strange boat approaching Australia from the SW

sneaking on the back door

An interesting perspective, Cape Town to Kerguelen to Tassie

And all this shall pass away

Even the Examiner's almost last little roll of the die for this bit of the journey anyway. The nearest point of Tassie is 170 miles away and I'm beginning to feel that we just might make it. Wow! And then the quiet satisfaction of knowing we've done something a bit unusual and unique. That satisfaction, that gentle pleasure will last, but the exhilaration, the euphoria that perhaps you who are reading this might expect will be flattened by the knowledge that it's almost over and the buzz will not last. And then the tidy up - the papers, the photos, articles and the rest that will keep it alive for a bit longer. And back to work, if anyone will have me on the premises.

So what's unique?
The Sydney-Hobart - Fastnet - Sydney-Hobart circumnavigation via Cape Horn and the Great Capes was a first and I doubt whether anyone will be silly enough to do it again.
For the second circumnavigation:
First ever Australia to England voyage via the North West Passage with Corrie McQueen and Kimbra Lindus.
First ever circumnavigation under sail via the NWP - we think, and if we're right then:
First boat to circumnavigate via both Cape Horn and the North West Passage - opposite ends of the Americas.
And some trivia -
First Australian boat through the NWP unassisted and in a single season (Fine Tolerance was the first through, but over two seasons and with icebreaker assistance)
Only boat ever to sail from Australia to England for a Fastnet race and sail back again. Twice. That's true headbanging.
And I know of only Syd Fischer from Australia who has done better than 11th overall (out of 300) in a Fastnet but there are probably a couple more Admiral's Cuppers. They didn't do it double handed though, nor did they sail from Oz to the start line.
On the way, we were awarded the Royal Ocean Racing Club Seamanship Trophy, the Royal Cruising Club Seamanship Medal and I understand also the Ocean Cruising Club Barton Cup. Kind of humbling to read the list of other recipients.
And we were Sailing Anarchy's sailors of the year after the first circ. Blimey! That's peer recognition in cyberspace!

End of self indulgent boast for the day. We're not there yet and it hasn't happened but once we're in, this won't get written.

Atrophy

It must have been early, near the start of this last leg from Cape Town to Hobart. I remember I was sitting on the leeward cockpit seat with my feet on the edge of the opposite seat to brace myself against the roll of the boat. I was probably reading one of the numerous "whodunits" we have on board, the sun was out, I had my shorts on. At the end of a reading pause, for that read, "vacant nap", I returned to the real world. With chin resting on chest, the first thing I noticed was this wrinkled skin hanging beneath what used to be a calf muscle. Lazily gazing at this it reminded me of a deflated party balloon you might notice hanging in a corner of the room a month or so after the function. I leaned down and pinched it, there was no meat there. The muscle had shrunk remarkably, alarmed,I tried the other leg, same thing you could get a 2 inch pinch of loose skin.
Now, was this just part of the fact that the legs havn't been used much for some months or is it a general atrophy of the body as you age, I'm hoping for the former. There has not been as much work to do on this trip. With the new headsail furler we don't even have to go forward to change sails, nor forward to get a new sail, nor forward again to put the old one back in the bin. Lugging heavy wet sails around, bracing the knees against the pulpit in the bow while using two hands to haul a flogging sail down after 20 minutes sleep in your off watch, then somehow managing to get the thing bagged while waves are crashing over the deck and getting safely back to the cockpit must have used up a fair slice of energy.
All of this sweaty nonsense has been removed by the sail furling gear. The procedure now is; "Bugger, the wind's up I'd better get some sail off"; move to the upright position (2 cals); release sheet (1 cal); pull on furler string (3 cals); readjust the headsail sheet (2 cals). Total 8 calories, I would think this would be a total gain of about 250 calories for the average sail change so now multiply this by the number of sail changes on the Falmouth-Hobart leg of the last trip say 400, I think this would equate to a positive gain of about 100,000 calories for this trip. If you don't exercise as much, you eat less and I think we must have a large excess in the food stores now.
About a week ago now, there was a ciick, the latch on the barn door was released. A creak from the rusty hinge, a thin shaft of sunlight splashed on the floor. A sniff of fresh hay and a smell of oats, flushed through the small opening and I could sense that the Berri had a new spring in her step, she knew something. With a steady breeze of10-15 kts on the quarter and her nose pointing directly at South East Cape she could smell her southern home and was romping along at 4-6 kts. Its been a long campaign and the old war horse, hasn't let us down at any stage. I'll quote a saying used by an old Kiwi friend of mine, "any old horse can fart on the way to work, its a good one that can fart on the way home", Berrimilla is one.
I had a lean over the port quarter this morning and with my head touching the odd wave, I could see under the transom, all looked good, no sign of barnacles and just a small amount of weed on the aft end of the rudder. It was a good move hauling the boat out, leaving it in the slings while we scraped the barnacles off. That was in Cape Town just before Christmas, it looks like nothing has jumped on for a ride since then.
So far nothing has broken, a small sheet bag is all that has been lost overboard and that only when a big wave broke over the stern during a storm. On the first trip the liferaft was lost overboard during a very bad storm in the South Atlantic, just off Montivideo(the winds at the time peaked at 86 kts). We also broke our port lower shroud on the mast and the spreader bases were later found to be fractured. Now, Alex has just reminded me, on the North West Passage and Atlantic section of this voyage, he trashed an engine and a couple of gearboxes, that's a good effort for such a young chap.
The beer has been rationed but the G&T supplies are holding up well, not long to go now. Cheers Pete.

Oz and the Examiner has another roll

We snuck through the rabbit proof fence - chain mail, red strobes, KEEP OUT notices in Rabbit, Macca wrappers blowin in the wind against the fence, but we're in - Australian territorial waters. Yeeehhhhwooo! Sort of thing. 260 to go to SE Cape so Monday morning subject to the Examiner's next whipcrack - a 30-40 knot SWesterly on Sunday arve and evening as we get to Maatsuuyker which puts us on a nasty lee shore all along the south coast of Tasmania in what could be an ugly sea. Coo! Here we go again!

Right now, Turner reigns - big moon behind straggly cloud scudding across the sky - wispy cloud, black with silver edges, rolling sparkling reflection off a short spiky sea over the top of the usual big SW swell that just keeps rolling along.
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A Wedgie on the barn

Position 0630 26th 4336 14004, trip 119, DMG 115.
In about 35 miles. we'll be in Australian territorial waters. We're already in the East Australian Standard Time zone though, see below, adjustment takes neuronal bandwidth. But I can hear the patter of little cockroach feet and the squeak of the Wedgies. Wonderful birds.
Chris P and anyone else - apologies - my ETA was in UTC so more likely Monday morning but if this wind and grib predictions hold, then we could get lucky.
MJC Tks.
Pete is working on a big one so I'll just send this.
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Telescopic catch-ups

When you've only got three neurons to bang together they tend to concatenate stuff - viz. the Baez Juniper fiasco. When I wrote about the flag hoist for Sydney a few blogs ago, Inuvut should have read Nunavut. My apologies - all three synapses in a twist.
Lies. damned lies and statistics - I was idly doing the numbers for a History of the World by Dogbowl,(by coincidence probably at the same time as Malcom who, unlike Disraeli, can make statistics work) and I think I have sailed Berri about 89,000 miles since November 1993. A few more miles in the old barge and I'll have some idea how to sail her. The trip up the coast will be my 16th going north and 31st between the two ends. I remember the first one each way but the rest are a blur of memories - happy, terrifying and all the in-betweens. And lots of great people. Same with marathons, but for terrifying read agonising. At 4 knots in Berri, 2.6 years, before and abaft the mast. Pre dotage marathons were a bit faster - nearly 9 knots for the best ones, (about 3.8 days on the road averaged at 3.5 hours per gig) but, quoth the Raven: Nevermore! Could probably still manage one at Berri pace, once this indolence induced muscular flaccidity is sorted and an application of Dr. Cooper's medicinal compound, efficacious in every case, is performed.

And I'll have to find that poem, Margy.

Andrew - not half as much as I'm going to miss it! But the fat lady isn't on stage quite yet - there are the small matters of the Examiner, 380 miles to SE Cape and then another 650 or so up the coast against the current to Sydney. Bloggery will happen for a bit longer yet.
Carol G - sorry, haven't got around to proper reply - been trying to keep this laptop in order and I get distracted from the important stuff. The thing keeps dropping my iridium modem and I have to system-restore it almost every day now and it takes longer every time. Tedious. But almost weaned from Iridium - sailmail goes through like the best snake oil at this range.

Corey - great to hear from you - I'll send you an inflatable globe with Berri's voyages on it for the kids. I'd forgotten the microwaved potato! Wish you hadn't reminded me actually - right now I'd love a baked spud with cheese and bacon and black pepper and a pinch of salt but it will have to wait at least 4 days. And a Hobart scallop pie would be grouse too.

Sue - ElPinko likes the ferals - keeps muttering about symbiosis but I reckon they just tickle the erogenous bits.

Chris P - we'll be ok for diesel. If you or anyone else is planning to come out to meet us, SE Cape lateish on Sunday looks the go from here - sorry if it's inconvenient.

(no subject)

Position 0630 25th 4323 13725, trip 108, DMG 106, 416 to SE Cape - about 4 days or Monday March 1st ish. We cracked 14000 miles from Falmouth too - final total will be about 14xxx. Anyone care to guess exactly?
The sun is out, we're twin poled for the mo but about to change, I think. Lots of small birds around and one big albatross earlier - too far off to try to identify. Upwind of Tassie, else we'd be able to smell the farmyard.
Metre by metre...
Love yez all - plese get em crossed again.

Carla, have a great ride, say g'day to Lerizhan from his successor, Elpinkbokkerkergybat and us lot. Keep us posted!

Jarrow...

Baez - thanks to everyone who sent me lyrics and I can see now how the neurons got in a twist. My imaginary version that combined the two songs would have been ideal - hey look at those silly old wrinklies in that daggy old boat, that's what happens to you when you hit the gin bottle - pity. We'll have to revert to Berri's original marching song, Marshall Riley's Army by Lindisfarne - rousing stuff but a different message. Why that one? Riley's grand daughter sailed back from our first Lord Howe race with us about 12 years ago and I have the lyrics in her own handwriting.

470 miles to SE Cape and then about 50 into Hobart. Which way - D'Entrecasteaux Channel or Adventure Bay and the Iron Pot - will depend on the weather and timing. And the trip odometer is at 13990 - coo! But don't anyone forget that we only get a few days off in Hobart and then into what could still be the most difficult leg of the whole voyage up to Sydney. It will be my 15th time, I think.

Blatt - thanks, but I don't need the vinyl. The gig with Dylan, perhaps, if that's out there somewhere.
Chris P - thanks for offer and contacts - I think we're organised but I'll ring you if we do need anything. Possibly 20 litres of diesel if the wind stays like this! No wind generator cos no apparents so we have to charge the batteries with the engine and could be getting low.
Paul D - please ask AW if he would like a set of the pics. We're aiming for Hobart - slowly.
Margy - the phone will ring...!

Later - moving again, twin poled, barn door bound @ 6kt.

we think this is what he is on about ;-)

While the economies of our respective countries crumble further from Berri-induced inactivity, here's a link to the song Alex would like for Flag Hoist - on Youtube. Something to listen to as we wait for them to saunter in to Hobart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4BYOJ1tc-k

provided by Iz in the UK

Baez

Doziness and old fartery prevalent, I'm afraid. Seems my memory ain't so good and I've mixed two Baez songs - probably why I couldn't find the one I thought I was looking for in NY...The Juniper one is 'Copper Kettle' and it's about making illegal whisky so I was at least partly right. The other starts 'Show me the prison...'

Thanks izz and sorry if I've sent all y'all chasing feathered ferals.

We're under 500 to go, but it's going to be slooooow - trickling along at 2 - 3 kts, almost no breeze. 6 days at this rate.

can almost smell the roses

South of Wollongong

Position 0630 24th 4311 13502, trip 129, DMG 124 and SE Cape 516 miles. Well inside the last 628 miles, the last Berrimilla Unit. If we were actually sailing the S2H course, we'd be down approaching Bateman's Bay. From here, it's just a matter of time. Metre by metre, and climb over the white lines in the road.

The sun's out and we had the last 2 Cape Town eggs and 4 of the last 8 slices of bacon with our breakfast dose from the good Doctor from Dublin. Wooohooo. Pete's out in the cockpit in his shorts scraping off the scales.

Request

I would love to have a copy of Joan Baez singing a ballad that I think had the word 'Juniper' in the title, with the chorus 'There but for fortune go you or go I' - it's about the results of too much gin, actually and I think appropriate for the flag hoist.

I tried to find one last time I was in New York, in an amazing record shop and no go. The shop had just about everything else although not the last live gig she did with Dylan (yes please if you've got that too!). Does anyone know what album it's on? Better still, does anyone have a copy? Song or album? And are you willing to send it to me?

If so, could you please tell me via berrimilla2 at gmail. If you have a copy, I'll finger you to send it to my personal gmail.

Thanks!

One for breakfast and a special greeting for Corey

I have just received a deputation purporting to represent all the colonies of ferals now prolificating around the place - the original booties and the baggies, pit, crutchies, mouldies, foodies, dry suit sweaties, boggies, bilgebotties and the rest. They wished to make clear that they take a very dim view of the fact that Tasmania is just Over There and they indicated their intention to emigrate en masse at the first opportunity in Hobart. I told them I'd find them a noice Kiwi boat (just their style) or maybe even a CSIRO research vessel so some real science can be done - and point them in the right direction. Mollification seems to have occurred and they departed to their grots apparently happy. I hear the sounds of trunks and suitcases being dragged from the depths.

They asked me to say farewell to all y'all and thank you for all those bits of flaky skin and bogeys and scrofules and stuff that they know you've been teleporting out here for them to feast on - so all y'all Merci et au revoir from les Feraux. I have a feeling they won't all go and we may have company in the future but I haven't let on that I think it would be a better boat if some of them did stay. We'll see.

Corey D - if you're out there - Very Special G'day! We're almost at the opposite end of the earth down here but thinking of you. You were one of those people without whom the NW passage transit would have been so much more difficult. Thanks! I'll try to stay in better touch.

Other ferals: I have just seen what I think was a sunfish, about as big as a small car, one high aspect ratio triangular fin and a blob. Masses of smaller birds - lots of Black Bellied Storm Petrels, a small flock of prions and possibly some Gould's Petrels. The albatross yesterday was a black brow after all - it came close enough to get a better look.

Paul D - the big albatrosses are almost indistinguishable from eachother as you know - the transition from fledgling to mature has so many variations across the species that a guess is as good as it gets. I've got perhaps 500 raw file photos (very high definition)if you or anyone wants to play with them. Each pic's metadata will allow me to locate the pic within a few miles if that's important but I will have to do it by comparison with the boat's nav data - the Nik predates the GPS versions.

Just been sorting a flag hoist for the Derwent - top to bottom: UK, Ireland (with Royal Cork YC and RNLI burgees) Portugal, South Africa and TAAF Kerguelen (Terres Australes et Antarctiques Francaises). Plus Berri's well travelled Q flag.

The big hoist will be for Sydney, covering both voyages. All the flags should be in Hobart ready for us and top to bottom should be NZ, Chile, Argentina, Falklands, UK, RANSA burgee (representing Australia), USA, Alaska, Canada, Inuvut, Greenland, Cornwall (representing UK the second time) and as above from Ireland, minus the Q. 18 all together unless I've forgotten any - and unique. If I can find the 2009 Fastnet battle flag, we'll hoist that one too.

Fan mail

From a friend in the UK - I thought it ought to be shared:

3 Record Breakers potentially......just thought I'd let you know that in
> this current 24 hours I reckon you've been part of a record breaking
> trio...all in exactly the same place on earth within 24 hours...albeit
> differing speeds and altitudes.
>
> 1. Berri....just about to be only boat on earth to circumnavigate twice,
> the normal way and the "abnormal" way.....
>
> 2. Groupama that should be just about passing you as I write......hopefully
> to become circumnavigating record breaker
>
> 3. Space Shuttle.....I watched Endeavour landing live on the web last night
> and shortly after her de-orbit burn on her last orbit to land she passed
> directly overhead you (12.30 midday your time) coming in to land....long
> finals so to speak. It was the last ever night landing and therefore the
> last ever circumavigation of a shuttle to land at night.
>
> O.k. I know I'm being adventurous but seems to me that's a nice record
> breaking trio to be a part of !!!

Yep! Thanks Sue - noice indeed! But the Examiner still lurks, even on long finals.

Barn door quicky.

Position 0630 23rd 4318 13209, trip 132, DMG 128 and 640 to SE Cape - only 1 BU to go and the weather looks kind for the next couple of days at least. New grib when send this.
So with a bit of luck, we will be in the Derwent this time next week.

A funny old life part 2

Groupama3 will overtake us today. I've been in touch with the navigator, Stan Honey, who is a friend - talking to him is a bit like talking to Leroy Chiao in the International Space Station - same concept, we're both circling the earth, only the technology is different. G3 will pass us at about the same distance as Leroy and they are going nearly as fast. A shame we won't see them as they flash by. More circles in the sand - this really all began with Leroy.
We're flying too - nearly 7 knots directly at the flaky green door and we can almost smell the farmyard. Tasmania fills the horizon, but over the hump. Maatsuuyker is one BU ahead and SE Cape another 50 miles or so. This morning's position will be the transition point - from tomorrow I will measure DMG from SE Cape.
Val and Jill - and John and Sherryl, Kimbra, Mark, Kate and the Westies - odd to be looking back at you all. And we are now looking at the true north pole from the east side of the magnetic pole so new rule: Variation East, Compass Least. Val, the Examiner is an imaginary evil being that stalks the oceans and sets difficult exam questions for unfortunate sailors who have the temerity to test her authority. I tend to think of her in hot pink leathers, hob nailed boots and carrying a stockwhip but she could just as easily be a gargoyle on the nearest cloud. She never sleeps and we must pass every exam or we are very deep in the poo.
And here we are, in the middle of the Great Australian Bight and I've been listening to Adam Spencer on Breakfast Radio in Sydney, telling us about the state of the traffic jams, the stock market and the bear pit that is NSW politics. There's a window between about 0400 local until sunrise when I can pull in the broadcast. I bet he doesn't know we're listening.
MJC, tks for shipping news.
Sue, hang in there - we're nearly in the bleachers.
Heggie - set the Examiner on to the cats - we'll send her up to you.
GV - don't you dare drink it. These things take time. And thanks!

A funny old life

Position 0630 22nd 4314 12913, trip 118, DMG 110 - mildly astonishing given the meanderings and wobbly winds but there we are. If we can keep 5 kts on the clock we should make Maatsuuyker by Sunday. Not too hopeful at this stage. Groupama will be a green flash beyond our southern horizon in the next 24 hours or so.

Young, black on top and white faced albatross still around and a smaller one - looks like a black brow but isn't - and prions all over the place.

I've just been asked to do a short article for the Friends of the Pitt Rivers Museum newsletter - a bunch of readers whose towering erudition leaves me quaking and awestruck - long story but to do with the alcohol token, a coin substitute, that has been accepted from my sister by the PRM. Odd though because I once shared a house with someone who later became quite respectable and went off to Oxford to become the Director (don't know his proper title) of the PRM, which up till I learned about his appointment I had never heard of. Circles in the sand.

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A zig and a zag, a this and a that

Been a bit overwhelmed for a day or so. Wind great in the progress sense but keeping Berri together and hooning in these seas is a touch unrelenting and the grackling and clenchening keeps the decrepit metabolism working in high gear. Not quite 'not having fun' cos we are moving towards towards the flaky paint and rusty hinges but wearying.

Anyone seen the moon recently? Or the sun? I think we're on the wrong planet - will extract old faithful Merlin to get some times.

Bashing through the og we were earlier, black squally night, occasional glimpses of brilliantly sparkling stars. Vaguely aware of new banging thump, intermittent, sporadic - seemed to be coming from stbd q-berth so put it down to movement of bags of food cans and empty fuel drums squashed in there. A bigger roll than usual (meaning a very big one indeed) bigger crash and all the lights, instruments, electrics generally karked. Dark dark but for faint glow of some LEDs and the USB gadget powered by the computer. Dooon't Paaanic! Reach for blue towel, wake Pete and start closing everything down and begin diagnosis.

No radio (connected directly to the battery, bypassing the isolation switch), no engine start from either battery, no wind generator, lights, instruments. Oddly, some LED indicators on switch panel still working along with 12v dc outlets. Unpack q-berth to get at main battery box, nothing obvious, big shunt connections ok - 12.7 v from each battery so - phew! - we haven't cooked them - then a big lurch and the two big batteries and all their rats nest of wiring moved a couple of centimetres inside the battery box. That's it! The new crashing noise. Feel and prod all the terminals and massive wires and Eureka! the main negative lead runs from the terminal through a slot cut into the top of the rear side of the battery box and off to the shunt and it has parted inside the insulation over the crimp to the spade terminal. A classic stress fracture - the end of the 8mm copper wire looked just like a bit of brown cheese. While still held together inside the insulation there must have been just enough current to keep those LED's glowing.
From there, what to do? We don't carry spade terminals that big, or a crimper either. But we do have cable clamps to bypass shroud failures - big ones! We clamped the broken end of the wire to another big negative wire crimp on the battery terminal and bobsyer! Back in business. Sounds easy but imagine doing it with your armchair rising and falling 15 feet or so, rolling through 60 degrees and pitching so your nose hits the table in front of you. I'm gobsmacked that the electrics kept working so well for so long - hanging by a thread it must have been for quite a long time.
So - the cause - it seems that the negative lead going through the slot must have been holding 30 kilos or so of battery more or less in place for the two years since they were installed, but with a bit of movement happening in the heavy weather stuff causing the wire to flex at the crimp, weaken, the movement to increase, the wire to strand and eventually part.
And the fix - all y'all make absolutely sure that your batteries are wedged as tightly as possible into their boxes as well as being strapped down. We banged a couple of softwood plugs into the space for Berri and it will all get us home.

Here endeth the lesson for the day.

Quickie

Psitiion 0630 21st 4345 12337, trip 124, DMG 117. Chequered progress - sunshine, rain, gale, big rolling swells, short, vicious lumpy seas - roll up, roll up, come for a trip in the old Bucket in the Bight - thrills, nailbiting, chunder gaslore.

Pete's daughter, Sarah is 30 today! Happy Birthday Sarah! All y'all Consult and send happy vibes.

MJC - tks for whalers.