Lining up for the final Cape

Jean-Luc van den Heede describes his water situation

Day 83.
Position at 1300: 38°34'S / 62°58'E
Wind 25 knots from WNW. Moderate sea.
Temperatures: day 17°C/ night 12°C / sea 18°C
Distance covered in the last 24 hours: 210 miles.
To the Cape of Good Hope 2,165 miles.
Lead over Monnet: 19 days and 13 hours.

Hi there,

Yesterday, in a squall I collected a lot of fresh water in the mainsail. I heated it up this morning in my camping shower and was planning to take a nice warm shower this evening.... but the sun only came out for a brief while, and for the moment I'm going through some drizzle worthy of the English Channel, which is a foretaste of the front, which should go over tonight.

I'm going to have to wait a little while longer for the pleasure of what will be my first real shower since Cape Horn. Don't be alarmed! I'm keeping myself clean with some baby wipes. But it is true, I'm dreaming of a nice shower where I don't need to worry about how much fresh, warm water I use.

The advantage is going to be that after this front goes over, I should get some favourable winds enabling me to head on a direct course for the Cape of Good Hope, which is getting closer now. If I manage to round the Cape downwind, as sometimes happens when you get up close to the African coast with a high-pressure area off to the south... it would be perfect!

See you tomorrow,

JL VDH

A day with the cuddly toy from the ELLIOT office, a little teddy wearing a T-shirt saying 'Big Kisses'.