Days 70 Arrival and Cargo work 17 February 2011

Hello All

Excuse me for sending yesterday's noon report only today, but the hive of activity prevented me from sitting behind the PC for long enough to complete it.

Well we are alongside now at East Pier and the first 3 heavy lift vehicles and 4 AWI containers has been discharged this morning with the rest going still this afternoon.

We estimate that cargo work will still continue until next week Tuesday with no Cargo work planned for the weekend.

It is good to be back even though the Cape Doctor is reminding us of its brute strength.

Have a good day.

Day 69 : 15 February 2011

Hello All

We are having a very beautiful day out here with the ships speed averaging 12.3kn for the preceding 24 hours. With this speed we are able to get into the bay by 23:00 and will probably go to anchor until first light before going alongside. This will at least allow members to dial their loved ones on their cell phones tonight.

Have a splendid day.

Day 68 : 14 February 2011

Hello All

We have had a good start to the week with only a few days left of this voyage. We managed a credible 11.8 kn average Noon to Noon, it is almost as if the vessel has smelled the stables and is now galloping in the final strides.

We had our Group Leaders meeting this morning and the feedback in general was quite positive with everyone successfully completing all the tasks set out to be done.

We all feel a bit overwhelmed by the sweltering heat with an outside temperature of 22.5°C, I wonder what we are going to feel like when we hit the 30°C mark in Cape Town.

Have a good start to the week.

Day 67 : 13 February 2012

Hello All

Yesterday afternoon we got hammered by a depression sneeking through quickly and pushing up quite a swell. Until midnight last night we had around 50 knots of wind with a 6 meter swell on the quarter as we maintained our course. The ship took it very well and we only made slight adjustments to allow for a comfortable transit.

Since then the barometer has been sky rocketing, providing the long last sunny day we were so hoping for. The swell still remains, but at least the wind is down and the sun is shining. Finally there are also no icebergs to report, which is a relief.

We are still awaiting the sight of some other vessels and will be expecting that towards tonight and tomorrow as we enter the shipping routes.

Have a relaxing Sunday afternoon.

Day 66 : 12 February 2012

Hello All

We maintained a very good speed during the preceding 23 hours as the wind and current push us along. We advanced our clocks to GMT + 1 last night and will do so again on Monday night to arrive with the Ship time on SAST.

We are amazed to still see icebergs as we travel North East at 45°S. The seawater temperature is above 10 degrees and still we find icebergs...well there has been sightings of an iceberg reported from Cape Point years before.

There is another smaller front on its way pass now with isolated down pours observed from passing low level cumulus. I hope Cape Town has plenty of sunlight spare for us, since we have been getting very little and are looking forward to a nice sunny day.

Enjoy the afternoon.

Day 65 : 11 February 2011

Hello All

The visibility remained restricted the entire afternoon yesterday, but with only a few white horses from the wind the radar detection remained extremely good. We altered onto the 2nd last leg of the Good Hope transect last night after supper, but had to slow down for about an hour while the scientist recovered the UCTD.

We deployed a Weather Services buoy early this morning and are making very good progress. The weather outlook for tomorrow night is not looking to bright, but we will take it on the chin as see it as a farewell gesture from Neptune.

Our ETA has now been set to 08:00SAST on the 16th of February 2011, if all goes well we will see you then.

Enjoy the start to the weekend.

Day 64 : 10 February 2011

Hello All

Finally we made better speed during the previous 24 hours almost averaging 11 knots. The sea temperature is rising all the time as we pass the ocean front. Only one iceberg was detected by radar this morning, hopefully it will be the last.

Tonight, shortly after supper, we are expected to reach out northerly most point on the Greenwich Meridian after which we will alter more towards Cape Town on the 2nd last leg of the Good Hope Transect line.

Excitement for the arrival in Cape Town is now slowly building as we see the outside temperature also on an upward trend....hopefully we will not melt in the heat of Cape Town :-)

Day 63 : 09 February 2011

Hello All

We are still fighting a losing battle against the strong northerly winds, which is pushing our speed down as we travel north on the Greenwich Meridian while conducting underway scientific sampling throughout.

A smaller front approached again shortly before lunch suddenly surrounding the vessel with a thick fog bank, cutting our glimpse of the sun off.

We are still in bergy waters and are now looking forward to having ice free waters ahead of us. We are quite fortunate to have amazing bird life around the ship, which is increasing as we approach Bouvet Island. Several whale sightings are made every day.

Keep well and enjoy the midweek.

Day 62 : 08 February 2011

Hello All

The quarterly seas did not last long yesterday as the next front approached and the prefrontal precipitation started. By midnight snow would build up against the bridge windows and then fall down in sheets. Again we slowed down due to still coming across icebergs, bergy bits and growlers with darkness also in the mix now.

This morning it cleared somewhat, but by then the front was upon us and the wind came away strongly from the north pushing up a steep wind swell which affected our progress quite significantly. The wind is backing as we speak and hopefully later this afternoon we will be able to regain a better speed.

Keep well and enjoy the Tuesday.

Day 61 : 07 February 2011

Hello All

Snow, sleet and fog kept reducing visibility as the front came through with us having to slow down during hours of darkness due to reduced visibility in bergy waters.

This morning however we were very pleased too again have the sun on our faces. The sw'ly winds are pushing moderately with a 4 meter swell on the quarter making the ship more lively to what we are used to. A comforting feeling to some and a nauseating feeling to those who are still looking for their sea legs.

The average speed almost made 10 knots which is quite low but the result of the slow down during the night.

Have a good start to the week.