Return Crew Day 9 – 16 February 2020
By Clare Cole.
Today I am writing my first blog from a becalmed little boat in the most remote spot in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Following an eventful 24hours Yesterday afternoon, the wind died in the early evening and we had to rely on motoring with just an occasional sail. Supper was a more organised affair, as we are getting into the swing of the change in daylight hours and working our meal prep rotas into our regular watch shifts. Francois had prepared and marinated the Wahoo fish then Ollie with Tony supervising presented a delicious serving of plain rice and fish. Ollie also managed to clear the galley too!
As we motored into the evening, a storm surrounded us as night fell. Light rain turned heavy as we turned into our bunks. From our cosy cabin we were aware of sheet lightening ahead, the flashes lighting the interior of the cabin and the claps of thunder becoming much louder. Still I hunkered down to get a few hours rest in the hope that it would pass before our 2 to 4am shift. From 12 to 2 am Ollie and Tony had the first 2 hours of the drenching then. It was Cameron’s and my turn to helm. The rain turned to bullets and the main sail pack above us directed the torrents to completely swamp us. The ferocity of the ear-splitting thunder and blinding white lightning turned my thoughts to Armageddon.
Cameron (bless him) managed to make a warming cuppa tea as we handed over to Francois and Kristi and the worst had passed. This morning was clear and warm still no wind and after the young crew (those of us under 25) had a few hours to kill playing music, the decision was made to stop and swim! A long line let out behind our island home and aquatic acrobatics began. What a truly unique experience.
Anyone involved with boats will tell you about ongoing repairs and our little vessel is no exception. Today saw the cockpit swing table reassembled and the steering compass being re attached! Both were knocked by crew loosing footing on slippery wet surfaces and sudden swells sending us into human wrecking balls. It’s all to easy to end up across the other side of the deck or galley. And even the most seaworthy are sporting a variety of rainbow coloured bruises. The saying is to ‘’keep one hand for yourself and one (firmly) for the boat.”
We have a very new engine on board and today saw Rory deep in a locker to check and top up the oil. We are doing a lot of motoring and are are now creeping towards 1000 miles ( one third of the way )with the predicted winds evading us, we need our trusty motor working in tip top condition to see us on our way and to keep our batteries charged for navigation and communication.
Some of us have received emails to tell of news from home. It is really a novel experience to genuinely not know what is going on with the bigger news picture, with family friends or my local Noorhoek community, (no lost or found dog reports) with the sole exception of power outages!
Finally it’s time to profile our able seaman Captain Rory Rochat. Rory has sailed since childhood but was introduced to keel boat sailing through his long involvement with Rotary Scout. His first return crossing was in 2014 when he was studying for his Day Skipper’s Ticket. Since then he has completed the C2Rio race itself and return crewed on completion of both his Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Offshore tickets. In 2019 he co-skippered RS in the St Helena Race with a crew of scouts. The commitment to keeping RS in good shape and being able to be of service to so many youngsters who benefit from the programme falls on hard working and dedicated committee members. Being a commercially registered boat means that JML RS is subject to very rigorous inspections every year with the highest standard of safety equipment and this all has to be funded. Rory is a key member of the committee and is very grateful to his sailing mentor Peter Bosch as well as both Brian Goemans and Grant Chapman who are currently the key drivers of the Rotary Scout programme, as well as Mark Jennings who has always played an invaluable part in the programme in previous years.The real bonus is it’s a great team and they are really super people.
Rory and his wife Aletta live in Cape Town where he has built a successful business and they have three grown up children. A keen outdoors man, hiker and nature lover, Rory is very conscious of the need to reduce mankind’s negative impact on our precious earth.
On the boat Rory leads by example and is the first person to do the least popular jobs and very supportive in tough times whilst being good fun in lighter times. Although he confesses to a pet peeve however of abandoned clothing getting in the way of activities on the boat he has a happy knack of knowing just when we are in need of a biscuit or cuppa, which everyone on board is always very grateful for!
Total: 1025nm