Blog Day 45 Cape Horn
Latitude 55 32.42S
Longitude 63 01.10W
Barometer 1014
Air Temp 4c
Local time 0600 UTC-5
LIVE TRACKER
Hi all,
OMG what an epic day I have had. I spent most of the night trying my hardest to get some more sleep because I knew that once day broke, I would need to be much more vigilant as I would be near land and that means to potential navigation hazards and traffic. I woke up at the first signs of dawn and went on deck. I still hadn't been able to see any land and the conditions were still mixed, giving me 20 knots of wind one moment and 30 knots of wind the next, as a squall would roll through and dump freezing cold rain on everything. I was still just outpacing that high pressure system, so I was trying to push Climate Action Now a little to make sure I didn't end up on the wrong side of it, so I was sailing in those winds with 1 reefs in the mainsail, the storm jib and half of the no 2 headsail out so every time a squall would hit we were getting rounded up. It seemed that the closer I got to Cape Horn the stronger the winds were getting, so in the blue tinge of pre-dawn I went on deck to put another reef in the mainsail.
Everything out here is a balance, between speed, performance, safety, and longevity of the equipment, and if there was ever a place to play it safe, it would be at Cape Horn. When we got a squall that started hammering us with 35 knots of wind it was time to shorten the mainsail. Poor Climate Action Now had been rounded up into the wind and we were pinned over on our side with all the sails flapping. I didn't bother to stop for gloves, I just threw on my lifejacket and ran on deck. I could just see the world around me in muted blue tones, and the minute I was clear of the hatch my breath turned to ice in my chest from the cold. It was 4c on deck, which is cold, but then add the wind chill factor of an additional 35 knots of wind and the sea spray striking me in the face. When the rain started it felt like little bullets of ice striking my face. I very quickly went numb in the face and my poor hands were wet from handling the lines while trying to put the 2nd reef in. I was in absolute agony from the cold. This had to be one of the worst sail changes I had done so far. in relation to the levels of pain I was having to endure while managing the lines and shortening the sail.
Halfway through, I needed to stop completely and just let the boat drift while I ducked out of the winds and huddled in a heap under the cuddy trying to get my hands to stop screaming at me. They were bright red from the cold and as I looked at them, they were shaking uncontrollably from the pain. Tears pricked at my eyes as I wedged my hands under my armpits and tried to breathe through the pain until they defrosted a little. The pain is a hard one to describe but it goes something like this. It feels like I am holding hot coals and that they are literally getting burnt from the cold. But it is the nerve endings screaming at you from the face, and that the bones in your fingers start to throb as they chill too far. That throb always takes a while to go away. 5 minutes later and I was able to continue with the reef. When I was finally finished, I was able to look around at my surroundings for the first time in daylight this close to land.
The horizon remained unbroken as there were too many storm clouds around and too much rain to actually see the land that was now just 10 nm away, so after squinting through it to try my best to get a glimpse I finally went below. I was still trying to catch a final sleep in before I would need to be awake for a while, and I really hadn’t managed that much through the night, however, when I went to the heads to relieve myself before diving into my bunk, I saw that the port side froward ballast tank was full to the brim... Oh no. I quickly realized that the breather cap on deck had likely been washed away, and now as we were on a starboard tack in these conditions, and the port side of the boat was getting regularly pressed underwater, the ballast tank has back flooded and been filled completely. Climate Action Now use to have 6 water ballast tanks (3 down each side) but during the refit we converted the middle two tanks into a fuel and a water tank. The two forward and the two aft tanks are still use-able. The idea is that you pump salt water into the windward tank on the high side of the boat and it helps to keep the decks a little flatter, a flatter boat means less leeway, or sideways slide which helps you get to your destination a little faster. I don’t sail Climate Action Now at 100% performance, especially while solo, and as it is a rather fiddly system on-board. I have had several issues with it during past projects, so I don’t really use it. But this morning I needed to get that water out asap.
I rigged the system and drained the tank before going on deck again to pull a breather cover off the windward side. Then, dogging waves, I put this on the forward tank breather that was missing it, to keep more water out. I was now only 15 nm from Cape Horn, and any chance of sleep was long gone. I looked outside and was shocked to see a beautiful vista of soaring mountain ranges with snow on the tops. I looked again at the charts, and sure enough, I was only 7nm to the south of Isla Hermite, which is the island just before Hormos Island, which is the island of Cape Horn. It was breath taking to look at and I couldn't help but stare. It was 0600 local time, and I was witnessing land for the first time in 45 days. The seas were rough with windswept waves and large dark grey clouds filled the sky. Half the island was swallowed by rain, it was perfect.
I spent some time taking photos before going below to make a hot bowl of porridge. When I looked again at my B & G navigation display, I was equally surprised to see a ship heading directly towards me. They were still 10 nm from me but traveling west. When I clicked on them for some more information, using the AIS system (Automatic Identification System) that all commercial craft and most private craft carry these days, I could see that they were a passenger craft that was 106 meters long and 18 meters wide. It was a small cruise ship called the Greg Mortimer. They were going to pass me to Starboard at a close, 200 meters at this stage. I watched them for a little longer, as they still had over 30 minutes until the Closest Point of approach was reached, but the longer I watched, the more I worried I became that maybe that hadn't seen me, as they were still coming directly at me. In this scenario, I had right of way as they are a power boat and I am sailing boat, and with the wind direction I wasn't able to alter my course any further to port to increase our distance. I decided to radio the master of the ship and check that he has me in his sights and confirm a starboard-to-starboard passing.
I called out the ships name and he replied right away. He confirmed that he could see me and that he would pass to starboard. The ship was on its way to Costa Rica. After ending the radio transmissions, I went on deck to watch them pass. It occurred to me that the people on that boat and the master of that ship have absolutely no idea that they are the very first signs of human life that I have seen in person in 45 days, let alone the excitement of being able to talk to the master of the ship via radio. After they passed, at 0813 local time, I looked again to the East, and I smiled, as I saw the iconic peak of Cape Horn jutting up from the horizon.
I was so close now. I had just under 15 nm left to sail until I round Cape Horn. By this time the winds were holding more at 30 knots than 20 knots and we were still getting plenty of round ups, so I decided on caution rather than speed. The Dimension Polyant sails and Harken sail hardware have been holding up really well, along with the Mast from David Lambourne Rigging and the Hamma (Arcus wire and rigging) wire to hold it all together. I was on a lee shore this means that the winds are blowing me towards land, so if anything was to fail, or if I was to end up in a bad situation, I would end up getting blown, rather quickly, towards the soaring Cliff's that I could see. So, with caution being my primary mindset, I went on deck and put the third reef in the main sail and ended up furling away the No 2 headsail, I was now sailing with just the storm jib up the front, and having learnt from the pain of before, I even took a moment to wedge my hands into some gloves. Wow did that make an amazing difference.
Once Climate Action Now was settled down, I remained on deck just watching Cape Horn get closer and closer until finally at 10:38:35 we safely sailed past Cape Horn and transitioned from the South Pacific Ocean and sailed into the South Atlantic. We had done it. Together all of us had just climbed the Mount Everest of sailing. I am very aware that while I am the girl on the boat, this whole project would not be possible without the support from all of you. My amazing sponsors, volunteers, family, and supporters. Without you, none of this would have been possible, so thank you to everyone who believed in this project.
I stayed on deck for hours after the rounding of Cape Horn, feeling a mix of complete elation, joy and just so darn proud that I had managed to make it this far in this journey. There were so many times when this project could have fallen through. As you know I am still struggling to raise the rest of the funds to complete the project costs, but the shear fact that I had just sailed around Cape Horn solo for the second time in my life…….. well not much tops that moment. With a smile playing on my lips, I watched the peaks of Cape Horn shrink behind the horizon and. I finally went below. We had already managed to sail off the continental shelf and were back in the 4000 m deep waters, only this time I was in the Atlantic Ocean. There was a green tinge to the sea and large pieces of a kelp forest would float by occasionally. I altered the course to 060 T and we slowly started to make the climb to towards the Burdwood Banks and the Falkland Island.
Finally I dived into my bunk for a little rest.
Before I sign off I want to take a moment to thank the following degree sponsors:
067 West - Roger and Elizabeth Blair dedicated to Doctors without Borders - Thank you for your support and for promoting such an amazing cause.
066 West - David Kriet in honour of John Kretchmer - thank you for your wonderful support.
065 West - Dick and Pip Smith - thank you for always being a great supporter of adventurers and my challenges.
And thank you to everyone for following and sharing my story far and wide. If you would like to learn a little more about how you can support my project please visit my website.
And with that full day behind me it’s time for bed so good night all.
Note from Mum - Why not buy a beanie, badge or bag to celebrate. The embroidered badge is a new item. It is designed for you to sew onto clothing, bags, hats, or anywhere really. It features amazing detail and is only $10 with FREE postage.
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