wit to ask him to tea? I think we must go back to the winter of 61/62 for the answer. I was a lieutenant in the Parachute Regiment, the Battalion was stationed on the flat,greyish salty sands of Bahrein airport. We lived in tents and we were there to oppose Iraq in the first Kuwait crisis.



Conditions were pretty miserable, so there was plenty competition to win a place in the Battalion Boxing team for a tour of far away, green and pleasant Kenya. Training was fierce. Much running backwards through cemeteries at dawn while shadow boxing as we went.



In this grubby place, thrashing an officer was the ambition of many of the 800-odd paratroopers. Unfortunately, they had only me to practice on. There was a fearsome chap called Cpl Joe Lock, regular sparring with him had me wandering round in a daze for most of the winter. Too much boxing without a head-guard, that's my problem. Slow witted. A practicing invalid.



Anyway I managed to be up and going for 1800-2000 Watch.



Into the mist......



John Ridgway

Date: Saturday 10 April 2004

Day: 261, Day 29 Leg 6

Local time: 1200 GMT-2

Leg Number and name: Leg 6, Falklands to Azores



Position - Latitude, Longitude: 18/43'S, 24/19'W

Position relative to land: 800 miles off the coast of Brazil

Distance travelled in last 24hrs: 131 miles

Distance sailed this Leg: 2,781 nm

Total distance from Ardmore: 22,833 miles

Course: 359T

Speed: 6.8 knots

Next Port: Horta, Azores

Approx distance to next port: 3,428nm (straight line/great circle route -
it'll be further the way we go to make the most of the wind)

Wind: NE F5 (17-21 knots)

Sea: Moderate to rough

Barometer: 1015 falling slowly

Air Temp: 24C, with wind chill 20C

Sea temp: 27.5C

Cloud cover: 40%

Bird sightings over the day: Albatross: Atlantic Yellow-nose



Notes: We are about half way up the Brazilian coast, between Rio de Janeiro
and Salvador, and some 800 miles offshore, heading north.



The ENE wind hits the boat about 60 degrees off the starboard bow. The sea
is pretty jubbly. We do have quite frequent, short but fierce, rain
squalls. The heat is intensified because we have to keep all the hatches
closed to keep the sea out.



We have covered 30 degrees of latitude north in 28 days. We have 60 degrees
more to cover. Not essential to be a rocket scientist to work out that this
could end up a long trip. Fortunately we have good wind at this time.



For 261 days now our thoughts on this boat have been on how to prevent the
quite needless slaughter of the albatross. On our way round the world we
have met with many people ranging from private individuals with strong
convictions to government workers with diplomatic solutions.



Has our voyage been worthwhile? A rather burning question on the boat now
we have "tied the knot". Travelling hopefully can be less bleak than arriving.



Personally, I feel it would be quite wrong to reach conclusions before the
voyage is entirely over and we have safely reached home, having been to
Rome and delivered the Petition to the UN FAO.



We have generated publicity for the Albatross in the Southern Hemisphere.
It could be that just one person, on that night at the Te Papa in
Wellington (if not those who were turned away), heard what I was reaching
out to say and decided to 'Stiffen the sinew and summon up the blood',
themselves.



But is this enough? I don't think so.



At 60M the UK is around 1% of the Earth's population and very far from the
Albatross. Yet Britain might seem to have managed its responsibilities for
the Falkland Islands, South Georgia & Sandwich Islands, and Tristan da
Cunha with rather mixed success over the past 20 years of longlining and
trawling in those waters - that's from the Albatross's point of view of
course. Let's hope that at last, with the signing of ACAP, the stable door
is closing.



But looking back on my own life, "Let's hope" has never been quite enough.



Into the mist......



John Ridgway

Now go on to the next two weeks 11-24 April 2004

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