5-8.12.08
East London, Friday:
In the morning, when it had finally stopped raining, I put on the repaired mainsail, adjusted new battens and I attached reefs… and on top of that I managed to meet Roland, the Pole who had sailed into the harbour at night, during a yacht delivery for Durban. Onboard the “Windword”, the skipper, who was knowledgeable about the local conditions, gave me some useful advice about good anchorages, pointing them out on the map, in case some unexpected weather situation happened again and I was forced to look for shelter. I set off hoping greatly that this time the wind won’t be so severe and I will manage to get to Mossel Bay, which is 300 nautical miles away from East London.          

The route, Saturday:
The sea was flat. The waves were against me after the last storm, but they were gentle and with large intervals. The wind calmed down completely and I switched on the engine. On this route there is no place for sitting “not in the harbour”. To be honest, after my last adventures, there is barely any wind to help me recover… I’m sailing 10miles away from the coast so I could find a shelter in case anything happens, yet at the same time it’s not close enough to get stuck in the wind, which may push me towards the coast, and at around this distance there is a current, which helps me out. At night you can see lighthouses and city lights on the coast, during the day there are lots of birds around. I’ve also seen whales and seals. There are plenty of ships too; fishermen have set off into the sea thanks to good weather. I have to stay awake. From my personal life: expired Bolognese sauce exploded at me. It’s cold. At night I got surrounded by ships.