Chapter 2 - S: Monday 20th, February - Logged 116 miles

There was a showdown at 04.00h today when the skipper discovered Juan sailing Penelope down wind, with the sails sheeted in, two points northwards of our established course, in order to make better speed.  Juan seems to have a speed complex and this is the third night it has happened.  The skipper has a "tell tale" compass attached to the deckhead in his bunk, immediately above his head and watches the steering like a hawk.  In fact we call him "El vigilante".

The thing is that we are now actually on the latitude of Cape Town we must go 2°/3° further south, not only to get into the area of prevailing westerly winds but in order to approach Cape Town from the SW, as recommended forcibly in the Admiralty Sailing Directions, for the period December/March, in order not to be swept up the coast of SW Africa by the Agulhas current.  Furthermore there are favourable currents indicated below Lat 37° which might help us along to the tune of 20m/30m per day.  So far Southerly winds have forced us along a course due East, when we should have made more Southing.

Our albatrosses have returned, all six of them, and are circling round the ship so gracefully, skimming the water with the wingtips almost touching never quite touching the sea.  The skipper says they probably went to see their cousins at Tristan da Cunha.

Brushed and put away in a dryer place my suede shoes which are already showing signs of mildew.

The weather is very much colder and a tot of whisky when coming off watch at night is most welcome.

The life-saving equipment in "Penelope" is in accordance with the skipper's thoroughness in other matters.  Apart from the two life buoys hanging in the mizzen shrouds we each have an R.F.D. life jacket handy, about the size of a ladies handbag, which can be strapped on and has a charge of CO2 gas for auto-inflation when a cord is pulled.  In addition to this we have the service dinghy, made of plastic material and a very special collapsible R.F.D. dinghy for six people which stows in a very small place, lashed to the mainmast, in the cabin.  This dinghy is also auto inflated, in 30 seconds, after the cord is pulled and adopts a shape:-

The dinghy contains the following equipment:-
     Gas charge                                                   Fishing Kit
     Weather cover                                              Sea anchor
     Bellows                                                        Rescue Line
     Leak stoppers                                               Floating knive
     Repair outfit                                                Paddles

and an emergency pack containing:-

     Emergency rations (vitamin pills, chocolate, etc for six persons for 12 days)
     3 - 160oz tins of fresh water
     De-salting unit
     Distress signals
     Mast and distress flag
     Torch
     Heliograph
     Fluorescine sea markers
     Waterproof matches
     Whistle
     Viscose compressed sponge
     Baler
     Compass
There is also a special emergency apparatus for distilling sea-water, to make fresh water, by a process of evaporation as well as Rockets and Parachute Flares.

Apparently this dinghy can be used also as a tent in the event of its occupants landing up on a desert island!  It is the latest word in post-war life saving equipment, and costs £150 ex-factory.

Trolling for fish.  No catch.

Chapter 2 - R: Sunday 19th February - Logged 99 miles

"Penelope" continues to plough her way East, helped by a rolling Westerley swell.  We are now in Longitude 12ºW.  Cape Town is situated in Longitude 18ºE With luck we can eat up 2º of Longitude per day - which makes 15 days to Cape Town.  In a sailing boat one cannot, and must not, however, be ever too sure.  Often the unpredictable happens, but we have a stout vellel and a stout crew, inspired by a splendid skipper, so the initial chagrin of having to sacrifice our call at Tristan is tempered with optimism, on the long haul still before us.

At all cost we must avoid the equinoctial gales which customarily sweep around the Cape of Good Hope during the second half of March.  "Fair winds to the Cape"  is what we now want, above all. 

Rain during the morning provided the where with all for a washing day.  Clothes, towels and bodies received welcome ablutions from the skies.

Oliver better today.
Soon after 23.00h, in Lat. 34º 41ºS, Long 11º 15ºW, the skipper sighted a steamer's navigation lights on our port quarter coming up astern.  Altered course northwards to lessen the distance (estimated 5 miles) between us, and prepared the Aldis Lamp for signalling.

After some preliminary attemps to establish communication, prejudiced by the fact that we were swamping in the sea and at times our lamp dipped in the trough of the swell, the following conversation took place:-

Penelope - I wish to communicate with you (signal)
Steamer   - Go ahead (signal)

Subsequently in plain language:

P:   Yacht Penelope Elle from Rio to Cape Town 22 days out please report us all well to Lloyd's London.
S:    What is your call sign?
P:    MVZQ.  Thank you.  What ship?
S:    Japanese Tanker "EIHO MARU" Santos to Durban
P:    Who is President of Brazil?
S:    Juscelino Kubitschek
P:   Thanks     Good Night    Bon Voyage
S:   Thanks Same to you

Shortly after Midnight her sternlight dipped below our forward horizon and we were once again alone in the Atlantic.

Trolling for fish.  No Catch.

Chapter 2 - Q: Saturday 18th February - Logged 125 miles

Good-bye for the time being to blue skies and calm seas.  Today dawned overcast and threatening and during the morning the wind freshened, with rain, and backed slowly to South - dead against our direct course to Tristan.  We went over on the starboard tack around noon and were obliged to follow an Easterly course.  If these conditions continue we shall have to cancel our proposed call at Tristan da Cunha.

Continued all p.m. and evening running due East, along the 35th parallel.

The captain and I sounded the fresh water tank - he said he had not had the courage to do it before - and found our water supply very low.  over the total capacity of 600 liters we have already consumed 450 so strict economy must be the order of the day from now on.  Apart from rain, we had been hoping to replenish fresh water and some vegetable supplies at Tristan.  "Destination Cape Town" now has added significance.

Oliver sick again.

Trolling for fish.  No catch.

Chapter 2 -P : Friday 17th of February -- logged 125 miles

Juan has been very communicative, telling me all about his varied experiences in the Spanish Navy. He is a basque from Bilbao, has fair hair and blue eyes and his real name apparently is Juan Cortizo y Chandevarrie. Basquly picturesque. He is a good man on dock but a trifle undisciplined, and invariably questions the skipper's orders, which doesn't promote harmony! I, as mate, am a sort of buffer-state between them, as well as chief translator. He annoys the skipper intensily by trying to establish speed records for "Penelope", particularly at night. We are wearing our oldest sails and the skipper naturally doesn't want them torn through unnecessary strain.

Yesterday we discovered we were running out of sugar, which, although for me means little, for the skipper and Juan, who are both sweet tooths, the matter is serious.

We have colossal stocks of tinned and preserved foods, however including:-

1. Porridge (enough for 1 year)
2. Canned Corned beef
3.     "        sausages
4.     "        galantine
5.     "       steak and vegetable
6.     "       meat loaf
7.     "         bacon
8.     "       tongue
9.     "         steak and kidney pie
10.     "       soups (chicken, mushroom and oxtail)
11.     "       pate (four kinds)
12.     "         anchovies
13.     "       cod roes
14.     "         peaches
15.     "       pineapples
16.     "         prunes
17.     "       and bottled jams of all types
18.     "         marmalade
19.     "       butter
20.     "         asparagus
21.     "       milk
22.     "         peas
23.     "       spinach
24.     "         margarine
25.     "       hear of palm
26.     "       Cape Lobster
27.     "       Cape grape fruit
28.     "         Lyles golden syrup
29.     "       Xmas Puddings
30. Ships biscuits (enough for a year) - our substitute for bread
31. Canned beetroot
32.     "       guava jelly
33.     "         cajus
34.     "       and bottled honey
35.     "         mushroom
36. Bovril
37. Vermicelli
38. Macaroni
39. Cream crackers
40. Digestive Biscuits
41. Tea (enough for a year)
42. Coffee
43. Chick Peas
44. Rice
45. Lentils
46. Carr's ginger nuts (stacks of them)
47. Cocoa
48. Nescafe
49. Dried apricots
50. Salted almonds
51. Baking powder
52. Haricot vert
53. Raisins
54. Chocolate bars
55. Creme de marron (marron glace confiture) - note: chestnut cream
56. Powdered milk (4 different kinds of powdered milk.  One type of pure milk, straight milk canned.  Different types of sweet and unsweetened milks, essential to vary type of milk used.
57. Condiments -
1. Saffron
2. Curry powder
3. Mustard
4. Vanilla
5. Pepper
6. Pickles
7. Pickled onions
8. Pickled walnuts
9. Picalilli
10. Chutney
11. Cinnamon
12. Cloves
13. Nutmeg
14. Horseradish Sauce
15. Fine herbs
16. Salt
17. Gherkins
18. Salad oil
19. Capers
20. Olives
21. Mincemeat
22. Ground Ginger
58. Bottled orange juice
59. Whisky
60. Gin
61. Cachaca (Brazilian fire-water)
62. Champagne
63. Madeira wine
64. Congnac
65. Bitters

Today Juan spotted a sea-swallow - such a small bird to be seen so far out to sea - and I was thrilled to hear him sing out "Mire, un pajarito".

We did our record run, from noon to noon, over the ground - 144 miles - and are now only 240 miles from Tristan da Cunha.

During the morning watch the wind freshened considerably and as we had to haul down the mainsail for repairs.  "Penelope" rolled herself silly all through lunchtime.  Oliver, nevertheless, lunched on curry and rice, cracking jokes meanwhile.

After lunch the wind backed to NW.  Maybe it is a sing of "The Westerlies" which we have been pursuing for the last two weeks.

Trolling for fish.  No catch.

Chapter 2 -O : Thursday 16th of February -- logged 117 miles

Juan was off his course this morning and 'Penelope" yawning over the place.; The skipper made us laugh by saying "every day I admire Sir Francis Drake less".  Poor old Juan.; He is an excellent fellow but always "knows best" and as a sample of the Spanish Navy he certainly doesn't reach a very high standard.  What their discipline is like is surely "nobody's business" if his reactions can be taken as normal.

Today dawned, as yesterday, with a few light woolley clouds on the northern horizon.
The skipper taught me how to obtain a position line from the Air Navigation Reduction tables, a method perfected during the war.; Much quicker working that the Cosine-Haversine Formula 1 learned in 1922 which I have been using up to now to check our daily position.

My specific duties on board, apart from assistant navigator are: - 

• Watchkeeping
• Lamp Trimmer (filling lamps daily with paraffin, trimming wicks and lighting up.  the binnacle lamps lit usually with "Captain Watts special" - a storm proof match in a watertight plastic box - very practical.)
• (a.m.&p.m.) Pumping Bilges
• Making tea, at odd hours of the day
• Drying the dishes after meals (Juan does the washing up in salt water.

 
Apart from these duties I lend a hand on deck when shortening sail, setting sails and often relieve the skipper at the when required.  The watchkeeping follows a notice board posted in the chart room which now reads:-

S - Skipper
M - Mate
J - Juan
O - Oliver

The day being divided into three 4 hour watches and the night into four 3 hour watches.

Date	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
07-11		O	O	O	O	O	O
11-15	S	M	J	S	M	J	S
15-19	O	O	O	O	O	O	O
19-22	J	S	M	J	S	M	J
22-01	M	J	S	M	J	S	M
01-04	S	M	J	S	M	J	S
04-07	J	S	M	J	S	M	J

Trolling for fish . No Catch

Chapter 2 - N : Wednesday 15th of February 1956-- logged 129 miles

A completely cloudless day, the first on our voyage so far, with the sun rising like a golden ball on the horizon, ascending slowly, crossing the Meridian, then dipping and setting accordingly.

We are now sailing due east on latitude 34° south, the parallel of Cape Town,, with a slight northerly breeze, logging 5 kn. Ideal sailing conditions and very much appreciated by all.

All of much improved and enjoying his 7 to 11 and 15 to 1900 watches, which he has steadfastly maintained throughout all his stomach trials. the middle day watch 11 to 15:00 hours is taken by one of the other three of us, as well as they made watches. Watch keeping consists of steering the catch, by compass, trimming the sheets and guy ropes as necessary, watching for wind and weather changes, and calling the skipper. There is a deep toned bell attached to be Oregon pine mizzen mass above the compass; also a whistle for us to use in case the wind is too strong for those down below to hear the bell. The watch going rings 1 Bell to call his relief. A succession of rings repeatedly slowly means "all hands on deck at time to get dressed". A succession of rapid rings means "all hands on deck stop emergency stop come as you are, naked or otherwise", which usually indicates a rapidly approaching squall or the immediate necessity of shortening canvas for some other reason. So far on this voyage the emergency signal has not yet been sounded.

Today we are 500 miles west of Tristan da Cunha, and well behind schedule.

The fresh food is nearly all gone. We have now left list:
     Potatoes           - 2/3 weeks but they are going bad quicker than we can eat them.
     Onions             - 2/3 weeks wearing well
     Pumpkins         - 2
     Oranges           - 2
     Lemons            - 3/4 days
     Cucumbers       - 2
     Sweet potatoes - 5

Today we had "Heintz"canned steak and kidney pie, with fresh potatoes not at all bad.

Took out storm sails for overhaul and drying.
Looks like our albatrosses have left us evidently as we did not continue to feed them on pâté!


Trolling for fish. No Catch.

News: Pelelope may have been left to drown in Mozambique

A letter I received today indicates that there is hope of finding Penelope's remains... I wish I could go and help in the search!