View all 42 photos of our arrival in Rio here:
https://plus.google.com/photos/+TrevorWilkins/albums/5972846285796030017
Monday, January 27, 2014
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Day 22 on Rocket / Stop Rhino Poaching
Dear Family and Friends
With just a few km to the finish of the Cape2Rio 2014 yacht race, I am happy to report that all is well, in fact all is fantastic, aboard Rocket/Stop Rhino Poaching.
Last night we literally flew through the night. The winds were gusting over 50kph and we had to even reduce sail – there was little sleep and much excitement – we could taste Rio.
Early this morning the wind died to a dribble – and our last 55km has been at less than 10kph. Frustrating to say the least – but at least we can see our end goal.
This will be the last posting of our adventure – thanks to ALL of you who have shared this journey with us. It’s been really fun knowing that we have some avid readers of our passage.
For the experienced sailors on our boat, this has been another transatlantic crossing – another notch in the belt. For us newbies this is the completion of a truly unique lifetime experience.
My impression is that our emotions have been thrown into a Laundromat and violently turned and tossed around. We have experienced close to absolute desperation during those initial seasick days. We have had variations of anguish, fear or panic (depending if you were simply thrown out of bed during a two-step broach or if you were the cause of this particularly inelegant dance). And of course we are now experiencing elation at the final completion and achievement if this goal. Our initial goal was just to safely complete the journey. The fact that we have fared so well is quite remarkable and of course gratifying to all of us.
This yacht Rocket was acquired in November 2013. It is testament to the fantastic effort from Gerrie, Herbert, Amanda and Rex that the boat actually was ready to sail across the Atlantic on time (only just!). Both Shin and Volker spent many days in Cape Town assisting with the preparation for the journey. A special thanks goes to these people for making this adventure happen.
A very special thanks to our wives/partners and families who have allowed us out on a boys adventure. This is highly appreciated (but please give us a much sterner warning next time).
The blast from the committee boat has indicated that we have crossed the line! We have officially completed the Cape2Rio 2014 yacht race on Saturday 25 Jan at 10:55a Brazil time (3:55 pm SA time) after 21 days and 1 hours and 55 minutes.
I now need to go on deck to join the champagne celebrations!
Lots of love to all at home and to all our friends.
Regards and THANK YOU!
Mike on behalf of Team Rocket/Stop Rhino Poaching
With just a few km to the finish of the Cape2Rio 2014 yacht race, I am happy to report that all is well, in fact all is fantastic, aboard Rocket/Stop Rhino Poaching.
Last night we literally flew through the night. The winds were gusting over 50kph and we had to even reduce sail – there was little sleep and much excitement – we could taste Rio.
Early this morning the wind died to a dribble – and our last 55km has been at less than 10kph. Frustrating to say the least – but at least we can see our end goal.
This will be the last posting of our adventure – thanks to ALL of you who have shared this journey with us. It’s been really fun knowing that we have some avid readers of our passage.
For the experienced sailors on our boat, this has been another transatlantic crossing – another notch in the belt. For us newbies this is the completion of a truly unique lifetime experience.
My impression is that our emotions have been thrown into a Laundromat and violently turned and tossed around. We have experienced close to absolute desperation during those initial seasick days. We have had variations of anguish, fear or panic (depending if you were simply thrown out of bed during a two-step broach or if you were the cause of this particularly inelegant dance). And of course we are now experiencing elation at the final completion and achievement if this goal. Our initial goal was just to safely complete the journey. The fact that we have fared so well is quite remarkable and of course gratifying to all of us.
This yacht Rocket was acquired in November 2013. It is testament to the fantastic effort from Gerrie, Herbert, Amanda and Rex that the boat actually was ready to sail across the Atlantic on time (only just!). Both Shin and Volker spent many days in Cape Town assisting with the preparation for the journey. A special thanks goes to these people for making this adventure happen.
A very special thanks to our wives/partners and families who have allowed us out on a boys adventure. This is highly appreciated (but please give us a much sterner warning next time).
The blast from the committee boat has indicated that we have crossed the line! We have officially completed the Cape2Rio 2014 yacht race on Saturday 25 Jan at 10:55a Brazil time (3:55 pm SA time) after 21 days and 1 hours and 55 minutes.
I now need to go on deck to join the champagne celebrations!
Lots of love to all at home and to all our friends.
Regards and THANK YOU!
Mike on behalf of Team Rocket/Stop Rhino Poaching
 |
| We flew through the night at great speed determined to have bacon eggs coffee (with sugar) and shower at Rio Yacht Club early this morning. However the wind dissappeared with 30Nm to go. At 8a Brazil time, we still have 20 Nm (36km) to go - but we are only moving at 5kph! At least the end is in sight |
Friday, January 24, 2014
Day 21 on Rocket / Stop Rhino Poaching
Dear Family and Friends
As I post this note we have only 180 nautical miles (350km) to go - the end is almost in sight. What IS in sight are the oil rigs off the Brazilian coast line - so we have visual proof that progress is now real and quite rapid. If all goes well, we could end up in Rio about 4pm SA time tomorrow.
The winds built up rapidly last night to the point where we had to bid a respectful farewell to Sir Spinnaker and revert back to flying our genoa out on the spinnaker pole. With winds gusting regularly at 20knots (35kph), this is OK with us Newbies. As a result of this wind, we are flying on our way to Rio.
It is another roasting day out at sea with significant lethargy leaping spritely across the yacht affecting each and every one. It was a busy night with sail changes and rough seas (part of the deal... big wind = rough seas). The idea should be to catch up on sleep during the day but the heat together with 21 days of salt and sweat encrusted sheets makes sleep a touch testy :. As a result RR has been set aside for all but emergencies (and happily there are none of those at time of posting) and has been replaced by R&R (Rest & Relaxation).
A very special hello to those that are gathered at Stonehaven this evening. Thanks for making the time and effort to celebrate our pending arrival in Rio. The support and feedback from all our family and our friends has been fantastic and highly appreciated. We hope to be able to speak to you on Sat Phone at 6pm tonight SA time. We also hope to have a very short video ready for download for this gathering.
The timing is ideal - we need to arrive in Rio this weekend for numerous logistic reasons... Our milk is done - breakfast cereal with cool water is yummy...not. Cooking on a belching diesel fire is testing the humour of Shin & firemaker Gareth. Fortunately all essentials such as water and basic food is still plentiful. Dare I mention that toilet paper is finito :
We suspect we have broken a world record for trawling a line without catching anything. Shin has had a line out since day three and a desperate second line for the last ten days. We did lose one lure - but we believe it was just a big wave. So this makes a combined 10 000km of line trawling without joy. My son Ryan knows my fishing skills are zero - this appears to have spread across to Shin as well. We have been truly hoping for some Sushi a la Shin - but no such luck.
Lots of love and best wishes to all our family and friends from all of us just a few hundred km left of this 9 000km journey.
Regards
Mike on behalf of Team Rocket/Stop Rhino Poaching
As I post this note we have only 180 nautical miles (350km) to go - the end is almost in sight. What IS in sight are the oil rigs off the Brazilian coast line - so we have visual proof that progress is now real and quite rapid. If all goes well, we could end up in Rio about 4pm SA time tomorrow.
The winds built up rapidly last night to the point where we had to bid a respectful farewell to Sir Spinnaker and revert back to flying our genoa out on the spinnaker pole. With winds gusting regularly at 20knots (35kph), this is OK with us Newbies. As a result of this wind, we are flying on our way to Rio.
It is another roasting day out at sea with significant lethargy leaping spritely across the yacht affecting each and every one. It was a busy night with sail changes and rough seas (part of the deal... big wind = rough seas). The idea should be to catch up on sleep during the day but the heat together with 21 days of salt and sweat encrusted sheets makes sleep a touch testy :. As a result RR has been set aside for all but emergencies (and happily there are none of those at time of posting) and has been replaced by R&R (Rest & Relaxation).
A very special hello to those that are gathered at Stonehaven this evening. Thanks for making the time and effort to celebrate our pending arrival in Rio. The support and feedback from all our family and our friends has been fantastic and highly appreciated. We hope to be able to speak to you on Sat Phone at 6pm tonight SA time. We also hope to have a very short video ready for download for this gathering.
The timing is ideal - we need to arrive in Rio this weekend for numerous logistic reasons... Our milk is done - breakfast cereal with cool water is yummy...not. Cooking on a belching diesel fire is testing the humour of Shin & firemaker Gareth. Fortunately all essentials such as water and basic food is still plentiful. Dare I mention that toilet paper is finito :
We suspect we have broken a world record for trawling a line without catching anything. Shin has had a line out since day three and a desperate second line for the last ten days. We did lose one lure - but we believe it was just a big wave. So this makes a combined 10 000km of line trawling without joy. My son Ryan knows my fishing skills are zero - this appears to have spread across to Shin as well. We have been truly hoping for some Sushi a la Shin - but no such luck.
Lots of love and best wishes to all our family and friends from all of us just a few hundred km left of this 9 000km journey.
Regards
Mike on behalf of Team Rocket/Stop Rhino Poaching
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Day 20 on Rocket / Stop Rhino Poaching
Dear Family and Friends
Happy birthday Gareth. Sorry no sleep in, no bacon & eggs, no 5l can of beer - wait for Rio . At least there was no mast duty or underwater duty - small mercies...
All is well aboard Rocket / Stop Rhino Poaching with expectations rising daily. We have now seen two planes and a large container ship - all bound for Europe and indication that we are nearing the Brazilian coastline.
We do have some minor issues to report. One of our crew (he wishes to remain anonymous) complained bitterly of constipation. This immediately evoked endless remedies from this very sympathetic male crew. The constipatee decided he would need to try deep breathing exercises during his visit to the heads. Our renowned medical officer (Johan) immediately noted that this was a stool which needed delivering - not a baby! Rather than take this matter further let me rather just confirm that a robust boy was delivered late at night after a 34 minute heads visit. The crew applauded with great gusto and enthusiasm.
Yesterday I made a potential disparaging remark about spinnakers. Just to reaffirm that they monitor this post each and every day, Sir Spinnaker once again vented his fury by dropping a shackle (this connects the Spinnaker to the back of the boat) - of course during pitch black night shift . He huffed and puffed and swirled himself around with gusto and fury before calming down and allowing us to apologise and fix his loose rope. Sorry Sir Spinnaker - no more side swipes at your might and glory!
You have heard me discuss the delights of our sleeping accommodation. It's worth a little elaboration.
Rocket / Stop Rhino Poaching is a delightful long, slim yacht - which means that there can be (and is) significant rocking and rolling movement from side to side (sounds like a scene from a Rio nightclub).
All the sleeping accommodation is designed with double beds facing in the direction of the boat. This makes great sense from a design viewpoint but is a disaster from a sleep viewpoint. Inevitably the boat is leaning predominantly one way or the other for hours on end. So the person on the low side of the lean potentially gets a good rest wedged up against a side wall. The other person spends the night trying not to roll over and spoon his bed buddy. Of course the occasional side to side roll (on top of the lean) adds a further complication to the sleep manipulation. Rex has managed to find a couch which goes at right angles to the direction of the boat. This does require a wedge position between backrest and dinner table - this can be a great antiroll assistant.
Thanks again for all the feedback and comments - it's appreciated by all on board.
Lots of love and best wishes to all our family and friends
Regards
Mike on behalf of Team Rocket/Stop Rhino Poaching
Happy birthday Gareth. Sorry no sleep in, no bacon & eggs, no 5l can of beer - wait for Rio . At least there was no mast duty or underwater duty - small mercies...
All is well aboard Rocket / Stop Rhino Poaching with expectations rising daily. We have now seen two planes and a large container ship - all bound for Europe and indication that we are nearing the Brazilian coastline.
We do have some minor issues to report. One of our crew (he wishes to remain anonymous) complained bitterly of constipation. This immediately evoked endless remedies from this very sympathetic male crew. The constipatee decided he would need to try deep breathing exercises during his visit to the heads. Our renowned medical officer (Johan) immediately noted that this was a stool which needed delivering - not a baby! Rather than take this matter further let me rather just confirm that a robust boy was delivered late at night after a 34 minute heads visit. The crew applauded with great gusto and enthusiasm.
Yesterday I made a potential disparaging remark about spinnakers. Just to reaffirm that they monitor this post each and every day, Sir Spinnaker once again vented his fury by dropping a shackle (this connects the Spinnaker to the back of the boat) - of course during pitch black night shift . He huffed and puffed and swirled himself around with gusto and fury before calming down and allowing us to apologise and fix his loose rope. Sorry Sir Spinnaker - no more side swipes at your might and glory!
You have heard me discuss the delights of our sleeping accommodation. It's worth a little elaboration.
Rocket / Stop Rhino Poaching is a delightful long, slim yacht - which means that there can be (and is) significant rocking and rolling movement from side to side (sounds like a scene from a Rio nightclub).
All the sleeping accommodation is designed with double beds facing in the direction of the boat. This makes great sense from a design viewpoint but is a disaster from a sleep viewpoint. Inevitably the boat is leaning predominantly one way or the other for hours on end. So the person on the low side of the lean potentially gets a good rest wedged up against a side wall. The other person spends the night trying not to roll over and spoon his bed buddy. Of course the occasional side to side roll (on top of the lean) adds a further complication to the sleep manipulation. Rex has managed to find a couch which goes at right angles to the direction of the boat. This does require a wedge position between backrest and dinner table - this can be a great antiroll assistant.
Thanks again for all the feedback and comments - it's appreciated by all on board.
Lots of love and best wishes to all our family and friends
Regards
Mike on behalf of Team Rocket/Stop Rhino Poaching
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