Lat | Lon ▲ | Boat name | Note | Created at | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
18º 12.852' N | 65º 59.364' W | SY MaXScene | 07 May 2019 13:00 (utc-4)
Funny that :) one day you relaxing on a white beach sipping cocktails happy as Larry, next you are grumpy after 30 hours beating into a SE wind and sea!!! Enough already, because we know the pounding is worth the treasure to be explored on the next island - good coffee and st Martin in sight - yay. 14 mn to go, wind and sea dropped off a bit as we cruise in to Marigot bay. All good on board maxscene KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
18º 25.554' N | 64º 36.858' W | SY MaXScene | Maxscene has safely arrived in the BVI Road harbor, clearing in completed, bitterly cold beers with good friends next :) KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
18º 43.434' N | 64º 22.95' W | SY MaXScene | 10th April 2019, MaXScene has reached her most northern position planned for the season. We have been visiting all the main attractions on the four main islands that make up the BVI, Tortola, Jost van Dyke, Virgin Gorda and today Anagarda. Wow what a beautiful place, each place has something great to offer, not to mention all the cocktails lol. All good on board KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
18º 53.838' N | 64º 17.718' W | SY MaXScene | 06 May 2019 12:00 (utc-4)
Breeze sitting at 20 knots, and maxscene is on route to St Martin. The 80 odd mile passage should see us taking around a day and a half, sea swells against us, wind against us and current against us, so yes it is a bumpy ride. All good on board maxscene KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
17º 25.482' N | 63º 56.358' W | SY MaXScene | 30 March 2019 12:00 (utc-4)
Breeze all but gone, luckily the current is sort of back - 77 nm in 24 hours we are having the most comfortable passage since we left yachtport ZA lol, we've had many worse nights on anchor. I woke up in the early hours thinking we were in a marina!! Oops Maxscene has now logged over 9000 NM since our first visit to Mozambique in 2013 :) We passed Antigua yesterday as we crawled along, today we have the big maxscene spinnaker flying in 3.5 to 5.5 knots apparent wind giving us around 3.5 boat speed - more importantly saving us diesel... We planning our arrival in Tortola BVI tomorrow morning early, might need to motor in if weather prediction is true!! Maxscene getting excited :) 70 nm to go... KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
16º 20.712' N | 63º 13.218' W | SY MaXScene | 29 March 2019 12:00 (utc-4)
Considering the lack of good breeze and the current turning bad on us 104 nm in 24 hours we are pretty happy with that, today we have the trusty Parasailor flying in 10-12 knots giving us that lift we need :) and helping chew up the miles... Sea has calmed down now as we are passing the leeward Islands, champagne sailing finally WOW Cheers!! If we had champagne lol.. Maxscene all good :) 147 nm to go... KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
17º 28.896' N | 62º 59.382' W | SY MaXScene | 29 May 2019 17:00 (utc-4)
This morning at around 7am we dragged up the trusty Rocna from its sandy bed and pointed SSE and headed for ST Eustatia. Had a pretty good angle on the wind and made the 38 nm trip in about 9 hours. Got one big squall that spiked the wind to just on 30 knots, rest of the trip was around 16 so great day out on the Caribbean :) Tomorrow morning we will be clear in and start exploring the island 🏝 All good on board maxscene KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
14º 52.992' N | 62º 15.984' W | SY MaXScene | 28 March 2019 12:00 (utc-4)
Looks like we have picked a pretty decent weather window for our run up to the BVI - 136 nm in 25 hours, that said we might run out of breeze in the last 50 nm and the current has now turned against us :( - lets wait and C. We have plotted a course that has us approx 50 nm on the inside of the windward Islands far enough to escape from their wind shadows but close enough to divert if we needed to. Martinique is behind us now and Dominica is next on our starboard side :) Sea has a few swells that stand up and slap us every now and then lol keeping us on our toes. There's a gull that's decided we're a good fishing platform, been on and off the bow pulpit for hours now, going to have to get the high pressure cleaner out when we arrive... Maxscene all good :) 250 nm to go... KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
11º 59.682' N | 61º 45.774' W | SY MaXScene | 24 Feb 2019 16:00 (utc-4)
1 or 2 nm in past 24 ish hours folks, really stunning performance as we throttle back to cruiser speed in the Caribbean lol. Got little mini me (our little tender boat that almost left us in the North Atlantic) in the water and headed to the Prickly bay marina to clear in with custom and immigration - all set with 30 day cruising permit and 90 day visa stamp in passport. Then pizza's and local beer followed by sight seeing on mini me in the Anchorage lol. More than enough action for day 1. From today, daily updates will be replaced by occasional updates. 70 days at sea having left a long maintenance list starts the less glamorous side of cruising - fixing the boat in exotic locations lol. Staying on top of maintenence gives trouble free passage time as we have experienced on our epic trip to date. Where next you are asking, Graeme and Michelle will be heading out in the next few days, making their way home to friends and family. Donna and I will be heading to Tortola in the BVI on Maxscene and then sailing back down through leeward and windward islands to be back in Granada by June before the hurricane season arrives. Plans can and do change, so we are not always keen to make them too far in advance, but safe to say that for the next few years we are planning to call the carabbean sea home :) It's heartwarming to finally read the comments of our friends and family following and supporting our dream all the way, you guys Rock!! Following your dreams can work if you want it to, dreams can also be replaced by new ones when things change - all good. Main thing is to have a dream for your life and go for it :) YOLO, finally makes sense, you only live once!! Thanks Dale for sharing that:) MaXScene - dream boat..... KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
11º 59.682' N | 61º 45.774' W | SY MaXScene | 23 Feb 2019 12:00 (utc-4)
We have arrived safely in Granada, prickly bay, enjoying a few ice cold drinks to celebrate our successful crossing in 70 days. Very very happy today, 10 years of dreaming finally realized. Thanks to all those who have been involved in making this such a great success, this is huge!! Maxscene, is hooked :) in da carabbean, finally we can say that HA whooohooooo... KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
12º 2.586' N | 61º 45.378' W | SY MaXScene | Anchored in Martin's bay for a few nights, just outside port Louis. Stopped at dragon bay and snorkeled the underwater sculptures, wow. Cheers 🍺 | over 5 years ago | Show |
12º 0.204' N | 61º 45.054' W | SY MaXScene | 7 March (i think) 2019 15:00 (utc-4)
Today we picked up the pick and moved on finally, been a busy maintenance period, yes and much needed RnR :) we are now anchored in the bay next door to prickly bay called secret harbor. Short trip where i almost had a head on collision with another catamaran on the way around, according to the XO i shouldn't be playing with the tablet while helming - i call it navigating the coral reefs. Well i thought maxscene was on auto pilot (Jamison) holding course, well it apparently was not :( lol. Maxscene did a u turn with out me realizing it, oops. Anyway i quickly pulled her back on course and Donna waved an apology to our potential target. Maxscene chillin in Grenada :) in secret harbor shhhh.... KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
12º 0.414' N | 61º 43.962' W | SY MaXScene | In Whisper Cove marina for a few days, beautiful 😎 | over 5 years ago | Show |
15º 52.056' N | 61º 35.196' W | SY MaXScene | 08 June 2019 16:00 (utc-4)
Dropped anchor 3 times in Les Saintes - then picked up a mooring ball for the next two nights, sometimes we just don't feel comfortable with the Anchorage and we really need a good night's sleep lol - at $10 per night we can get 3 nights here for the price of 1 in the BVI. The passage from Nevis to Guadalupe was fantastic, we passed the grumbling volcano on Montserrat close enough to smell the Sulphur and see a special sunset on a tragic island - then a beautiful sunset over Guadalupe after a night of minimal sleep. Awesome planet we call home!!! Then we rounded the SE tip of Guadalupe to aim for Les Saintes and whamo - winds spiked at 30 knots from around 6 in seconds - felt like being knocked for a 6 by Herschell Gibs a few times lol, wind in the Caribbean Islands has a nasty habit of compressing when it rounds the islands and the bigger the island the higher the winds!! This is one of the contributing factors to the destruction caused by Irma. Well we had a hectic 7 mile crossing to Les Saintes to say the least, but now sitting safely on a mooring toasting today's successful crossing and a few special birthdays. All good on board maxscene KD out | about 5 years ago | Show |
12º 27.48' N | 61º 28.944' W | SY MaXScene | Maxscene departed port Louis, Saint George bight n early round 6am and headed out past the protected marine reserve and up the west coast of the island. Weather played the game and wind was ESE to SE - 15 to 20 knots. This meant pretty high upwind sail, maxscene pointed like a champion 42 to 44 starboard tack all the way 😎👌, had a laugh when Nancylou(a monohull we met in Clark's court) couldn't believe we weren't motor sailing lol, they had to pass us on the outside. Anchored now in Tyrell bay Carricou, stunning clear water, dived the anchor in 5 meters of water and holding is good. KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
12º 35.61' N | 61º 24.594' W | SY MaXScene | 21 03 2019, Maxscene has checked into the Grenadines :) Clifton bay union island. Had a great sail accross from Carriacou this morning, cleared customs and immigration at the airport and stocked up on fresh produce in the local market. Stunning sunset on happy island :) cheers | over 5 years ago | Show |
12º 37.95' N | 61º 21.636' W | SY MaXScene | Left union island this morning with sualls all around, then bashed our way against wind and swell to what could be the most stunning anchorage in the Caribbean, most definitely those we have seen so far :) 😎 Tobago Cays, beautiful. Anchored in crystal clear water 1,4meters below our keel awesome. So clear it feels like we're suspended in mid air!! Cheers | over 5 years ago | Show |
13º 7.242' N | 61º 19.542' W | SY MaXScene | We have hauled up the anchor ⚓ from an excellent holding in Bequia and set our heading for the BVI. Currently having an awesome sail, 5 nm off the island of St Vincent. Just passed through a nice light bit of rain to rince Maxscene off 👌 369 nm to our approach way point just outside Tortola, will be there on the weekend KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
13º 0.03' N | 61º 14.682' W | SY MaXScene | Maxscene is moving up through the Grenadines, anchored in Bequia (pronounced Bek way) tonight after a great sail up from Tobago Cays. Took 5 tries to get the anchor ⚓ to set, seriously delaying sundowner's, then a little yacht ⛵ sailed into the sunset and stole the green flash!! All good on board KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
11º 44.97' N | 61º 14.004' W | SY MaXScene | 23 Feb 2019 12:00 (utc-4)
126 nm in 24h :) Michelle was the current finder, but we also pretty sure she was the one who lost it two days ago lol :) At the start of day 70 of our big adventure, we have our focus on Granada only 33 nm away. We passed Tobago in the early hours of the morning about 5 nm off the north coast, beautiful to see the land lights. As dawn broke, with Tobago still in the distance, we were greeted into the Caribbean sea by a pod of dolphins, awesomeness :) thanks neptune for the arrival party you kindly supplied :) We also saw our first oil rig of the trip, but it looks like it was being transported by ship as the speed it ws doing was pretty impressive lol!! Either that or we have been at sea for tooo long ha ha So tonight we planning to drop anchor in prickly bay, update to follow. Maxscene, loving it!! :) KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
14º 36.144' N | 61º 4.296' W | SY MaXScene | Friday 14 June 2019 14:00 (utc-4) We have dropped anchor in Fort da France - Martinique. What a fantastic passage accross from Les Saintes, took off like a rocket as we exited a small gap in the southern islands and before we knew it we were passing Dominica. The second part of the trip was more sedate and we both got some good sleep. We are anchored just behind some friends we met in st Martin - One 0 Six, How not to sail a boat. All good on board maxscene as we relax with an ice cold beverage :) KD out | about 5 years ago | Show |
10º 41.844' N | 59º 22.014' W | SY MaXScene | 22 Feb 2019 12:00 (utc-4)
106 nm in 24 hours, current, usually in our favor, abandoned us sadly, so well done to the crew. Was another busy day with the odd squall keeping us focused. Good news is that the little tender boat is still hanging in there on the back, Graeme's knots are holding strong :) 78 miles to our Tobago way point, then another final 80 odd nm to prickly bay, looking forward to getting there now lol. All good maxscene :) KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
9º 41.202' N | 57º 54.324' W | SY MaXScene | 21 Feb 2019 12:00 (utc-4)
128 nm in 24 hours :) very nice!! The conditions have improved a little with wind and waves both on the starboard aft quarter - with the odd wave still hitting on the beam or starboard bow. Seems like our little tender boat was not enjoying the pounding either, two of the 5 stainless steel clips holding her on had bent open and one let go already. Luckily Michelle, on watch at the same time heard a chain clanking around in the tender boat and raised the alarm :). Graeme dived into the little boat with ropes to secure her onto the davit. Well done :) We are on track for a way point just north of Tobago - on the 1000 meter contour - should be around 5 nm off the island, then a slight turn to port as we shape our final course down wind for Granada :) All good on the good ship maxscene :) KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
8º 32.214' N | 56º 14.604' W | SY MaXScene | 20 Feb 2019 12:00 (utc-4)
153 nm in 25 hours :) Maxscene really is loving the new course with a new record like that, wow, well done team for hanging on lol. So yesterday we discovered that we were in the new time zone since our departure from French Guiana, so we quickly changed it, now we are 6 hours behind ZA. Yesterday we started looking for a point of entry into Granada, we have decided on Prickly Bay, we have some yachting friends from New Zealand that we met in Saldanaha, currently moored in Prickly Bay. They have a cold bottle of ZA wine waiting to welcome us in. So arrival way points set up, need to round Tobago to the north and 80 miles later we will be arriving :) 393 nm to next stop :) Granada here we come - Maxscene KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
8º 26.28' N | 56º 5.304' W | SY MaXScene | 20 Feb 2019 12:00 (utc-4)
153 nm in 25 hours :) Maxscene really is loving the new course with a new record like that, wow, well done team for hanging on lol. So yesterday we discovered that we were in the new time zone since our departure from French Guiana, so we quickly changed it, now we are 6 hours behind ZA. Yesterday we started looking for a point of entry into Granada, we have decided on Prickly Bay, we have some yachting friends from New Zealand that we met in Saldanaha, currently moored in Prickly Bay. They have a cold bottle of ZA wine waiting to welcome us in. So arrival way points set up, need to round Tobago to the north and 80 miles later we will be arriving :) 393 nm to next stop :) Granada here we come - Maxscene KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
8º 26.28' N | 56º 5.304' W | SY MaXScene | 20 Feb 2019 12:00 (utc-4)
153 nm in 25 hours :) Maxscene really is loving the new course with a new record like that, wow, well done team for hanging on lol. So yesterday we discovered that we were in the new time zone since our departure from French Guiana, so we quickly changed it, now we are 6 hours behind ZA. Yesterday we started looking for a point of entry into Granada, we have decided on Prickly Bay, we have some yachting friends from New Zealand that we met in Saldanaha, currently moored in Prickly Bay. They have a cold bottle of ZA wine waiting to welcome us in. So arrival way points set up, need to round Tobago to the north and 80 miles later we will be arriving :) 393 nm to next stop :) Granada here we come - Maxscene :) whooohooooo. KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
8º 26.28' N | 56º 5.304' W | SY MaXScene | 20 Feb 2019 12:00 (utc-4)
153 nm in 25 hours :) Maxscene really is loving the new course with a new record like that, wow, well done team for hanging on lol. So yesterday we discovered that we were in the new time zone since our departure from French Guiana, so we quickly changed it, now we are 6 hours behind ZA. Yesterday we started looking for a point of entry into Granada, we have decided on Prickly Bay, we have some yachting friends from New Zealand that we met in Saldanaha, currently moored in Prickly Bay. They have a cold bottle of ZA wine waiting to welcome us in. So arrival way points set up, need to round Tobago to the north and 80 miles later we will be arriving :) 393 nm to next stop :) Granada here we come - Maxscene :) whooohooooo. KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
6º 57.228' N | 54º 0.6' W | SY MaXScene | 18 Feb 2019 12:00 (utc-3)
114 nm in 24 hours :) tough upwind conditions made for a long bumpy night, the thought of another 5 days of this led to a quick consensus - yup we are headed for Granada :) On a catamaran like ours, it's great to sail down wind, sails beautifully with the wind on the beam, points very high when we need to sail to the wind but is not comfortable for extended periods upwind. Drinks mess, cutlery flies around - just not great. So we picked another destination with a better wind angle and off we go... Sea is still lumpy but maxscene is loving the new course. Today we gave up the battle of the eggs lol, and tossed the final few to neptune. We bought a box of 24 dozen in Saldanaha end of November and have nursed them for the past almost 3 month's, considering their best by dates were in December i think that they held up well, thanks to Graeme and Michelle for a huge effort here.. One good turn deserves another and they kept turning them all every day!!! Nature is wonderful, we have had a pod of dolphins checking up on us for the past day :) 543 nm to next stop :) All good on board maxscene :) KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
5º 31.884' N | 52º 45.93' W | SY MaXScene | 18 Feb 2019 12:00 (utc-3)
18 nm in 4 hours :) yup we are headed for Barbados :) Upped anchor just before 8am this morning and made our way around ille Royal and out through the shallows. We are slowly moving off shore and being dragged NW by the strong current. About 80 nm of current left to cross. 605 nm to next stop :) All good on board maxscene :) KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
5º 17.094' N | 52º 35.358' W | SY MaXScene | 17 Feb 2019 16:00 (utc-3)
Well what a fantastic break to our little sail up the northern South America coast. These three islands with their tragic history are truly amazing, we have spent the past two days exploring and enjoying some French hospitality. Today we caught up with some urgent maintenance, filled the diesel tank, scrubbed the hull to get rid of Brazil stains lol, and weather planning for the final 626 nm push to Barbados, yes our arrival in the Caribbean is imminent whooohooooo. We have had the company of 7 Oyster boats from the cruising fleet, these are magnificent sailing vessels on a 2.5 year circumnavigation - 27 total in the fleet. Google them :) Tomorrow morning we plan to depart our anchorage, till later :) KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
5º 17.094' N | 52º 35.358' W | SY MaXScene | 15 Feb 2019 19:00 (utc-3)
Safely at anchor off ille Royal French Guyana :) going to enjoy a fish braai and a few cold ones.... Met a fellow Saldanahaha yacht club member Mark on Cielo, a beautiful junk rigged boat :) All good on board, looking forward to a good night sleep zzzzzzz KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
5º 12.27' N | 52º 1.158' W | SY MaXScene | 15 Feb 2019 12:00 (utc-3)
Greetings from French 🇫🇷 waters, and so long Brazil :) 04:45 am (utc-3) 144 nm past 24 hours yes 144 WOW, this is wind current and swell in our favor :) excellent job team. We are now on track to our 3rd approach way point into ille de Salut. I took a call last night to head out a little bit as the shallower water we were entering was causing the 2-3 meter swells to stand up on the beam to much for comfort. We now have a awa 150, more following sea and a clear run in :) All going well we should make anchorage before dark Maxscene, will update later this evening when at anchor :) KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
4º 9.978' N | 49º 50.46' W | SY MaXScene | 14 Feb 2019 12:00 (utc-3)
Happy Valentines day everyone :) Donna baked some Orange sponge fairy cakes bought in Brazil with melted dark choc swirl and dark choc ganache icing - yummy what a treat in these bumpy conditions. 120 nm past 24 hours on the Rollercoaster again, wind hitting 30 knots at times, 2-3 meter swell drenching some of us properly :( yes in the cockpit!!! wind has swung more east, and has eased a little :) Maxscene, havin fun!! :) KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
3º 4.176' N | 48º 10.254' W | SY MaXScene | 13 Feb 2019 12:00 (utc-3)
60 days ago we sailed out of Table bay, wow!! 126 nm past 24 hours in bumpy upwind conditions deserves a well done to the team :) wind is set to build a bit in the evening and start to swing more east, looking forward to that... We are now less than 300 nm to our next quick stopover in ile de Salut, French Guiana, a rest stop before the final leg up to Barbados. A group of 3 small islands made famous with the film Papillion many years ago. On a rather sad note, at sundown today we will drink a toast to a fellow sailor who has sadly crossed the bar, he was a huge inspiration to our trip as we follow his own trip from 1991. Brooks Heywood, a pioneer in orthopedic surgery, will be missed by friends and family :) cheers Brooks. Maxscene, all good :) KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
1º 58.77' N | 46º 21.864' W | SY MaXScene | 12 Feb 2019 12:00 (utc-3)
118 past 24 hours as wind and current improves :) That said here life is bumpy, Apparant Wind Angle now around 70 and swell on the beam(coming at us from the Starboard side) . True Wind Speed around 15 Apparent Wind Speed 17, looks like a few days of this ahead, So yes, slapping the bridge deck for the first team lol. Every now and then knives and forks go flying off plates like in an infamous movie years back.... Haunted house.. The noise can be a little bit daunting we have slowed down a bit by 3 reefed main and 2 reefed Genoa - making the bashing less. Only Catamaran sailor's will truly understand this slapping concept, can leave one rather shell shocked according to a fellow cat owner ha ha.... Conditions should be like this till Thursday when it picks up a little more to around 20 tws. So much for champagne sailing to the Caribbean lol, beer messes less.!!! Maxscene :) thump thump. KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
0º 57.852' N | 44º 39.198' W | SY MaXScene | 11 Feb 2019 12:00 (utc-3)
133 nm previous 24h, 102 past 24 hours as wind dropped off again :( The equator ceremony has its origins in a British naval ceremony established 400 years ago where landlubbers (Pollywogs) that had never sailed across the equator were taunted by the seafarers (Shellbacks) from the time they left land until they crossed the equator after which they all worked as a more cohesive team onboard – its notes as an early form of team building lol - thanks Al for the info here. Well we are getting some good hits on the fishing lines, just yesterday afternoon the wind dropped below 4 knots and backed causing maxscene to perform a most graceful pirouette before picking up the good course again. I was at the helm and had forgotten about Graeme's fishing line out at the time of this maneuvering, i looked up to see the line wrapped on the side and under the water - cut off on the starboard propeller. Later i retrieved the lure still trailing off the sail drive leg. So yes technically I caugh the whole boat lol, sorry Graeme haha... Maxscene :) the fun neva stops... KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
0º 0.0' N | 43º 0.534' W | SY MaXScene | 10 Feb 2019 08:45 (utc-3)
Rendezvous with The good King Neptune!! Yes folks we got to the equator and there he was waiting for us :) as we crossed S to N we proposed a toast to his good health and he invited us to join him for a deep blue swim.. We hove-to(sailing boat equivalent of parking) just into the northern hemisphere and with the gentle NE breeze drifted back over to the south. We all had a chance to dive in and experience the sheer beauty of the kings world. Then as per his strict instructions we got going and popped a bottle of bubbly to celebrate sailing from 34°S to get here safely :) So far 121 nm past 22 hours, will update final mileage tomorrow. Maxscene :) happily crossed to the North KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
1º 1.764' S | 41º 20.526' W | SY MaXScene | 09 Feb 2019 15:00 (utc-3)
119 nm in 24 hours!! We continue to munch them up :) Great news on the fishing front, there are still some in the sea - Graeme hooked into a small Bonita that was released for fattening up, now we are ready for the next big one :) Today we are making best use of solar as the sun is out and strong, laundry, water making, battery charging all going strong. As the Equator looms, planning is underway for the crossing tomorrow around noon ish, need to be nice to King Neptune, he has been good to us all the way!! Today we successfully tested the AIS (automatic identification system) on a passing container vessel 6 nm off us - and he could see us well. This is a great system that notifies all vessels around us of our existence - so that they can avoid us. All is going well on Maxscene :) KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
2º 4.278' S | 39º 39.204' W | SY MaXScene | 08 Feb 2019 15:00 (utc-3)
New record :) 135 nm in 24 hours!! Well done crew for great team work. 55 days ago we left Cape Town an hour after another catamaran being delivered to Tortola, we are following their way points and just passed their 10 Jan noon mark, with a few stops to smell the roses we are almost 1 month behind. No rush here as we are cruising lol. Thank goodness we don't rely totally on weather forecast info or we would be in big trouble, last night max forecast was around 12 - 13 behind us, so full Genoa winged out will be great. High tws alarm set to 22, here we go. Thankfully main sail in it's stack pack sleeping. Rain arrives and alarms trigger, start reefing Genoa and increase the alarm threshold steadily, and repeat the cycle. Eventually with only a g-string left of a deeply furled Genoa and sustained TWS between 28 and 36 we spend 6 hours on the roller coaster, being drenched by consistent torrential downpours thru the night. Eish, but good miles :) Now tws down to the forecast and easing out our trusted Genoa. Cockpit is rather soaked, but boat warm and dry :) Looks like a few days of this ahead, equator also not far now. All is good on Maxscene :) KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
3º 7.866' S | 37º 40.524' W | SY MaXScene | 07 Feb 2019 15:00 (utc-3)
99 nm in 24 hours only means one thing, the one weather model ECMWF was right and other 3 got it wrong lol - we R Sailing again ;) yayyyyy. With it came the first NE trade winds temp dropped about 5 degrees and heaps of rain. Graeme has been running round getting wet filling water tanks, the rest of us trying to keep the cockpit dry ha ha. This afternoon we had our first squall pushing winds into the mid 20 knots - quick scramble to reduce canvas ensued getting Genoa deeply reefed and ready for much higher winds should they suddenly appear!! This will be the norm for the next week or two as we close in on the Caribbean. These new winds will continue to build over the next week pushing us to Papillon island off French Guyana next - 1011 Nm ahead, our next stop ova :) On MaXScene - we are enjoying the slight reprieve from the sweltering conditions of the past few weeks!! KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
3º 56.718' S | 36º 14.154' W | SY MaXScene | 06 Feb 2019 12:00 (utc-3)
Using tactics that would see us expelled from VOR we have managed to rack up 91.5 nm in the past 24 hours - our special purpose diesel spinnaker and current in our favor :) ha ha Hot as out here as sea temp reaches 30.5c, wind speed right now 2.5 knots. We follow 4 different weather models in our routing calculations, 3 of them say very light winds till Friday PM, 1 says we might get lucky later today with wind picking up!! Let's see which one is right lol, always a guessing game. We are traveling in relatively busy shipping lanes currently - keeping us on our toes, and making progress to our next stop. Excellent dolphin sightings again today, Crystal clear water, wow. Also last night and today we have had our first visitors land on board, little birds catching a lift and a rest lol. On MaXScene - Life is great :) KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
4º 43.05' S | 34º 56.13' W | SY MaXScene | 05 Feb 2019 12:00 (utc-3)
Difficult to give actual distance covered in past 24 hours, i guess close to 70 as the crow flies :) but we are indeed a sailing boat gracefully dancing thru the doldrums - pirouette here, step to the left there and have a real good time yea!! In Volvo Ocean racing terms we would have nailed 8th position without any doubt. Good news is that we still have another full day of little to no wind ahead. More good news is we are around the bulge of South America and heading for the Caribbean, whooohooooo.. All good on board maxscene lol, sun and heat not getting to us at all yet thankfully.. KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
7º 2.112' S | 34º 51.468' W | SY MaXScene | 30 Jan 2019 21:00 (utc-3)
Recharging our batteries so to speak, relaxing days on anchor as we watch our beautiful boat turn brown in this lovely river. Yes folks, plans umder way to move on soon ish :) Topped up some petrol and diesel today, walked with Jerry cans 2km up the road and taxied back, did first trip to grocery store for supplies. Still keeping temperatures down with plenty local beers :) Watched local sax playing dude entertaining the tourists on the river tonight by tender boat, awesome. All good on board maxscene :) KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
7º 2.112' S | 34º 51.468' W | SY MaXScene | 26 Jan 2019 13:00 (utc-3)
Been busy exploring a bit of the area around us, visiting a big shopping mall to sort out local sim cards for connectivity, scouting out supermarket for replenishing provisions, local eateries for road kill pies and Caipirinha's lol - liquid brain damage... Got back from the fresh produce market in cabedelo this morning to find Maxscene in a bit of a punch up with a neighboring red boat, Rob, a friend from za, had thankfully taken his initiative and jumped onto maxscene to defend her honor - engine's running he kept the boats apart. We upped anchor and relocated to a safer spot in the river, so we can stay out of harms way :) Had some great rain, water tanks are full. Life is good on board KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
7º 2.124' S | 34º 51.414' W | SY MaXScene | 24 Jan 2019 09:00 (utc-3)
After a long night of dodging shipping we are safely anchored at the Jakar Marina Village, time for a few ice cold celebration beverages on our first ocean crossing. Well done to the crew, been a long trip in a little plastic boat lol :) . Kept us safe and carried us well, great planning and preparation gave us a great time, now to rest before the final leg up the South American coast to the Caribbean Looking forward :) greetings all. KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
7º 1.08' S | 34º 51.21' W | SY MaXScene | 03 Feb 2019 15:45 (utc-3)
On our way down the river back to the Great Atlantic Ocean, on route to French Guyana for our next stop. Been a great time in a small village of Jacare, all set for the final 2000 nm to Barbados :) All good on board maxscene :) KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
5º 49.866' S | 34º 43.368' W | SY MaXScene | 04 Feb 2019 13:00 (utc-3)
76 nm covered since upping anchor in Jacare, apologies for miss spelling in previous updates. We are now entering an area known as the doldrums - where the northern and southern weather systems meet, not much consistent wind and lots of squalls. The progress is slow as we creep north past Natal on the Brazilian coast, almost gives us touch of homesickness as Maxscene is registered in Natal ZA lol. Those following our track more closely will notice the battle to keep on track, maybe even the odd doughnut we do when wind disappeared and current took over ha ha. About 73 nm before we again start heading north west in the direction of French Guyana. We plan to keep a good distance from the Brazilian north coast and Amazon mouth. All good on board maxscene :) as we enjoy some quality time with nature. KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
7º 12.702' S | 33º 54.276' W | SY MaXScene | 23 Jan 2019 12:00 (utc-3)
We have now finally changed to the Brazilian time zone 5 hours behind ZA :) Those following our progress more closely would have noticed the past 24h have been off pace somewhat, 84 nm in past 24h, low wind and arrival planning helped us slow down to arrive just after day break in Cabedelo. Entering a foreign port in the dark of night is not a good idea..., 55 nm still ahead. Today's entertainment was a pod of dolphin come to greet us, absolutely beautiful. Clear day as we search the horizon for signs of land. All excited on board, ready to embrace the first tree we spot lol.. KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
7º 44.16' S | 32º 36.384' W | SY MaXScene | 22 Jan 2019 12:00 (utc-2)
What a terrific past 24 hours we have had with the Parasailor, yesterday afternoon i woke up hear wind has finally dropped off, bag up and flew until 23:00, then up again just before 5am - well done crew. Wind is pushing slightly above East now and a dead patch is opening up ahead - so we might go a few degrees north to avoid stalling.. Sea is also quite high on our stb quarter, first time since Cape Town. 107 nm in past 24h, counting them down, 139 nm to landfall and Cabedelo. Getting excited about seeing land again soon, planning our arrival to the Jakar marina 6.5 nm up river past the port of Cabedelo, Brazilian flag is ready to be hoisted :) Graeme is trying hard for one more tuna before Brazil :) All good on board KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
8º 18.93' S | 30º 54.534' W | SY MaXScene | 21 Jan 2019 12:00 (utc-2)
So what we witnessed this morning in the sky above us was a blood moon, what an accurate description, thanks Al :) the clarity of the the ocean by day and the sky by night HAS to be witnessed to be believed :- Zero light pollution and air pollution makes the night sky so real you can almost touch it. 117 nm in past 24h, counting them down, 243 to landfall and Cabedelo. 2 weeks today since leaving St Helena and loving it out here. Cleaning crew been busy here today, MaXScene looking great, thanks guys :) All good on board KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
8º 33.618' S | 30º 12.324' W | SY MaXScene | 21 Jan 2019 02:38 (utc-2)
Nature is truly amazing without any doubt, from our position 291 nm off the Brazilian coast we are witnessing a total lunar eclipse on a mostly starry night, awesome indeed. Right now a what was a really bright full moon night at 2am, is suddenly in total darkness. Just a dull orange ball is all that remains :) spectacular comes close to describing it.....WOW KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
8º 57.438' S | 29º 2.928' W | SY MaXScene | 20 Jan 2019 12:00 (utc-2)
Lazy Sunday sailing today, wind just enough to maintain good speed on Genoa only, we expecting a slight increase overnight to around 18 knots then a slow drop off all the way to Brazil :) Excellent run of 118 nm in past 24 hours :) 2 more vessels after dark, we getting better and better at tracking them.. 361 nm to go to Cabedelo... Just saying :) All well here on board ;) busy with our third yogurt making experiment for the trip, had varying results so far lol. KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
9º 35.622' S | 27º 10.068' W | SY MaXScene | 19 Jan 2019 12:00 (utc-2)
Question, what rhymes with eish, starting with the letter F and is suddenly on the menu for yesterday, today and tomorrow? Yes folks for those who guessed it, Graeme's perseverance returned him a 14,8 kg Wahoo, a whopper of a catch!!! First Wahoo caught on Maxscene, well done, and tastes great :) after fileting the catch we noticed a rather large sailfish buzzing around behind the boat, must have been eating the fresh scraps dropped behind. Made a short underwater video that we will post on Facebook soon :) Very good run of 111 nm in past 24 hours :) 2 more vessels passed us safely in the night :) 479 nm to go to Cabedelo as we feast on the freshest fish the South Atlantic has to offer. All well here on board ;) KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
10º 10.974' S | 25º 23.628' W | SY MaXScene | 18 Jan 2019 12:00 (utc-2)
Eat, sleep, sail repeat, pretty much sums up the routine on board - but then they also say nothing good happens in the dark on a boat lol. Last nigh was no exception, third vessel sighting of the day, previous 2 passed by quietly, with a wide pass :) This morning just after 2 am, Graeme wakes us with news of number 3 incoming. Hop upstairs to see this latest target heading to cross our bow by less than a quarter mile from port side, so we can see his green light (starboard) ! No ais, Try calling him on the international calling channel 16 a number of times, no response, Graeme signals with torch no interest. This time we take avoiding action, 90 degrees to starboard, port motor on and start bearing away from him, try call a few more times, nothing. Tracked him on radar until well clear then u-turn and get back on our track, we lose an hour and he doesn't lose any sleep!! That's why we keep watching in the wee dark hours, because others don't always do the same :-) Great run of 118 nm in past 24 hours :) including diverting for Rip von Winkle ...lol 591 nm to go to Cabedelo. All well here as we sleep with one eye Open ;) KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
10º 49.722' S | 23º 30.534' W | SY MaXScene | 17 Jan 2019 12:00 (utc-2)
Another week another time zone lol, yup now 4 hours off ZA :) Very happy with run of 122 nm in past 25 hours :) this morning was clear so dragged crew kicking and screaming out of the cabins at 5:30 am to get the trusty Parasailor flying. So much for my pattern forming ha ha. Three strikes in two day's, Graeme, as we were getting the Parasailor up finally yesterday afternoon another big hit that took lure and disappeared. Graeme gets points for persevering lol. 708 nm to go to Cabedelo. All well here as we surge ahead :) KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
11º 27.504' S | 21º 32.634' W | SY MaXScene | 16 Jan 2019 12:00 (utc-1)
Very happy with run of 114 nm in past 24 hours :) this morning has again brought a few squalls, seems like a pattern forming. Two strikes in two day's, Graeme almost landed a beautiful size fish this morning, brought it to the boat showed itself to us, spat out the ruthless Zulu lure and swam off, eish!! Looked like a decent size Dorado possibly. Yes i stopped the wind turbine in case lol. We are now on the downward run to Brazil (passed half way 21:20 last night) and yes counting down the days lol, are we there yet?? Well much like a 5 day cricket test match - this takes time lol. 830 nm to go to Cabedelo. Loving the warmer conditions and fresh air. All well. KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
12º 1.974' S | 19º 42.03' W | SY MaXScene | 15 Jan 2019 12:00 (utc-1)
Good run of 109 nm in past 24 hours :) this morning has been one squall after the next, finally calmed down after brunch so up went the Parasailor. So turns out that yesterdays hunters are called rainbow runners, thanks Al :) after days with no action on the rods, im taking an afternoon snooze when Graeme gets a strike, action stations as i wake up :) but the request is how do we stop the wind generator??? I get up stairs, stop the turbine and Graeme gets on the roof to release his latest catch lol yup he hooked up with the wind generator oops. We had a quick beer to celebrate the catch and i went down stairs to finish my nap... So we are now one month out of Cape Town today, and almost half way through leg 2, something to celebrate later with sun downers. 938 nm to go to Cabedelo. Great to be out here, all well on MaXScene :) KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
12º 34.386' S | 17º 55.302' W | SY MaXScene | 14 Jan 2019 12:00 (utc-1)
Good run of 110 nm in past 24 hours, wind has found us and doing it's bit to push us along :) yesterday and today's WOW is the squadrons of smallish flying fish being hunted by what we think is possibly a skip jack or Bonita(if we could catch one on the 4 lines we have out we could identify il lol) just saying. It is happening all around us, suddenly hundreds of these flying fish exit the water at great speed and close to a meter above the water for up to 40 meters :) the hunters are catching these flying fish in mid air. Awesome to be out here!! So we are a week away from st Helena now and about 150 nm from half way. 1054 nm to go to Cabedelo. All well on board, getting hotter by the day, water temp now 26.8° :) KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
13º 6.294' S | 16º 7.734' W | SY MaXScene | 13 Jan 2019 12:00 (utc-1)
Good run of 60 nm on the Parasailor yesterday, past 24 h -102 nm. Doused the Parasailor at 19:45 in the moonlight just after a braai at dusk :) then this morning the wind died and i recorded the slowest speed through the water of ZERO, Thankfully a small current in our favor nudged us along at 1,2 knots :) We have now passed +-325 miles to the south of Ascension island. Also just over 600 nm from st helena. Today started for me at 05:00, very light to no wind at times but some rain falling, so connected up the rain water harvest system to the roof. Tested water - 40 ppm perfect so through the filter and into the tank. Collected about 50 liters for free :) now great sunny day with 9 knots true TWS, Going but slowly. 1162 nm to go to Cabedelo. All well on board KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
13º 35.208' S | 14º 27.468' W | SY MaXScene | 12 Jan 2019 12:00 (utc-1)
Like a pacman game we are chomping up the miles one by one, past 24 just over 100 again - 103 nm. Day sees good mileage on Parasailor, night time on Genoa dodging squalls in the pitch black night (no moon most of the night) progress slows but safety first always. Every day we learn more about the technology we have on board, the radar shows us the passing squalls in the dark = Awesome!! We see how big, how fast traveling and direction, eyes in the dark. Today great sunny day with 14 knots, filling batt and making water :) 1265 nm to go to Cabedelo. All well on board KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
14º 3.762' S | 12º 45.222' W | SY MaXScene | 11 Jan 13:30 (utc-1)
Past 24 hours more light winds 8 to 12 knots, covered 102 nm, just over our 100 daily target :) well done crew for the patience lol. Parasailor been up all morning, down as 2 squalls passed by and we had brunch, now flying again. Much better sun today, making water on solar. Sewing machine out doing some running repairs. Great news on board is we have now consolidated two freezers to one and reinstated our drinks fridge to its former status - moral is improving by the minute lol. 1360 nm to go to Cabedelo. All well on board KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
14º 30.834' S | 11º 4.14' W | SY MaXScene | 10 Jan 15:30 (utc-1)
Past 24 hours have been very overcast with pretty light winds, 10 - 12 knots, covered 110 nm. Our Li battery is sulking only up to 57% on solar today, will give it a big boost with the generator shortly. One small non keeper was caught and released - lines still out waiting for the big one. Parasailor been up all day, no squalls :) 1454 nm to go to Cabedelo. All well on board KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
14º 59.664' S | 9º 14.904' W | SY MaXScene | 9 Jan 2019, 13:00utc
Good day all, we are now UTC-1 time zone - 3 behind ZA, one more to Brazil :) Today's our first Parasailor day on leg 2, conditions are good with wind between 13-16 knots moving along at a good pace 118 nm past 25 hours :) Filter changed on watermaker and made 210 liters for laundry and daily showers. (yes hot water). Daily the temperature is climbing today 27 out 30 in. 1576 nm to go to Cabedelo. All well on board KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
15º 34.5' S | 7º 18.246' W | SY MaXScene | 8 Jan 12:00 utc, first 20 hours saw 94 mn in unsettled following sea with some good winds, very happy with that.
We smoked the last of the tuna Graeme caught and that was dinner - now plenty of freezer space for his next big catch lol. Heading a bit north west to see if we can get into the south sub tropical current to take us to the west. All well on board KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
15º 55.692' S | 5º 44.034' W | SY MaXScene | MaXScene has left the island :)
Today was spent clearing out of immigration and customs, paid our mooring fees to port control, last bit of groceries shopping, bank to exchange some dodgy currency, Ann's for a quick beer n bite brunch, greeting new friends all the time. It has been truly a great experience for a few days and a worthwhile stop for our next lap lol. Now a mere 1790 nm to the next stop in Brazil, wow. All well on board KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
15º 55.44' S | 5º 43.488' W | SY MaXScene | Well what a fun night, 21:30 the Governers cup line honors winner Banjo
arrived, we launched our tender boat into the pitch black night, Graeme and i delivered an ice cold bottle of bubbly to them as the tied up to a mooring near us :) they were super impressed :) This morning 6:30 number 2 in the race, Rocket arrived and were no sooner tied up on a mooring when the first rum n cokes were poured lol, i swam over to welcome them and declined a drink :) Today was exploring the island part II. Distillery, airport (closed, tomorrow za flight arrives), sandy bay(Mars landscape), Fort, late Lunch and pub crawl - ending at st helena yacht club which is finally open, yayyyyy All well on board KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
15º 55.44' S | 5º 43.488' W | SY MaXScene | Happy birthday to Michelle, hope you enjoy your day off
All well on board KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
15º 55.44' S | 5º 43.488' W | SY MaXScene | Rented a car today and tomorrow, £20 per day, may keep it for Saturday too, refilled 1 5kg lpg cylinder £23 (ouch 4 times the cape Town price)
Went driving the island, Plantation house which is the governers residence - guided tour in and out was great met Jonathan the 185+-years old tortoise apparently oldest in the world. Then on to Napoleon tomb, past distillery to make bookings for the morning tour, collect gas cylinder, drink a cold beer at Rosie's. Busy day again, now we await the first governors cup race boat in - Banjo around 20:00. Might have a surprise for them :) Good Day was had by all KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
15º 55.44' S | 5º 43.488' W | SY MaXScene | This is a slow place, we tend to bring our urgency to a place not well suited to it :) this was made clear this morning when i called the ferry man and he didn't show up for 15 minutes i called a second time, Paul the ferry captain gets here and grumbled 'couldn't you wait?? Lol
Well today was exploring all the shops and attractions of James Town including the museum, then Ann's for lunch and Wi-Fi. 3£ for 30 minutes OUCH. will keep that to a minimum. Now back on board enjoying sun downers Good Day was had by all KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
15º 55.44' S | 5º 43.488' W | SY MaXScene | Happy new year all
Day 2 on mooring started a tad late after seeing in the new year on board, including fireworks display at 00:35 (bit late :) ) huge laundry day - bedding, towels, little washing machine worked hard. Topped up main diesel tanks from our reserves, 110 liters used for 1730 nm (+-3000 km) not bad :). We have also used 25 litre petrol for the generator. Then off in the tender boat to explore the island a bit, snorkeled a sunken wreck in James Bay. Braai tonight, and maybe a cold beer or 2 lol Good Day was had by all KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
15º 55.44' S | 5º 43.488' W | SY MaXScene | Day 1 on dry land :)
Had a really pleasant evening on mooring ball 7 last night, a few cold ones to celebrate the first portion of the crossing followed by a really good bottle of za red wine :) This morning headed to port control, immigration and customs to complete checking in formalities - then a quick lunch at Annie's. Ferry stops operating 14:00 today for new years eve party so we back on board, time for that swim :) oh and maybe a few more cold ones in this tropical heat!!! Lovely :) KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
15º 55.44' S | 5º 43.488' W | SY MaXScene | Update to earlier message:
Maxscene temporary address : yellow mooring ball #7 James Bay, Saint Helena :) Arrived safely, tied up to mooring ball and enjoying a welcome drink, cheers Original daily update : As we approach landfall we can see a small cloud mass where we believe Saint Helena to be 37,3 nm off dead ahead. Wind is in our favor for a late afternoon arrival :) We had the bag up at 0530, down again at 0700 when a nasty squall passed by and rinced off some salt water, then up again at 10:30 after our mid morning nap. Yes busy day for the crew. Thanks to our shore support for all the info gathered on SH arrival process :) KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
17º 10.248' S | 3º 27.906' W | SY MaXScene | 143 nm to the Island of Saint Helena :)
Beautiful day today sailing with the Parasailor in 10 knots of downwind. Maintenance and servicing always keeps us busy, today was the water maker turn for some attention All good on board, makings touristy plans for our few days stop up ahead. KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
18º 8.58' S | 1º 46.122' W | SY MaXScene | With day 13 completed at 101 nm we can say we had a peaceful night with not much wind, this morning early 5:30, we had the Parasailor up and started making some good miles. Today for the first time on the trip we are getting small rain systems passing us, as they approach the wind builds quickly, as it passes we have a few drops of rain, then it calms down again. This cycle takes 15 - 30 minutes, after the 3rd one we dropped the bag and now sailing with Genoa quite comfortably and making good mileage too.
All good on board, 256 nm to St Helena, getting excited for the arrival :) KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
19º 4.614' S | 0º 18.468' W | SY MaXScene | Today at 07:41 we crossed over to the other side - this report is from the western hemisphere :)
Around sunset last night we made our first whale sighting finally, this one quietly surfaced next to the boat about 10 meters away, did one or two circles around us and vanished - beautiful. Routine maintenance included securing some spinnaker shackles, they tend to work themselves loose. Water temp here is 23C looking forward to a swim at St Helena soon. KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
20º 45.42' S | 1º 21.69' E | SY MaXScene | Ships log, 119 nm covered past 24 hours, another good run for the crew :)
Whats the best way to spend Boxing day, relaxing and eating the Xmas feast leftovers, well yes and daily maintenance always takes priority. Today's main task was replacing the filter element on the water maker, keeping our boat full of water cleaner than most botteled water :) we test it daily. The crew are all well and happy to have been able to call loved ones yesterday for a brief Hallo ;) and to wish them for Christmas. 478 nm to landfall at st helena KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
21º 6.132' S | 3º 17.784' E | SY MaXScene | Merry Christmas to all
Just completed day 10 on a high note 129 nm in 24h :) well done to the crew for the huge effort. For the record our daily target is 100.. XO cooking up a feast of note, smells yummmmy from my perch on the helm, really looking forward to it. Happy to announce that Santa did find us out here and there are pressies to be opened after starters are served. Busy night last night with 2 ships passing by closer than necessary - called them both up on vhf to confirm their knowledge of our position :) 597 nm to st helena, all good on board Love to all KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
22º 12.426' S | 5º 16.938' E | SY MaXScene | Ships log
Great night on the Genoa, Parasailor back up early this morning. Made 6,5 kwh of solar power yesterday(partly cloudy) , enough for 5 hours of water making, 4 loads of laundry, electric kettle all day, by 19:00 battery was just under 80 % quick topup with generator taking it to 100 in less than an hour. By the time solar is strong enough in the morning batt is around 35 %. 24/7 elec users are 2 deep freeze, one fridge, all electronics - autopilot and radar + a few others... Anyway, all good here on xmas eve, might pop a bottle of bubbly in the fridge for tomorrow :) ho ho ho... KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
23º 12.246' S | 7º 6.444' E | SY MaXScene | Good day all, we are on the downhill now, passed the halfway mark at 8:53 (utc) 861 nm to go :)
123nm covered in past 24 h, new record :) Found 3 flying fish on the deck this morning lol - they are hooligans!!! We now on utc time zone, two hours behind ZA Parasailor flying again today, looking great. KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
86º 6.642' S | 8º 51.948' E | SY MaXScene | Mileage covered past 24 hours 117nm, past 7 days 757 nm, today's weather SSE 13 knots, perfect downwind sailing conditions. We are flying a bag today, a symmetrical spinnaker called a Parasailor, for those who have not heard of such a sail - Google it :) its beautiful.
Bought from a good friend who is sadly not with us anymore - thanks Ian. Out at sea most of the time we see no other vessels at all, yesterday afternoon on our long range radar we see a contact dead astern closing in on us, basically following our track, at 5 miles our AIS identified him as Nippon Highway, and closest point of approach 1 nm. Bit close for our liking so i call her up, yes they have seen us for 10 miles already and have altered course to overtake by 1,5 miles - okidoki. Big ass car carrier steams past and dissappears into the distance :) Well it was a tuna braai this morning for brunch, only a quarter left which is frozen for later in the trip ;) The long range weather forecast is looking good, downwind all the way. All good on board KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
25º 37.638' S | 10º 35.412' E | SY MaXScene | Hello all,
Today's mileage was 115 nm, we are slowly shaping our course towards St helena, we are now past the first third of the trip :) Next time zone change coming up at 7.5 E, that will be gmt - two hours behind ZA. The fresh tuna yesterday was incredible, it was dinner last night, brunch this morning, will be curry this evening - and after that the other half still remains :) Our cabbages, which were hanging in the cockpit, were not doing particularly well, we have our great shore support team do some research for us (out here Google is not beeeg). Based on the findings we have relocated them to a dry cool environment and wrapped them up in some comfortable paper towels patted their little heads and put them to bed in the starboard forward cabin , we need them to be great for many weeks yet!!! Michelle did laundry duty, now we topping up the water tanks again. All good on board KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
26º 57.858' S | 12º 7.134' E | SY MaXScene | Position update was delayed today due to the long awaited arrival of an 11kg bluefin tuna on the end of the senior fishing pro Graeme's fishing rod. This called for all hands on deck to retrieve, fillet, refrigerate in prep for sashimi and tuna steak tonight :)
On board all is good, sailing in 12-15 knots of breeze we made 116 nm in the past 24 hours, we very pleased :) We are now 540 nm from cape Town and 1183 away from st helena, almost 1/3 of the way in 5 days, pretty good considering the lack of wind a few day's back!! The south Atlantic is an incredible deep blue color, where we are currently is around 4 000 meters deep!!! That is 4 kilometers, WOW We have used 65 liters of diesel and about 4 liters of petrol to date. We have made about 500 liters of water. KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
28º 25.614' S | 13º 32.688' E | SY MaXScene | Good bye South Africa :) yes, the south Atlantic high pressure system has helped us cross the border, now we waiting for the SE winds to set in and push us towards St Helena.
All good on board, sea legs on all of us as we settle in to the daily routine, cooking, cleaning and keeping watch. Water maker running on solar, topping up the water as i type. Today's our big white asymmetrical spinnaker got it's first chance to fly, it was named the maxscene spinnaker after the big black cat was printed on last year. Wind a bit light to fly all morning so we still motor sailing. Shower hour next the navigation and weather routing before a nap. KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |
29º 42.9' S | 14º 42.12' E | SY MaXScene | Maxscene is now on gmt +1 and taking a bit of getting used to. I have missed changing the clock on the weather station which caused much confusion lol.
Yesterday afternoon we made our first fresh water for 2 hours - 120 liters, this morning was laundry time 5am to 7 am. Once completed we made more water to bring tank levels to 3/4 full. 200 liter made today. Little to no wind today, motor sailing up towards new wind just ahead, then we should have 10 - 15 knots for the rest of the trip. Dodged a few fishing trawlers in the night 100 nm covered day 3. Fishing lines out :) Kd out | over 5 years ago | Show |
31º 0.81' S | 15º 51.894' E | SY MaXScene | 112 nm covered in past 24 hours, wind last night was around 22 knots at times maxscene sailing well with those conditions :) seems we were in the middle of the shipping lanes last night - merchant vessels passing both sides. today we will set our time to gmt +1 as we are on 15E.
Routine maintenance completed this am again including fuel and bilge checks. Happy to report soup pot made in Cape Town on our departure Saturday empty so first brunch cooked today, crew all happy about this :) Fishing lines out today, Graeme in charge of that. Watch system going well, four hours by day and 3 hours by night allows for good sleep, a benefit of having 4 skippers on board :) | over 5 years ago | Show |
32º 35.97' S | 17º 21.126' E | SY MaXScene | Good morning all,
First night at sea was most enjoyable, beautiful half moon, dolphins keeping an eye on us :) wind and sea build slightly in the night requiring an extra reef in the Genoa, has dropped again this morning. Weather routing is taking us up to a point 50 miles west of Luderitz before heading out to st helena. This morning the crew was busy sorting one or two running maintenance jobs before a second round of snoozing lol. Soup warming up on the stove for brunch. 1604 nm to st helena. Crew all well on board Kd out | over 5 years ago | Show |
33º 1.362' S | 17º 57.372' E | SY MaXScene | In Yachtport SA Saldanha busy with Final preparations :) | almost 6 years ago | Show |
33º 1.644' S | 17º 57.546' E | SY MaXScene | almost 6 years ago | Show | |
33º 1.5' S | 17º 57.552' E | SY MaXScene | -33.02683,17.96076
Test position update from GO. KD Sent from Iridium Mail & Web. | over 5 years ago | Show |
33º 1.614' S | 17º 57.642' E | SY MaXScene | almost 6 years ago | Show | |
33º 1.614' S | 17º 57.642' E | SY MaXScene | almost 6 years ago | Show | |
33º 1.614' S | 17º 57.642' E | SY MaXScene | almost 6 years ago | Show | |
33º 1.614' S | 17º 57.642' E | SY MaXScene | almost 6 years ago | Show | |
33º 1.614' S | 17º 57.642' E | SY MaXScene | Short update from MaXScene preparations, Michelle finished off sewing covers, curtains and cockpit safety lines, Graeme installed two bilge pumps in engine bays, Donna had her fill of painting and turning meal planning into shopping lists. Huge day and thanks to the crew, skipper out :) | almost 6 years ago | Show |
33º 1.614' S | 17º 57.642' E | SY MaXScene | Busy day today, Graeme working the final maintenance list, Donna, Michelle and i working on the provisions list. Also updating the boat itemized insurance - not my favorite job :) | almost 6 years ago | Show |
33º 1.614' S | 17º 57.642' E | SY MaXScene | almost 6 years ago | Show | |
33º 1.614' S | 17º 57.642' E | SY MaXScene | almost 6 years ago | Show | |
33º 1.614' S | 17º 57.642' E | SY MaXScene | almost 6 years ago | Show | |
33º 1.614' S | 17º 57.642' E | SY MaXScene | almost 6 years ago | Show | |
33º 1.614' S | 17º 57.642' E | SY MaXScene | almost 6 years ago | Show | |
33º 1.614' S | 17º 57.642' E | SY MaXScene | almost 6 years ago | Show | |
33º 1.614' S | 17º 57.642' E | SY MaXScene | almost 6 years ago | Show | |
33º 1.614' S | 17º 57.642' E | SY MaXScene | almost 6 years ago | Show | |
33º 1.614' S | 17º 57.642' E | SY MaXScene | almost 6 years ago | Show | |
33º 1.614' S | 17º 57.642' E | SY MaXScene | almost 6 years ago | Show | |
33º 4.764' S | 18º 0.882' E | SY MaXScene | almost 6 years ago | Show | |
33º 8.61' S | 18º 1.662' E | SY MaXScene | almost 6 years ago | Show | |
33º 8.616' S | 18º 1.674' E | SY MaXScene | almost 6 years ago | Show | |
33º 29.706' S | 18º 10.818' E | SY MaXScene | So this morning we left yachtport for cape Town, one of the boats trying to clear out from Saldanaha, like we planned, had lots of trouble in Cape Town because their boat was not there but in Saldanaha. We decided this trip would be a great shake down trip. Lovely weather today so we decided to move to cape Town instead.
Lots of whales, seals, sun fish, dolphin :) Just passed Dassen Island, table mountain in sight KD out. | over 5 years ago | Show |
33º 45.798' S | 18º 24.522' E | SY MaXScene | Maxscene has cleared immigration and customs today and departed Royal Cape Yacht Club 11:00 utc
All provisions on board, beautiful day in table bay. Wind 10 knots Se, currently making around 4 knots. Saint helena is 1687 nm off bearing 329 degrees. Weather on route looks good, in our favor. Crew all well KD out | over 5 years ago | Show |