It is certainly getting hotter as we approach the equator and the temperature is now 27.8 degrees celsius. Miraculously we still have a nice breeze of around 10-15 knots from the south east which is moderating the temperature on board ship. The Ampair wind generator is still turning away and providing us with some additional power. The wind has also enabled us to record another 80 miles over the last 24 hours with 884 miles to run to Ghana.

Last night was a pleasant evening with a beautiful sunset and small green flash as the sun disappeared from view. We had the “Best of Simply Red” playing in the background until the darkness of the night sky descended upon the ship. As the evening wore on, hundreds of shimmering stars appeared alongside an almost full moon. Occasionally the peacefulness of the illuminated night sky was punctuated by dark black and rain-filled clouds. Fortunately the evening breeze carried the worrying clouds away and left us to enjoy the evening. During the early hours of the morning we caught another two anguilla which supplemented lunch. Lunch was a reasonably well disguised (at least in terms of taste) chicken luncheon meat, served in a dried coconut and hot chilli sauce. At least we are using up our supply of tinned foods, some of which are now several months old and in rusty cans!

This morning we saw our first ship since leaving St Helena, a large carrier that crossed our bow a few miles in front of us and was heading eastwards towards Angola. Eric and others are repairing a whole in the dingy and making the best of an otherwise very hot day.

The weather continues to get warmer (28.6C today) and the breeze remains good for the time being. We have done another 86 miles and now have 798 miles to run to go to Ghana. 

Yesterday evening was relatively busy (having seen only one ship during the last week) as we encountered 3 more ships (two super tankers and a fishing boat) and another 2 container ships earlier today. In most cases we altered course to avoid getting too close, although in theory they should have given way to us as we are under sail. Still it is best not to argue with super tankers hurrying back to Europe at full speed! 

We caught yet another anguilla this morning and a squid. A large dorado that was caught on the rod managed to get away before it could be brought on board.

This morning we have had noodles for breakfast and a special vegetable fritter prepared by Irvan who was trying to use up the old vegetables. Joko and Eric are cooking a beef stir-fry for lunch. The galley seems to be busy for most of the day.

Apart from that there is a lot of journal writing and reading going on and a few discussions about what we are going to do when we get to Ghana. We are nearly half way there from St Helena but the slowest part of the journey is yet to come! So that topic is going to run for some time to come.

The next event is meeting with King Neptune as we pass the equator and celebrate his patronage of the oceans. We still have a few days to go before we reach the equator but it will undoubtedly be a special day for the crew.

Yesterday afternoon we caught a 30lb stylishly blue and silver coloured Wahoo which provided an excellent supper, breakfast and lunch! Landing it was a bit of a commotion but we did it in the end, even if the deck was covered in tangled and knotted fishing line and blood. 

 This morning we witnessed a beautiful pink dawn over a greyish blue sea and cloudy white sky. The cool of the early morning and the beautiful pink and golden colours mixing with the clouds made for a very special experience. It was enhanced many fold over by a pod of about 100 dolphins on our starboard beam and silhouetted against the rising sun. The dolphins seemed to like the company of our ship and swam alongside for the best part of 20 minutes and stretching out over an area of about 200-300 metres. At times we could see many different shaped fins including those of a few young calves. It was a wonderful sight and appeared to have been put on just for us, although they probably do something equally peaceful and serene every morning. But today it was our special treat to see it.

Today is Dirman’s 29^th birthday. Dirman is our Number 1 man for most things including woodwork, sailing, fishing, repairing virtually anything, playing chess and many other likeable attributes. So it will be a very popular birthday when we come to celebrate it later this evening. Salamat Ulang Tahun Dirman! 

Finally we are starting to reflect on how this historic journey has been made possible. Frankly it would not have happened without the support of many, many people and organisations who gave generously of their time and expertise. So for the next week or so we are going to take this opportunity to thank some of those who have made an important contribution to the expedition.

In Indonesia when the ship was being prepared for the voyage, we were very fortunate to have the active support of the senior shipbuilder Pak Ass’ad and his son Rauf. We were also incredibly fortunate to have Tiger Timbs come up from Australia for 6 weeks to get the vessel “ship-shape” and put some order and procedures in place. . Also the fitting of a huge amount of equipment and electronics was undertaken in record time (just over a week) by Gordon Teenan from the UK, which has more than stood the test of the expedition.

Ibu Mimis Sasmoyo, Farquhar Stirling and Lillie were all instrumental in arranging and securing significant help for the expedition to which we have been grateful on a daily basis. There are many other individuals and organisations who have helped and we hope to thank many of them over the coming days. In the meantime, a huge thanks to all the individuals mentioned above. Without your support and help it would not have happened on the scale it has..

Dirman’s birthday went well and we are now looking forward to crossing the equator at sometime tomorrow morning. King Neptune will be in charge of the initiation ceremonies as we cross the line! 

Meanwhile a big “thank you” to all of those who have helped the expedition in the UK. In particular, to Capt. Malcolm Shakesby MBE, for his many hours of advice and assistance. Colin Page, Victoria and David Sadler for their combined help in sourcing and providing equipment. To Caroline Cecil, Julia and Diane for the expedition’s Public Relations. 

And finally a huge thank you to Duncan and Richard Mortimer from Remitrom.com, who have developed and maintained the website on a daily basis for the last year. Doubtless they have done a fantastic job in first designing and then keeping the site up to date with the progress of the expedition.

Thanks also to the many of you who have also helped in the UK but space prohibits mentioning everybody here. However a full list of sponsors, supporters and friends of the expedition will appear in due course and again in the expedition report and book of the expedition.

Weather conditions have changed over the last 24 hours, as we have experienced two heavy down pours and high and changeable winds that blow from all directions of the compass. Eventually the winds subside, the squall passes over the ship, leaving it very damp but with a clean deck from the fresh water rather than the usual sticky saltwater that coats it. In both cases we have had to furl the mizzen to make the ship more manageable only to unfurl it a few hours later. 

At 0745 hours this morning after crossing the equator King Neptune held his initiation ceremony for those, which accounted for most of the crew, who had not crossed the equator under sail. Unspeakable things were then done to the “mere mortals” including being forced to eat mouthfuls of cold tinned fish and corned beef, drinking salted orange juice and having food covered over them and a lock of hair cut and tossed towards Neptune’s domain. Neptune then proclaimed the following:  VIEW KING NEPTUNE'S SPEECH >> 

The night rolled on and the sailing became even more bizarre. The wind changed many times and at one point we were heading back towards the equator for a few miles. Then we had another rain storm and the wind direction changed again and we had a little spurt of progress along our intended track. The wind evaporated again and we were back to the “plip-plopping” of outriggers beating against the sea, trying to find some balance without the wind on the sails to help them.

During the morning at around 0600 hours we suddenly found some wind and for a few hours we were doing around 5 knots but unfortunately that too subsided. At the end of the 24 hour period we had done just 62 miles (our worst day since St. Helena) with some 277 miles to go to Ghana. The crew have a competition running as to when we will arrive in Ghana. Dates range from 22^nd to the 29^th February and the winner’s prize is a box of smarties!!

The weather remains warm and sunny and it is almost a pleasure to go for a nice 30 degree shower or “mandi” as we call it. It was only a few weeks ago that it was so cold that going for a mandi would be put off for as many days as possible.

 We are starting to come to the last of some of our supplies. Today, for example, we reached the end of our “mi” or noodles that we brought from Indonesia. In fact over the last 7 months we have eaten our way the through 64 boxes (24 packets in each, making 1536 packets in all) of Indofoods’ best noodles “super mi”. In the process of eating them we have become experts in opening the bags with out splitting them, carefully opening the sachets of spices and oils contained inside, and filling the bags with boiling hot water. Then a clothes peg is attached around the top of the bag to make sure the contents are not spilt all over the cabin floor whilst the noodles cook for a couple of minutes. The resulting bags of spicy noodles have provided many hours of pleasurable snacking. It also provides a sense of achievement to get the procedure so well organised that there are no mishaps on the way! In only a few days we are going to miss these little challenges that have occupied us over the last few months. ...Still it has been great fun.
.

Meanwhile we have been encompassing more of largest ships that roam the oceans, that of the super tankers. Late yesterday afternoon we came across a Norwegian tanker, called Front Hunter, that was just drifting (too deep to anchor out her where the sea depth is 4,000 meters) and waiting for orders to tell it where it had to go next. We called her up on the VHF and were told that they had a mainly Russian crew who had been waiting for “orders” for two days. We had visions that they might send us some ice cream, soft drinks and steaks for dinner but the conversation never really got going and we said our goodbyes as we sailed slowly off into the night. Thus we face another few days of tinned fish and corned beef with rice! This morning we saw another super tanker, this time heading at some speed towards oil rich Nigeria.

Meanwhile we are now sailing goose winged again with a modest breeze just on the port quarter. Tomorrow we are planning to do a final bit of filming of the ship under sail for the documentary and some stills shots as well.

Once we arrive in Tema there will be a number of welcoming presentations, seminars and cultural shows in Accra over the next week to 10 days to celebrate this historic voyage. These have kindly been arranged by the Indonesian Embassy, The British Council, the National Commission on Culture, UNESCO and other organisations supporting the expedition. Over that time we plan that the ship will be prepared for transportation to Indonesia and its equipment will be dismantled for return to the UK. The Indonesian and International crew members will return home to their respective countries in early March.

At the moment we have not been able to identify any suitable shippers who will be able to sponsor the transportation of the ship back to the National Museum in Indonesia. Ideas and offers via email to the website gratefully received! 

 LATEST POSITION