SAA II Delivery - Day 26 / 02 May 2012

Hello All

As my kids said...only one more sleep!!

We came in thick fog yesterday afternoon into the St. Helena Bay anchorage and was actually quite surprised to find a handful of bulkies anchored in the bay, probably waiting on their berths to come available at the iron ore terminals in Saldanha. Well we found a snuggle spot to anchor for the night while waiting on some DEA personnel to come onboard the next morning early to brief us on our arrival proceedings.

We were lucky and the fog lifted nicely to allow us to run our FRB in and pick 3 delegates up this morning. We are also taking out some time to dress up the ship and prepare the accommodation ladder and so forth. We would not want to struggle with any of those things tomorrow.

After our last team supper tonight we will recover the anchor and make for our last leg to the Mother City, hold thumbs for a good weather day, please.

Have a good midweek and see you tomorrow.

All the best.

SAA II Delivery - Day 25 / 01 May 2012

Hello All

Yesterday we got hammered a bit by the north westerly gale, but luckily it subsided relatively quickly. It was difficult to adjust to a comfortable heading with the seas and mayor swell almost apposing.

We made radar and visual landfall yesterday after many days of not having any land in sight, quite a welcoming event. We are slow steaming along the west coast and abeam to Lambertsbay at the moment heading south.

This morning we woke to what we know at sea as "pea soup", thick fog which even closes in the foremast. One has to think of sailors back in the day without radar...sure they had hair on their teeth.

We even had cell phone signal for a short while last night and this morning. Needless to say everyone grabbed their phones to say a quick "hello" before arrival.

Enjoy the public holiday and all the best.

SAA II Delivery - Day 24 / 30 April 2012

Hello All

From a stunning day yesterday to a true South African howling north westerly wind today. We don't mind and feel right at home and was expecting this weather for this time of the year.

We crossed the Namibian/South African seaward border this morning at 02:42 in position 29°37'S 015°03.4'E. The first time the vessel enters her home waters, quite an event.

Well we have decided to hove too the weather for the remainder of the day further offshore to stay well clear of a lee shore.

The weather forecasts are predicting some rain for the next few days and in particular our day of arrival on the 3rd of May...who organised that? ;-)

Have a good start to the week and see you on Thursday.

SAA II Delivery - Day 23 / 29 April 2012

Hello All

We were treated to quite the steak night last night and were only short of a nice glass of merlot, but that left for another time.

This morning we woke up to the best weather we had this voyage and the sea looked more like a lake with only a long south westerly swell giving away its true colours. We decided to use this weather to stop for a short while and respool the top layer of the CTD winch wire by deploying the Mock-Up CTD we have onboard. This also gave the guys a good chance to familiarise themselves with the equipment. We also opened and tested the moonpool hatches while we were stopped. It is days like this that one wants to test and deploy all the boats and equipment that you can since there are not many such days especially in the southern oceans where we would normally find ourselves.

We are still making very good speed and are well on schedule for our intended arrival in Cape Town on the morning of the 3rd of May 2012.

Have a relaxing Sunday and see you next week.

SAA II Delivery - Day 22 / 28 April 2012

Hello All

Yesterday afternoon went rather eventless and we took some time to appreciate the Freedom's day celebration, even though at sea most days feel the same and only diffirentiated by what is on the menu, which brings us to tonight....last steak night before Cape Town...Whooww!

This morning we had an amazing occasion to celebrate. Today it is the 50th Birthday of our onboard ETO (Electro Technical Officer) and it was rightly celebrated with a large cake and coffee for all in the mess room. A "A3" size birhtday card was sigend by all, after all it is a really big birthday and it is nice to share it with Vince Kruger here onboard the S.A. Agulhas II on her maiden voyage. I am sure that another celebration will be on the cards once he is home with friends and loved ones.

We are now abeam to the West of Walvisbay by 290 Nautical Miles and this morning edged our course a bit more in towards the coast. We are having a stunning day out at sea with the South Easter now a mere gentle breeze.

Well, I do hope that you are all standing around a Saturday afternoon "braai" with a cold one in hand waiting in anticipation for the rugby to kick off.

All the best.

SAA II Delivery - Day 22 / 27 April 2012

Hello All

We made good progress at our reduced settings and are now sort of half way between the Kunene and Walsvisbay quite far offshore, but closing daily.

The skies today are more overcast than usual and rain was threatening but never came through. The barometric pressure has been constantly high though at around 1015, so maybe that explains it. The South easter we have been facing the last view days remained through the last 24 hours and we wonder when that will finally change.

I believe Cape Town has been getting some rain, winter is coming then.

Well, enjoy your day of Freedom.

All the best.

SAA II Delivery - Day 20 / 26 April 2012

Hello All

The swell period increased yesterday and we had the long even swells of the South Atlantic that we are used to. The vessel rode them out nicely so we were gently moving to the motion of the ocean.

Last night, for the first time since we left, we went UMS (Unmanned) in the engine room without any alarms during the night, quite an accomplishment, well done to the guys down below.

We are still unpacking spare parts and bits and pieces and have now started with giving the inside of the accommodation a shine after spending all the good weather days mostly outside washing, cleaning and securing.

We are now 420 miles to the west of the Kunene river mouth, the northern boarder between Namibia and Angola and edging closer to the home land on a course of 140°T.

Enjoy the rest of your day and see you soon!

SAAII Delivery - Day 19 / 25 April 2012

Hello All

Yesterday afternoon we used the extra time we have in hand to run the engines in different configurations and at different combinator settings to note the power changes for future reference. We managed to bring her down to run on two propellers on only one generator, but later found that it was not good for the shaft bearings since the jacking pumps then have to run continuously. There are still some ways around that which we will investigate in time. At least we have many options, as they say many ways to skin a cat :-)

Early this morning before sunrise we crossed over to the "right" side of the Greenwich meridian and were glad to see the sun rise at a more respectable time shortly after eight and it will probably also set tonight at a more reasonable time.

We have slowed our progress down a bit to keep within our arrival schedule.

Have a splendid mid week.

SAA II Delivery - Day 18 / 24 April 2012

Hello All

Another day on the big blue ocean for us, with no other vessel's in sight, quite blissful.

Yesterday afternoon the ocean surface was strangely rippling with sea life. We had shoals of fish breaking the surface, flying fish and flocks of birds all over, probably feeding off the fish.

The adverse current released its grip last night and our speed attested to that.

Today we have a clear, almost cloudless day with the predominant South Easter somewhat moderated from what it was yesterday.

The daily ambient and sea water temperatures are falling now by a degree to a degree and a half as we move further south.

Have a good day.

SAA II Delivery - Day 17 / 23 April 2012

Hello All

We have similar condition to what we had yesterday with a moderate head wind and an adverse current slowing us down slightly but we still managed over 13 knots for the day. We had one vessel on the radar yesterday and that was all in the way of traffic.

Another 10 days to go before seeing the blue mountain or in seaman's terms...only one more steak night!

This morning we made some time for a safety drill for all.

Have a good start to the week