My Yacht Log  -  2006.10.22 – 11.02

 

2006.10.22 (29th day)

     I saw a whale swimming by in the morning! (Of course, my camera battery quit.)  The wind weakened somewhat this morning, I am going with 1-2 knots approximately toward the South.  I talked with Karesz (HA5CAR) and with Zsolt (SM7JEM) in the morning on the radio.  Sent the Yacht Log to Karesz in PSK mode. He sent my father's directives in connection with the MaxSea. Too bad, the 14.290 MHz was very noisy – I could not talk with the Hungarian amateurs.  There was but a very weak wind the whole day: 0-1Bf.  One corner of the radar reflector fell apart again around noon – the hat fell off.  The sharp metal cut my jib, resulting in a 3 hour labor. First fixed the radar antenna corner, then sewed to the sail together. After this I drank a fruit cocktail: pear + rum + secret.  There is still water in the ship – the remnants of the waves a few days before. I had to dry one of my tool boxes in the sun.

     I bathed when possible, the water temperature is 23 degrees and the air is 30. This makes one want to bathe. I saw a lot of medusas in the water and a big fish too (could have been a dolphin.)  A mild Eastern wind came in the late afternoon.  The motor did not start (I wanted to charge the batteries, but fortunately I had to replace only one of the plugs. A bigger problem is that the steering immobilizing fixture broke, it is difficult to repair. (Despite, I was able to fix it with a piece of copper wire.)

Dinner: soup + liver pâté on bread.  The night is peaceful, but there is a lot of ship traffic.

 

2006.10.23 (30th day)
Got on the radio this morning too: 
G0EJG, Gyuri, London, England, 5-9,
HA5CAR, Karesz, Budapest., echo-linken
HA5APK, Tibi, Budapest, Hungary, 5-9,
OZ5CK, Karesz, Denmark, 5-7,
HA5AO, Pista, Budapest, (19.ker), Hungary, 5-9,
HA0NNA, Gyuri, Záhony, Hungary, 5-9,
HA1IW, Tibi, Kőszeg, Hungary, 5-9,
OM5NM, Miki, Érsekújvár, Czech Republic, 5-8,
HA4GBJ, Tóni, Hungary, 5-9,
HG5PTN, Jutka, Budapest, Hungary, 5-9,
HA8UT, Pista, Kiskunhalas, Hungary, 5-9,
HA7VC, Laci, Vác, Hungary, 5-9,
HA8MT, Fero, Fűzesgyarmat, Hungary, 5-9.
     Karesz relayed the weather forecast for the next few days: variable winds (max. 3Bf. -  3Bf, MW, SW, N, NE...)  Just when I wanted to write my log in the laptop, the connector burned up. So far I did not find one, but will look for it….(I fixed it temporarily.)  Lunch: tuna fish with noodles. (I started to fish, maybe I can have a fresh fish for lunch some time
J).  12:00: (37-13N; 005-27E).  The wind is intensifying in the afternoon but the ship is still manageable.  Caught a 3-4kg fish, but I found it too small (or because had a golden color), I threw it back.  The fishing setup works and the principle too (more from this later).  I did not wish it to myself, but rather to someone elseJ.

     After 1-2 hours the wind almost stopped, I can go only with one knotL.  In times like this, I read the Bible (Book 2 of Samuel, King David.)  When I tried to start the motor, I found out that the fan is not working – it kicks off the main circuit breaker. Started trouble shooting and decided that the problem is in the fan, I can take it apart only in the harbor. Since mine is a 2 cycle engine, it is customary to clear the air in the cylinders.  Not life threatening, but important. 

     The table broke while I was doing the ship cleaning, had to glue it together.  Tried to fish before dinner, but no luck.  I am a bit apprehensive due to the fish I lostL.  I charged the flashlight and camera batteries from the main battery around evening.  Dinner: noodles with a little tuna fish.

 

2006.10.24 (31st day)

I started out one month ago.  Talked on the radio in the morning:
G0EJG,
Gyuri, England, 5-9,
HA5APK, Tibi, Budapest., 5-9,
HAOLG,
Tóni, Hungary, 5-9.

     Unfortunately my batteries are weak, this is why my radio did not work well. (I was on the radio only for a half hour.)  Don’t understand why my batteries are getting discharged. I haven’t used the autopilot for 1-2 days and I am careful with the light usage too. (The navigation light is on only intermittently.)  My satchel got torn, so I have to sew again, I did not sew this much in my entire life. (Almost every day these days.)  Good news: I checked the water in the hull – was still none! On the other hand, I found some sea water near the engine. The reason is that the bottom of the cockpit does not perfectly align with the cockpit itself. (I have to do something about this.)  Possibly this is the reason for the fan failure – must have gotten a little salt water.

     12:00 (37-18-E; 004-50E).  I was charging both the photo camera and the video batteries, because the solar cells and the wind generator both charging the main battery.  I saw a sailboat, the first one on the water after Sicily.  4Bf. N wind the whole day,  4 meter waves average. That means the ship is jumping and the waves constantly slap the deck.  Unfortunately in the afternoon a wave got in the ship and made my sleeping bag wet – the kitchen tools as well, again. I have to dry them out again sometime.  I read the Bible again in the evening, then prepared meat stew with chili rice. To charge the batteries, I used the engine for 2 hours – looks like I have to replace the gas Bowden cable.  The night was peaceful and the ship traffic was not too big.  I was sailing with a comfortable Eastern tail wind in the whole night.   

 

2006.10.25 (32nd day)
Morning radio:
G0EJG, Gyuri, London, England, 5-9,
HA5APK, Tibi, Budapest, Hungary, 5-9,
HA5CAR, Karesz, Hungary, 5-9,
HA5MA, Laci, Budapest, Hungary, (11.ker), 5-9,
HA6OI, Zoli, Balassagyarmat, Hungary, 5-9,
HA2RI, Laci, Hungary, 5-9.

     Breakfast: leftover rice stew, hopefully I can catch some fish today.

09:00: (37-09N; 003-48E).

     The wind in the morning became Southerly, then Westerly – and unfortunately weakened too.  The SMS problem may get solved, if Message Kp. 0021370048751, then it may works. True, I am far away from the shore, but maybe the night is better or tomorrow I could test it. 
     Karesz again sent me the weather forecast: N, NE, W, E, 1-3 wind in the days following, therefore it will be quite variable – similarly like it was until now
J.  The truth is, that I miscalculated the time a bit – I thought it will be about a one week trip, due to the E – W mixed winds….Of course, after starting I immediately corrected the distance and realized that it is twice the distance I thought beforeJ.  I have enough water for about 2-1/2 weeks, have reserve from Koper too.  Food is plenty, but I ran out of bread, vegetables and fruits in one week. 

     When I start the engine, I get an electrical shock from the mixture control lever. Because of this, I turned off the motor main fuse.  Must be some big problem down at the engine.  I glued the cover page back of the Yacht Log around noon, it has gotten wet a few times, gluing served it right. I ate the rice stew for lunch, and then caught a 1-2kg fish – this became the second course! (Prepared the first half with pepper and garlic, the second one with chili.)

Finally a non-Westerly wind arrived in the evening, SE 4-5Bf.  I flew with this from 7 in the evening till 4 in the morning, doing an average of 5.5 knots. The wind stopped at 4 AM, but started again at 5 with a W 4Bf.

2006.10.2 (33rd day)

Due to my exhausted batteries, I was on the air for only 20 minutes:
G0EJG, Gyuri, England, 5-9,
HA5APK, Tibi, Budapest., 5-9,
HA5CAR, Karesz, Hungary, 5-9,
OE4BAB, Alex, Austria, 5-9.
HA6ZB,
Gyurka, Hungary, 5-9.
    
9:00 (36-59; 002-18E)

     Another reason for the short radioing was the waves which came into the ship.  My sleeping bag became wet again in the morning – don’t know, for how many times now. (Unfortunately these big waves slow the boat.) 

     The penlight battery charger quit – determined that the problem is in the cable.  (Possible that just received salt water – I will rinse and dry it.)   One of my tail lights broke off, I will fix it in the next harbor. (I think the mainsail rope got tangled up with it.)   Breakfast: ginseng tea.  A lot of flies on the boat – and these bite…. A helicopter came at noontime and wanted to rescue me.  I signaled that all’s OK – then confirmed it on the VHF radio.  For lunch, I ate the tasty fish left from yesterday, then some cereal.  Fishing today brought nothing.  The reason: 1-2 medusas got tangled on my flasher what I did not notice till the evening.  No fresh fish on the menu for the eveningL..

 

2006.10.27 (34th day)

Got on the radio as usual, but only for short – because of my batteries:
G0EJG, Gyuri, England, 5-9,
HA5APK, Tibi, Budapest., 5-9,
HA5CAR, Karesz, Budapest., 5-9,
YZ7FF, Gyurka, Újvidék, Serbia, 5-9,
HA6QE/M, Gazsi, Heves, Hungary, 5-9,
HA7OI, Pista, Hungary, 5-8,
HA6OD, György, Hungary, 5-9,
OE4BAB, Alex, Austria, 5-9.

     A few weeks ago a mass was celebrated for me in a church in Budapest – thank you.  Really, it should not be for me, others may need it more.  Fished in the morning and a fish tore off the bait with 30 meters of damyl line. I am unable to untangle the damyl on my other fishing gear.

Fished in the afternoon but unfortunately a fish got away while pulling it out of the water. (The wind intensified in the night and therefore I did not fish, despite the fish were jumping out of the water everywhere.)  Consequently my lunch consisted of a burger with rice and canned fishL.

     The left-side mast reinforcing piece is bending downward and the holding fixture also broke. I applied a rope but I don’t think it will help a lot.  This can be fixed only in the harbor.  This condition requires added attention and under given circumstances I have to lower the sails sooner. Started the engine at noon to charge the batteries a bit but it emits a lot of smoke. (White smoke emanates – maybe a problem with the cooling – water pump change?)  So I stopped the motor instantly.

     The cabin measurements: the widest dimension is 1.7 meters, the main inner area: 3.5m. It means that I don’t have a lot of spaceL.  I did not bathe today on account of the numerous medusa in the water – no idea if they sting and I am not about to find out.  A weak Easterly wind prevailed during the day which got stronger in the evening.  Made a good speed over night. I maneuvered close to the shore to be able to send MSMs, since I was unable to do it since Tunisia.  I manged to write SMS (DJezzy is the wonder net hereJ.  Unfortunately the fishing ships came and went by, but at least they paid attention to me. The lower point of the boom excursion-limiting, the ‘alba’ system broke. It would be good thing to have it at tail winds to prevent the sail from flopping left-and-right. I will fix it tomorrow if I have time and the opportunity.

 

2006.10.28 (35th day)
Short radioing because of the condition of my batteries:
G0EJG, Gyuri, England, 5-9,
HA5APK, Tibi, Budapest, 5-8,
OE4BAB, Alex, Austria, 5-9.

     There was some kind of a contest, for this reason I could not hear but the contesters.

9:00 (36-23N; 000-30E).
     Only after radioing did I notice that I was dragging the lower end of my antenna in the sea. (The isolation therefore is good!)   The suspension of the lower part of the antenna broke in the morning – or at night?  I took the antenna out of the water and re-attached it again.  2 screws fell out of the upper rail of the cabin – no idea why?  (I open the cabin top sparingly.)  I replaced the screws of course, and applied wood glue too.  The final repair will be in the next harbor with epoxy resin.  Inspected the ship – I found several lose screws. Tightened them, they will be fixed too in the harbor with epoxy resin.  A lot of fish were jumping around me.  Caught one, but unfortunately the whole setup flew away – I have many reserve bait pieces and damyl line too
J.  The reason for the fiasco: the hook I bought in Koper got rusted, that broke the line. Strange, because the seller told me that it is seaworthy….The wind got stronger in the afternoon (6Bf.) so I took off the main sail.  Even so, I cut the foam with 4-5 knots!  Since the cross tree just hardly hangs there, I did not want to overload the boat.  I will clime up the mast and will attempt to repair it. 

     I crossed the Zero longitude (E-W) at a 6Bf. Easterly wind – I celebrated it with a little rumJ.  The waves started to grow by the evening and the visibility dropped to 1-2nm - it is very difficult to keep the right direction. The illumination for my compass is more confusing than useful.  The GPS indicates the direction with a few seconds delay.  This makes the keeping of the right direction in the fog very difficult.  Not much ship traffic over night (I don’t see them) despite I am sailing near Oran.  At dawn: I am very tired; everything is wet and can see nothing in the fog.  To get into a better disposition, I make a nice soup.

 

2006.10.29 (36th day)

     The voltage of my batteries is very low – no radioing in the morning.  The visibility is still very bad – the whole day.  Lunch: noodles with mustard. Since the sky is overcast, the solar cells do not charge the batteries sufficiently.  I could properly orient the wind generator now and it is charging at least!  The jib lost 2-3 of its suspension fixtures; I have to sew them back. (I postpone it for tomorrow.)  I will fix the problem with small ropes temporarily.  
    
12:00 (36-02N; 000-55E).  Unfortunately my phone did not tolerate the salt spray and quit working. NOW I CAN NOT SEND OR RECEIVE SMS!  (I planned to reply to all SMS….)  I fixed the left mast reinforcer crosstree with the help of a rope; I pull it downward so that it will not bend further.

Afternoon: weak Easterly wind, traveling with 2 knots in the average, but at least in the right directionJ. The clouds broke up for a couple of hoursJ.  At night: the Easterly wind diminished, hardly made any progress the whole night.

 

2006.10.30 (37th day)

     The battery is down – no radio today.  The fog is dense, can not see anything.  Breakfast: tea + honey + rum.  I can not leave the ship on its own in the tail wind; I have to take her manually the whole morning. Te humidity is also high, everything is wet and sticky.  I took an EnergyPak today as well - (niacin, guarana, ginseng, virilin500, carbo plus.)  In my opinion it is good!  There was a 1-2 hour windstill, and then came a Westerly wind.  So, I am approaching the target.

     112:00 (36-53N; 001-34W).  Since my speed and the wind speed add together, the wind generator is charging, true, not much.  The problem was so far, that due to the waves, it was spinning around, but I was able to tie it down, so this problem is solved.  Speed: 3 knots.  True, I am going to 180, but the right direction is 250…. But I am moving!

     Lunch: lentil soup with garlic and pepper, pâté.  Rope work in the afternoon then the usual cleaningJ.  Unfortunately I am getting moisture on different places, lately at the shelves too.  The water seepage is minor, so everything is just a little wet.  (My parcels are packaged watertight.)  Fixing the seepage is possible only in the harbor – everything is wet here all the time.  Several items are getting rusty – the telescope, the pliers, the screw driver….I lubricate everything possible, but it is not  a long time solutionJ.  A large group of dolphin showed up late afternoon, they swam with us for an hour.  They enjoyed it a lot, constantly jumping and swimming under the boat.  Didn’t quite understand – they were squealing too – is it possible that they were courting with Carina?J.  The night was uneventful; I saw only 1-2 ships.  Unfortunately the wind subsided and we were making approximately only one knot.

 

2006.10.31 (38th day)
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOGI!
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     Could not get on the radio due to the low battery voltage (it is still way under 12 volts.)  After breakfast I took a bath in the beautiful sunny morning.. I noticed then that the bottom of my ship is covered with plant matter. This must have happened during the past 1-2 weeks, because I did not notice this before. Scraped off a large portion and made a video of it.

     Started fishing, maybe I will have luck….Before noon all my stuff was laid out to dry in the cockpit, of course my sleeping bag included.  I was visited by a little bird, did not want to leave – I think he has fallen in love with Carina.  I also noticed, unfortunately, that the VHF antenna flew away.  I had it a few days ago, now it is goneL.  (I have to buy one – only the metal bar got lost.)

     12:00 (36-23N; 002-00E).  Program for the afternoon: gluing together the plastic boxes, unfortunately some of them fell apart.  Checking the rear compartment – Bible reading (Book of Kings.)  If mild wind prevails (1-2Bf.), I can direct Carina in the right direction.  Then I realized, that I can sail at low wind conditions with 1 knot – (but it turned out that unfortunately it was just the sea current.) Lunch/dinner: millet with salmon - (I have it pretty good, don’t I!)J  There was calm or just a very gentle tail wind the whole day, sometimes head wind.  The night: quiet, was not much ship traffic.  Due to the windstill, I was carried away by the current to the North by one nautical mile per hour.

 

2006.11.01 (39th day)

     Unfortunately my batteries were low, but still tried to get on the radio – unsuccessfully. G0EJG (Gyuri, England) came in but he could not hear me. I could not tune the antenna properly, perhaps due to the batteries – even though I was transmitting only with 50 Watts, instead of 100.  There was a head wind the whole day and the current is carrying me to the North.  True, the sun is out, but I am not in the mood for bathing.

     12:00 (35-45E; 002-24W).  Early afternoon I am transmitting with 50 Watts.  14,290 and 7,058 MHz, but nobody hears me. A 50-70 member dolphin family is swimming in front in the afternoon.  In my opinion, the dolphins here are larger than the Adriatic or Aegean versions.  I am fishing with a thin rope, artificial fish bait attached – of course; the bait is weighted down with lead.  No luck, but I caught see weed….Naturally, I start fishing, when I am moving with over 3 knots.  (My fishing system is good for up to 3 knots speed.)  The day is uneventful and I read the Bible – Book of Job, Book of Esther….

     Toward the evening I collect the empty bottles in the compartment in front of the engine. Since I am under way now for 16 days from Tunisia (Bizerte), quite a few bottles accumulated.  Dinner: smoked sprottni with ground wheat – naturally chili-style.  I am sailing tonight already in Moroccan waters. (I am still far away from the shore, and it counts as an international territory)J.  I am not going to Melilla because I would have to go against the current in a weak wind – this is impossible.  I am starting in the direction of the Spanish shores – the new  direction: 330 degrees. 

I proceed the whole evening and night in this direction, speed: 1-2 knots.  There is a lot of ship traffic at night!  Yes, Gibraltar is near by.  (Because of this, I get up frequently to check out the situation.)

 

2006.11.02 (40th day)
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Happy Birthday Csiga!

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     Not going to radio again today because of the batteries, of courseL.  Now it is already 5 days

that I can not give a life sign of myself – this bothers me a lot.  Breakfast: green tea, (Korean) biscuits with liver pâté. By morning I can see the Spanish shores, the ship traffic is getting dense.  Before noon the whole time I had a weak wind and overcast sky (it even rained), the current did not change, it is 1 knot, Northerly.  Before noon reading the Bible, then make rearrangements on the ship.  My aim is to have the equipment and other things stored in a more efficient way. 
    
12:00 (36-27N; 002-46W).  Lunch/dinner: filet of mackerel with ground wheat.  Have doubts that I will reach Malaga in time – I have a rendezvous there on the 6th.  My camera battery has also discharged, but I do not want to charge it from the main battery, because it is also weak. (It is much lower than 12 volts.)  At least this way I am not going to take picturesJ.  Since I was not prepared for a long trip like this, I ran out of chocolate.  So, I made some from cocoa powder, sugar, and milk powder.  In the afternoon a pilot tug was dragging along a disabled ship. Don’t know why, he came very close to me.  Maybe he was curious of Carina. In the late afternoon I found the ocean oily.  First the waves looked funny, they were very flat.  Then I looked down: oil.  ---- POLLUTION!!

The rain started in the afternoon – too bad.  The wind is picking up too.  I lowered the sail in fear that the bent fixture will give out. (If it breaks, chances are that the mast will be next…).  In anticipation, I pulled up a spare rope, taking over the job of a side reinforcer stiffener. (There is another rope as well, holding up the mast stiffener and yet another rope which is pulling it down.)   The current stopped now.  During the past 2 days using the current, I found out how to modify the steering setting to compensate for the current.  (For days now I don’t have to steer myself, Carina  can be set to the right direction!).  There is no wind, but even if there was, it would be a head windL (therefore I decided that I will tie up in Almerimar, it is the closest from here.  After a 17 day sailing (more than 1000nm), I moored in Almerimar – a small vacation city.

     (36-41.7N; 002-47.6W).  I made 2359,5nm since Koper.  The people are very kind in the harbor.  They have heard of me already, were very happy that I turned up (I could not give life sign of me for 5 days).

                                                                                                         Translated by Pali/N6DMV.