The Sailor of Sailors Dreams of Remote Horizons. (Centkiewicz)

My yacht log - 11.14 - 11.23, 2006

"In the beginning they could not understand my insistence on getting away from the compass, that god of the West. But in exchange, they began to hear the why and sea talking with the boat. And when blue-tinted land appeared on the horizon, looking as it did to the mariners of old, all nimbed with mystery, a few of them felt that our rigorous techniques should leave a door open to those gods which the modern world tries so hard to exclude." -Bernard Moitessier, 'The Long Way'

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11.14. 2006, (Day 52)

András, thank you for the gift – I will open it only when allowed according your instructions. Furthermore I thank you for your occasional help – some people help me even without knowing who they are. (These small amounts help too)…. I met a South African boy today morning (24 years old) who started out from London with a kayak and is on the way home. He is in Gibraltar harbor too. The boat he started out with is a normal kayak without any extras. His site: www.k4a.co.za. His voyage has a message: he is trying to solicit help for Africa. So far he is in the 5th month of travel and hopes that he will arrive in one year. We went to town and had coffee together. A snapshot of the harbor life: Lots of people are planning to go through the Gibraltar pass and then to the ocean. Naturally, there are a constant idle talks are going around here. I made a closer friendship with the Journeyman. Misty arrived yesterday, an American-built metal ship – they invited me for breakfast for tomorrow morning….Unfortunately I missed the good current today. True, I could leave at night, but I postponed it for around tomorrow noon….The current depends on the ebb tide, it is about 2-4 knots in average in the strait. This means, that if I start out in the wrong time, I could be standing in one place or I could even drift backward….The captain of a Bamboo Too (a large sail catamaran) was very helpful in advising me of some marinas south of Morocco where I could tie up under civilized conditions. My main job was today to adjust the mast. Dinner: fish and vegetables with spicy noodles. Went to town with the boy with the kayak in the evening and had a beer. Poor guy had his Moroccan passport expired and now he is trying to fix the problem. An old wooden fishing ship accepted him and now he can sleep there. The connector of my main GPS developed a short – I have to fix it. Until then I can operate it from batteries which I can charge. (Of course, I have spare batteries too.) I found a free WIFI internet place in the evening at the other marina – this is a smaller private marina on Gibraltar. Finally I could test my WIFI, so far it is working. Thanks SZTAKI-friends and GyuriJ.

11.15. 2006, (Day 53)

I am 27 years old. Beeny, I wish a happy birthday to you in advance – I got a jump on you again! J. Thanks for the SMS messages – unfortunately I can not answer them. I promise, I will slowly….I will celebrate on the open sea. Thanks to Karesz for my communications programs. Chroma 1.6 – picture sending through HF radio; IZ8BLY stream – text transmission via HF radio; MMTY – text sending by HF radio. I started out at 13:00 hours after consulting the ebb tide tables – we calculated it out with one of the workers in the office….Later he found out that it was my birthday; he gave me a harbor cap before departure. The wind is not too strong; at least it is a South-Easterly wind. At the beginning I will help with the motor, thereafter sails only. But I changed tactics during my sailing: I proceeded down to the Moroccan shores before night. Around evening about 50 dolphins were swimming right next to me for hours – possibly to say good-bye to Carina - the Mediterranean dolphins….From there I changed to the Western direction. The wind weakened, then stopped; only the current carried me. Unfortunately I could not sleep the whole night due to the dense ship traffic. Some times they do not see me….I continuously watch the movements of the ships (the fishing ships, naturally.) I dozed off once and I woke up to the noise of the motor of a big ship traveling 15 meters from me….At 3 o'clock at dawn the Moroccan shore patrol stopped me and I had to identify myself – in the exact time when the wind got stronger. With great difficulty I dismounted the large sail to prevent a collision. We had approximately a 30 minute unpleasant conversation.

1.16. 2006, (Day 54)

The wind further intensified in the morning. Before entering the open ocean, I removed the large sail, later on I had only the small storm-jib up. The wind became a Bf.6-7, started to rain and the fog reduced the visibility to about 1 nm. Because of this, they wanted to run me over – there was only 15 meters distance between the two ships. The wind got still stronger from 10 o'clock and because of this, I could not concentrate on the ship traffic. The worst of my life's experience happened: I woke up to the motor noise of a ship – it was coming at me! Since I traveled at a very slow speed and the current started to work against me as well, I was practically a sitting duck. I fired up the motor, but in cases like this it is of little use. With maximum rpm, I cold go 1 nm/hour: it is now the ocean and the waves progressively slowing me down. The bow wave of the ship slammed into the cockpit – I just held on and was waiting to see what will happen. Fortunately the wave pushed me away, it did not suck me toward the ship. I could see later that the ship was maneuvering a little as well. Finally they noticed me – almost too late. (Some are not watching the radar but the TV instead – many of them do that.) After 12:00 o'clock the current started to pull me back – the motor power was not enough. Slowly I slid backwards. Of course, the Westerly wind came up too. I could not reach even Tangier! I moored about at 5 pm at Tarifa, because that city I could reach. It has a very small marina maximum for 4-5 ships. Since Carina is also small, this way we could accommodate ourselvesJ. One can stay only next to the shore, the waves of the ferries and the fishing ships push you against the shore. All 4 of my shock absorbers are deployed. No electricity, one can buy water but only a remote area of the harbor. Only the fishermen can buy fuel in the harbor, the sail ships have to obtain it in the city. Free mooring on the first day, a few euros thereafter. I paid nothing because I stayed there only for a day-and-a-half. The hot egg soup feels good for dinner; I had no more time in the strait. I lived only on one Energy Pack and the energy powder the guy with the kayak gave me. Everything is wet, but I can sleep well in a damp sleeping bag too. (Due to the ebb-flow, the ropes of the boat next to me are getting too slack.) I had to get up only twice at night to re-tie my boat. Tarifa is the most southern part of Europe, just learned. One side of the city looks at the Mediterranean Sea, the other at the Atlantic Ocean.

11.17. 2006, (Day 55)

In the morning the captain of a catamaran took me on his small motorbike to the gasoline station at the other side of the city. He drove a bit too fast – he was ItalianJ. But I too survived the event. The captain with his German wife are living here for 2 years now. They build catamarans, they use polyester. The website: www.bluewater_catamarans.com. Generally all boat people are very helpful in the harbor. I consumed my morning coffee in the neighboring ship. They were French, but spoke some EnglishJ. I put things in order during the day on the ship. I had to fix the GPS cable and the autopilot connector. I found 2 burned out diodes in the GPS cable, but it works regardless….In addition, the connector itself is intermittent. For this reason now it is built in the ship in a fixed position. I wanted to buy cable in Gibraltar on my last day, but there was none. With Duracell batteries the GPS works for about 3-4 hoursL. The hand-held GPS can work for 10 hours, then I can charge the batteries – charge time 2-3 hours. There is a Garmin shop in Las Palmas; I can buy cable there, until then, the temporary solution works fine. The radar reflector has fallen apart too, I had to change it and fix it…Still had a little time to look around in the city in the evening…. After this I had a talk with the catamaran people about the currents and my sailing tomorrow. Predicting a general Easterly wind. The weather prognosis is on 162 kHz at 20:30 hours. I got an invitation from the neighbor ship for dinner. I took a few trinkets for them because my Hungarian wine supply was depleted. They came from the French Riviera, and planning to sail to Las Palmas, Brazil, then to French Polynesia. One couple, two little children and a friend. They hope that they will find jobs in French Polynesia. Will not be difficult – the man is a physician, the wife is a nurse….Their boat is 30 years old, 12 meters long and is made of aluminum. Their equipment: VHF radio (never used) and 3 GPS. No computer, NAVTEX, HF radio or other communications gear…. Hopefully we will meet again, because the wife cooks very goodJJ and their complement of drinks is bigger than mine: French wines, whiskey… they are waiting for the insurance man because a few days ago another ship totally wrecked their guard rail. Unfortunately it will be a torture for them for several weeks.

11.18. 2006, (Day 56)

Will start at 7:00 in the morning. Visibility is good; hopefully the ships will avoid me. Breakfast: eggs sunny-side-up with onion and Gibraltar bread. More ways can one get to Las Palmas, 2 of the possibilities: 1. along the shores of Morocco, 2. toward Madeira. I was listening to channel 10 on the VHF radio; this is the Tarifa station with continuous weather and traffic advisory broadcasts. By afternoon I got out of the critical zone, thus the counter-current had but little effect on my boat pulling me back into the ‘tube’. I caught a fish in the evening and fried it; this was my celebration of the Atlantic OceanJ. The ship traffic diminished after midnight – I left the Gibraltar area, the wind also got weaker, now a Bf.2.

11.19. 2006, (Day 57)

I got on the radio in the morning. Although unfortunately they did not hear me, I could hear everybody. No idea, what is the reason. I will try again tomorrow. Breakfast: hot dogs and liver pâté. I had a weak tail wind in the morning through the afternoon. This time of the year and at this location the prevailing wind is Northerly. Lunch-dinner: mackerel filet with vegetable-rice. The max. temperature was 28°, but did not have the desire to take a bath. Got closer to the shore and have sent a few SMS. There is fishing boat traffic here already. Late in the afternoon many-many dolphins swam with the Carina and me, took lots of picturesJ. I caught a fish again, but it was after dinner…. I baked it at dawn – it was still delicious! Since I was now close to the Moroccan shores, the ship traffic picked up in the evening but subsided after midnight.

11.20. 2006, (Day 58)

My new VHF antenna is a Glomex type RA106. The metal rod and the connector are one piece on this version. The previous antenna was a NAVMAN where I had to wind a 95cm long metal rod around the connector. In my opinion, this was not a good solution, the new one is better. (It worked excellent so far.) Unfortunately I plugged in the GPS connector last night in the dark the wrong way, consequently a contact broke off. Of course, exactly the 12 volt power lead – the most important one. Most likely I will buy a new GPS perhaps on the Canary Islands. The North wind is favorable in the morning and is an approximate Bf.2. This let me sail at 3 knots in the average. I am looking up the November-December wind pattern and current maps of the Adriatic Ocean, the ones I got from the ship Misty. It promises to be an advantage to tie up at the Cape Verde islands. I have some minor interest in the islands, besides the transit is better and shorter. The books which were sent to Malaga were good, I read them allJ: Gerald Durrell: ‘Ketch Me a Columbus’ – was very entertaining despite I did not like Mr. D-s books. He was a bit fanatic. Paolo Coelho: ‘The Alchemist’ – needs no comets, recommend it to everybody…. Through these, one can understand a slice of the world! Waiting for the rest of the books!!JJ. I caught a sizable fish in the evening but unfortunately before I could hoist it up, it fell back into the water. During my fishing I use a small flasher because a max. 3-4 kg fish is plenty enough for Me. Developed some theories concerning changes in the fishing procedure so that the fish will not fall back into the water. As usual, there was quite fishing ship traffic over night, but I got used to this by nowJ.

11.21. 2006, (Day 59)

I radioed in the morning but unfortunately Gyuri, István and the others did not hear me well, later I tried to verify the messages with Morse code: RRRRRRRRRRR. The ocean depth near the shores of Morocco is between 50-100 meters, so I sail close to the shores where the shape of the waves (length, height) completely changes. Most of the sailors don’t like this because it not very comfortable. Generally everybody likes the ocean waves because they are very long. I caught 3 little fishes already in the morning; I threw them back, naturally. I felt that I was sailing over a fish kindergarten – it is unusual to ketch 3 small fish in a row. The Morocco shore and the adjacent ocean is full of garbage, even looking at it is upsetting, similarly to the Algerian coast. The causes of bending of the saling are: 1. way back while in the Háros Yacht Club somebody stepped on it during mast climbing; 2. the rivets were made of weak aluminum. I sewed my satchel again – this is a program tooJ. Started to prepare to exit to the ocean, this consists of several tasks: 1. Prepare for the possible overturn of the ship; 2. Prepare for leaving the ship; 3. Prepare for big storms.

11.22. 2006 (Day 60)

Katica: thanks for the SMS, you never forget my birthday! I heard everybody is well on the radio this morning. This time they all heard me just a little better. Unfortunately it was worse at 14:00 UTC, they did not hear me at all and I could not tune to 21.373. I am using the new battery, the radio settings are OK. Started to contemplate what the problem might be, right now I don’t know. I take it down tomorrow and take a look at it…..Bici: my dear zoologist – there are so many birds here, but I know only the sea gulls and the storm birds. I feel ashamedL. (Where could I find the resident birds of this area on the net?). I strengthened the sewn-in rope of the large sail in the afternoon. I have to pay more attention to the setting of the large sail. If it does not sit properly on the boom or on the mast, it can be bad for it. Changed the fuse of the pencil-battery charger. Hope that the 5A fuse instead of the 3A will not cause big problems. Gave a little charge to the handheld GPS battery to provide a service for a few hours. (Of course, it is not powered continuously.) Started to listen to the new music: U2, Morcheeba, Imagined Report and Elvis. Thanks for the music! I noticed toward the evening that the sensor for the log got stuck again. So far I did not notice it because of the still weather. Only the Canary current carried me South before noon….The night was uneventful. Slowed down Carina so that we will arrive at Safi only in the morning. I used only one jib – but it did not take me in the right direction. Fortunately there was no ship traffic.

11.23. 2006, (Day 61)

Tied up luckily at 9. Naturally, there is no marina here; the scene reflects a romantic setting….Moored next to a big fishing ship. The shore patrol, the immigration, the harbor captain – they all were very pleasant. True, they all were waiting for the cigarette – somebody even mentioned thisJ. Went to the city around 11. Everybody is very nice. It is one hour earlier here, but I don’t want to constantly adjust my phone. (I don’t have a watch.) I ate on the street as usual, the same food that the poor Moroccans eat – fried fish and bread. The fish was well spiced and they gave me piquant tomato sauce too. The head chef made it better than I used to…. I even told this to him. The communication is mostly in French here, but fortunately in a very simplified version: no deflections, no pronouns. I was talking in Radio Petőfi of Budapest; I hope a lot of people listened! Took a walk in the small city of Safi in the afternoon – it is a very friendly place. Maybe tomorrow I will visit the desert….

Translated by Pali - N6DMV/HA5CCV