We moved on to the starboard tack by switching the mizzen, as until then we had been sailing goose winged and there was no need to change the main sail. Since then we have made a slightly better course as far as getting to St.Helena is concerned. We have also made 113 miles over the past 24 hours and have 296 miles to run to St. Helena and have completed 1416 miles since leaving Cape Town.

During the night we seem to have had quite a few flying fish visit us in various ways One came through the hatch and ended up in Aziz’s bunk. Another couple ended up in a washing basin, and a further one hit Ross whilst he stood in the cockpit. Others ended up around the gallery of the ship.

We have also witnessed an amazing display from a shoal of about 50 dolphins earlier today. They were busy fishing and diving in and out of the water, giving us a wonderful display of their acrobatic skills. Their speed and agility set against the beautiful deep blue sea was a wonderful sight. All too soon we passed them by as they continued to focus on a small patch of sea that was clearly yielding a lot of fish.

The conditions have remained pretty much the same as before for the last 24 hours and we have completed another 98 miles in the process. We now have less than 200 miles to run to St Helena and have completed 1594 miles since leaving Cape Town. 

Today we said goodbye to the cockerel with Joko being master of ceremonies. Lunch was chicken stew but amongst 15 of us  there was not that much to go round, so the meal was supplemented with some tinned sausages.

As one bird left us another one arrived for a short visit. This time a beautiful Tropic bird, mainly white with distinctive long but dark tail feathers. It circled around the ship for a couple of hours, approaching us many times as if to land but never quite picking up the courage to do so. Still it provided a lovely and harmonious sight as it circled around us. 

For the second day running we did 98 miles over the past 24 hours and now have 103 miles to run to St Helena. We will be heading for the north of the island and then using the easterly winds to go around the headland towards James Bay and Jamestown. With luck we should be in tomorrow afternoon.

Today we caught a snake fish which was the best part of a meter long, very thin and an evil looking creature with big teeth. It ended up as part of lunch as you would expect. A bit on the bony side for most of us…however our star fisherman (Putu) hasn’t had much luck of late with the Dorado and Tuna. So we have to be thankful for what we can get.

It is also Corinne’s birthday today, a special supper is being created for which attendees have to dress up. Niken and Irvan have made a cake and it is another excuse for a happy hour. Plus we are going to eat the chocolates that the kind lady from Nestle in Port Elizabeth gave us. Many thanks to her.

Instead of the wind increasing in strength it has become weaker. So over the last 24 hours we have made only 78 miles with 27miles to run to the anchorage. Our ETA to reach James Bay, St Helena, is now around midnight and may possibly be tomorrow morning.

We spotted land at 0900 hours this morning when we were about 35 miles from the island. The highest point is about 2500 feet, so it wasn’t difficult to see it once it was in range.

Over night we caught another…err Anguilla (marine biologist Niken says yesterday’s fish was not a snake fish which is something else, nor is it related to the Barracuda family. So there you have it, two Anguilla caught in the last two days bringing our total to 36 fish since the beginning of the trip. Tomorrow we will be having something different for lunch!

We plan to leave St Helena, for our final destination of Ghana, on Saturday.

The wind freshened slightly yesterday afternoon and we made the remaining 27 miles in, 9 hours anchoring at 2117 hours GMT on 2^nd February. We approached James Bay just after dark but there was enough light at dusk to see the outline of the very rocky cliffs that form most of the exterior of St. Helena and in particular the approaches to the anchorage.

We are anchored in about 27 meters of water about 0.3 of a mile from the shore.

Today we plan to clear customs and immigration and then make arrangements to see the island and some of the Napoleonic sites. We plan to re-supply the ship later in the week and leave on Saturday.

We awoke at 5am to be greeted by the sound of RMS(Royal Mail Ship) St. Helena at close quarters coming to anchor rather too close to us. We had unfortunately dragged our anchor, so that we were in the anchorage position that the RMS St. Helena usually uses. So we got off to a cracking start. The RMS St Helena was stopping for its fortnightly visit to resupply the island and had already had a difficult journey from Cape Town because of engine problems. Their arrival at James Bay therefore ended a difficult voyage in some style. As they were around 24 hours late, the unloading of goods and passengers for the island started very early and we were able, amongst other things, to witness the comings and goings at first hand! Several hundred islanders turned out to meet the ship.

During the morning we continued to slowly drag our anchor, so that by the time we came to leave at around 1130hours GMT, we had already made a partial and graceful exit from the bay!

So against the backdrop of a beautiful sunny day, the rugged cliffs of James Bay, we pulled in the anchor (certainly already off the bottom and dangling in about a 100meters of water!) and hoisted and then unfurled the main sail and mizzen.

So far we have managed about 355-360 degrees (almost due north) but we need to achieve around 020degrees ( a bit further to the east). Still we are hopeful that as we head north towards Ghana the wind will become more southerly and we won’t find it too difficult to make the course we need. Finding enough wind around the equator may be the more difficult problem! Only time will tell.

Having left the peaceful island of St Helena yesterday we are making better than expected progress towards Ghana. As we do so we have brought with us great memories from our visit, an island steeped in sailing and Napoleonic history and a culture of peaceful integration of peoples from all over the world during the last 500 years. We were privileged to visit the island and are very grateful to all of the islanders who helped us during our brief stay.

Since leaving the wind has been a little better than we might have expected in both strength and direction. It is around 15-20 knots and has come round towards the south, so we are making a course that is better than true north at 010 degrees. The wind, which is just ahead of our beam, still needs to come around a little further but there will be plenty of time for that. Surprisingly the sky has been overcast since we left St Helena, and so we have not yet experienced the tropical weather associated with this area as we head north. No doubt that will come in time too.

During our first 24 hours we have made 97 miles. There are some 1233 miles to go to reach Ghana but because of the doldrums around the equator we are expecting to average around 75-80 miles a day. So an 18-20 day voyage seems most likely at this stage but it is early in the voyage to attach much certainty to these figures!

We have had a day of mixed fortunes. The weather, whilst still overcast, has maintained the wind speed of around 15-20 knots and we have managed to complete another 90 miles over the period. There is now some 1144 miles to run to Ghana. The weather is becoming warmer and whilst we have seen little of the sun, we expect many hot (and windless) days ahead. So the weather has been pretty kind to us from a sailing point of view.

Meanwhile a number of the crew are suffering from upset stomachs and are taking it easy in their bunks or visiting the heads! The bug probably arose from the abundance of fish that was caught in James Bay whilst we were at anchor and was subsequently eaten during the last couple of days. Whilst it is none too pleasant to have an upset stomach and to have to make numerous trips to the heads, the problem doesn’t appear to be too serious. And the “dried fish” has now been dumped overboard as a precaution.

On a brighter note, today is Adam’s 18th birthday. So in just a matter of hours he has become an adult! And we will be celebrating with him later today. Unfortunately we have not made a cake for him …yet…(nor could we find one in St Helena) but there is lots of chocolate and beer instead!

During the night the sky was overcast again but we had reasonable winds from the south east of 15-20 knots. We also had some light rain during the early morning. Since then the weather pattern has given way to a very warm and sunny day. The sea has turned from a greyish colour to a beautiful turquoise blue with the occasional white crests on the top of modest waves. The sailing is a little slower than previously but this is typical sailing for the area. 

The wind has now dropped to about 10 knots and we are doing about 3 knots. Over the last 24 hours we have made 93 miles and have 1051 miles to go to Ghana. By midnight there will be under a 1000 miles to go. 

The crew seem to be recovering from the stomach problems of the last few days. Even Dirman, who had requested a special back scratching and blood letting to get over his ailment, seems to be recovering from the resulting bruising to his back and the stomach problem! A strange thing this traditional eastern cure for putting right such ailments. But each to their own.

We have had another reasonable day of sailing towards Ghana. Although the weather has been changeable, at times cloudy and overcast with light rain to bright sunshine and blue skies, the overall result has been similar to the preceding days. Over the 24 hours we have managed another 89 miles and now have some 962 miles to run to Ghana.

The high point of yesterday was the pancakes that were made by Doug. They were made in advance of Shrove Tuesday because the eggs were unlikely to last until the 24^th February. The pancakes were as good as you could make in your own kitchen and with a bit of lemon juice and sugar were delicious! Doug claims, it appears with some justification, than pancakes are one of his specialties at home! 

This morning another Anguilla was caught, so Corinne and Adam cooked fish cakes for lunch which were also very good too. Yesterday afternoon we saw many shoals of beautifully coloured tuna swimming alongside the ship. They carefully avoided all attempts to catch them, so we have made do with the anguilla which was our first fresh fish caught since leaving St Helena.

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