My Yacht
Log -
2006.10.22 – 11.02
2006.10.22
(29th day)
I saw a whale swimming by in
the morning! (Of course, my camera battery quit.) The wind weakened somewhat this morning, I am
going with 1-2 knots approximately toward the South. I talked with Karesz (HA5CAR) and with Zsolt
(SM7JEM) in the morning on the radio.
Sent the Yacht Log to Karesz in PSK mode. He sent my father's directives
in connection with the MaxSea. Too bad, the 14.290 MHz was very noisy – I could
not talk with the Hungarian amateurs.
There was but a very weak wind the whole day: 0-1Bf. One corner of the radar reflector fell apart
again around
I bathed when possible, the
water temperature is 23 degrees and the air is 30. This makes one want to
bathe. I saw a lot of medusas in the water and a big fish too (could have been
a dolphin.) A mild Eastern wind came in
the late afternoon. The motor did not
start (I wanted to charge the batteries, but fortunately I had to replace only
one of the plugs. A bigger problem is that the steering immobilizing fixture
broke, it is difficult to repair. (Despite, I was able to fix it with a piece
of copper wire.)
Dinner: soup + liver pâté on bread.
The night is peaceful, but there is a lot of ship traffic.
2006.10.23 (30th
day)
Got on the radio this morning too:
G0EJG, Gyuri, London, England, 5-9,
HA5CAR, Karesz, Budapest., echo-linken
HA5APK, Tibi, Budapest, Hungary, 5-9,
OZ5CK, Karesz, Denmark, 5-7,
HA5AO, Pista, Budapest, (19.ker), Hungary, 5-9,
HA0NNA, Gyuri, Záhony, Hungary, 5-9,
HA1IW, Tibi, Kőszeg, Hungary, 5-9,
OM5NM, Miki, Érsekújvár, Czech Republic, 5-8,
HA4GBJ, Tóni, Hungary, 5-9,
HG5PTN, Jutka, Budapest, Hungary, 5-9,
HA8UT, Pista, Kiskunhalas, Hungary, 5-9,
HA7VC, Laci, Vác, Hungary, 5-9,
HA8MT, Fero, Fűzesgyarmat, Hungary, 5-9.
Karesz relayed the weather forecast
for the next few days: variable winds (max. 3Bf. - 3Bf, MW, SW, N, NE...) Just when I wanted to write my log in the
laptop, the connector burned up. So far I did not find one, but will look for
it….(I fixed it temporarily.) Lunch:
tuna fish with noodles. (I started to fish, maybe I can have a fresh fish for lunch
some timeJ).
After 1-2 hours the wind almost stopped, I
can go only with one knotL. In times like this, I read the Bible (Book 2
of Samuel, King David.) When I tried to
start the motor, I found out that the fan is not working – it kicks off the
main circuit breaker. Started trouble shooting and decided that the problem is
in the fan, I can take it apart only in the harbor. Since mine is a 2 cycle
engine, it is customary to clear the air in the cylinders. Not life threatening, but important.
The table broke while I was doing the ship
cleaning, had to glue it together. Tried
to fish before dinner, but no luck. I am
a bit apprehensive due to the fish I lostL. I charged the flashlight and camera batteries
from the main battery around evening.
Dinner: noodles with a little tuna fish.
2006.10.24 (31st
day)
I started out one month ago. Talked on the radio in the morning:
G0EJG,
HA5APK, Tibi, Budapest., 5-9,
HAOLG,
Unfortunately my batteries are weak, this
is why my radio did not work well. (I was on the radio only for a half
hour.) Don’t understand why my batteries
are getting discharged. I haven’t used the autopilot for 1-2 days and I am
careful with the light usage too. (The navigation light is on only intermittently.) My satchel got torn, so I have to sew again,
I did not sew this much in my entire life. (Almost every day these days.) Good news: I checked the water in the hull –
was still none! On the other hand, I found some sea water near the engine. The
reason is that the bottom of the cockpit does not perfectly align with the cockpit
itself. (I have to do something about this.)
Possibly this is the reason for the fan failure – must have gotten a
little salt water.
2006.10.25 (32nd
day)
Morning radio:
G0EJG, Gyuri, London, England, 5-9,
HA5APK, Tibi, Budapest, Hungary, 5-9,
HA5CAR, Karesz, Hungary, 5-9,
HA5MA, Laci, Budapest, Hungary, (11.ker), 5-9,
HA6OI, Zoli, Balassagyarmat, Hungary, 5-9,
HA2RI, Laci, Hungary, 5-9.
Breakfast: leftover rice stew, hopefully I
can catch some fish today.
The wind in the morning became Southerly,
then
Karesz again sent me the weather
forecast: N, NE, W, E, 1-3 wind in the days following, therefore it will be
quite variable – similarly like it was until nowJ. The truth is, that I miscalculated the time a
bit – I thought it will be about a one week trip, due to the E – W mixed
winds….Of course, after starting I immediately corrected the distance and
realized that it is twice the distance I thought beforeJ.
I have enough water for about 2-1/2 weeks, have reserve from Koper
too. Food is plenty, but I ran out of
bread, vegetables and fruits in one week.
When I start the engine, I get an
electrical shock from the mixture control lever. Because of this, I turned off
the motor main fuse. Must be some big problem
down at the engine. I glued the cover
page back of the Yacht Log around
Finally a
non-Westerly wind arrived in the evening, SE 4-5Bf. I flew with this from 7 in the evening till 4
in the morning, doing an average of 5.5 knots. The wind stopped at
2006.10.2 (33rd
day)
Due to my exhausted batteries, I was on the air for only 20 minutes:
G0EJG, Gyuri, England, 5-9,
HA5APK, Tibi, Budapest., 5-9,
HA5CAR, Karesz, Hungary, 5-9,
OE4BAB, Alex, Austria, 5-9.
HA6ZB,
Another reason for the short radioing was
the waves which came into the ship. My
sleeping bag became wet again in the morning – don’t know, for how many times
now. (Unfortunately these big waves slow the boat.)
The penlight battery charger quit –
determined that the problem is in the cable.
(Possible that just received salt water – I will rinse and dry it.) One of my tail lights broke off, I will fix
it in the next harbor. (I think the mainsail rope got tangled up with it.) Breakfast: ginseng tea. A lot of flies on the boat – and these bite….
A helicopter came at noontime and wanted to rescue me. I signaled that all’s OK – then confirmed it
on the VHF radio. For lunch, I ate the
tasty fish left from yesterday, then some cereal. Fishing today brought nothing. The reason: 1-2 medusas got tangled on my
flasher what I did not notice till the evening.
No fresh fish on the menu for the eveningL..
2006.10.27
(34th day)
Got on the radio as usual, but only for short – because of my batteries:
G0EJG, Gyuri, England, 5-9,
HA5APK, Tibi, Budapest., 5-9,
HA5CAR, Karesz, Budapest., 5-9,
YZ7FF, Gyurka, Újvidék, Serbia, 5-9,
HA6QE/M, Gazsi, Heves, Hungary, 5-9,
HA7OI, Pista, Hungary, 5-8,
HA6OD, György, Hungary, 5-9,
OE4BAB, Alex, Austria, 5-9.
A few weeks ago a mass was celebrated for
me in a church in
Fished in the
afternoon but unfortunately a fish got away while pulling it out of the water.
(The wind intensified in the night and therefore I did not fish, despite the
fish were jumping out of the water everywhere.)
Consequently my lunch consisted of a burger with rice and canned fishL.
The left-side mast reinforcing piece is
bending downward and the holding fixture also broke. I applied a rope but I
don’t think it will help a lot. This can
be fixed only in the harbor. This
condition requires added attention and under given circumstances I have to
lower the sails sooner. Started the engine at
The cabin measurements: the widest
dimension is 1.7 meters, the main inner area: 3.5m. It means that I don’t have
a lot of spaceL. I did not bathe today on account of the
numerous medusa in the water – no idea if they sting and I am not about to find
out. A weak Easterly wind prevailed
during the day which got stronger in the evening. Made a good speed over night. I maneuvered
close to the shore to be able to send MSMs, since I was unable to do it since
2006.10.28
(35th day)
Short radioing because of the condition of my batteries:
G0EJG, Gyuri, England, 5-9,
HA5APK, Tibi, Budapest, 5-8,
OE4BAB, Alex, Austria, 5-9.
There was some kind of a contest, for this
reason I could not hear but the contesters.
Only after radioing did I notice that
I was dragging the lower end of my antenna in the sea. (The isolation therefore
is good!) The suspension of the lower
part of the antenna broke in the morning – or at night? I took the antenna out of the water and
re-attached it again. 2 screws fell out
of the upper rail of the cabin – no idea why?
(I open the cabin top sparingly.)
I replaced the screws of course, and applied wood glue too. The final repair will be in the next harbor
with epoxy resin. Inspected the ship – I
found several lose screws. Tightened them, they will be fixed too in the harbor
with epoxy resin. A lot of fish were
jumping around me. Caught one, but
unfortunately the whole setup flew away – I have many reserve bait pieces and
damyl line tooJ. The reason for the fiasco: the hook I bought
in Koper got rusted, that broke the line. Strange, because the seller told me
that it is seaworthy….The wind got stronger in the afternoon (6Bf.) so I took
off the main sail. Even so, I cut the
foam with 4-5 knots! Since the cross
tree just hardly hangs there, I did not want to overload the boat. I will clime up the mast and will attempt to
repair it.
I crossed the Zero longitude (E-W) at a
6Bf. Easterly wind – I celebrated it with a little rumJ. The
waves started to grow by the evening and the visibility dropped to 1-2nm - it
is very difficult to keep the right direction. The illumination for my compass
is more confusing than useful. The GPS
indicates the direction with a few seconds delay. This makes the keeping of the right direction
in the fog very difficult. Not much ship
traffic over night (I don’t see them) despite I am sailing near
2006.10.29
(36th day)
The voltage of my batteries is
very low – no radioing in the morning. The visibility is still very bad – the whole
day. Lunch: noodles with mustard. Since
the sky is overcast, the solar cells do not charge the batteries sufficiently. I could properly orient the wind generator now
and it is charging at least! The jib lost
2-3 of its suspension fixtures; I have to sew them back. (I postpone it for
tomorrow.) I will fix the problem with
small ropes temporarily.
Afternoon: weak
Easterly wind, traveling with 2 knots in the average, but at least in the right
directionJ. The clouds broke up for a couple of
hoursJ. At
night: the Easterly wind diminished, hardly made any progress the whole night.
2006.10.30
(37th day)
The battery is down – no radio
today. The fog is dense, can not see anything. Breakfast: tea + honey + rum. I can not leave the ship on its own in the
tail wind; I have to take her manually the whole morning. Te humidity is also
high, everything is wet and sticky. I
took an EnergyPak today as well - (niacin, guarana, ginseng, virilin500, carbo
plus.) In my opinion it is good! There was a 1-2 hour windstill, and then came
a
112:00 (36-53N; 001-34W). Since my speed and the wind speed add
together, the wind generator is charging, true, not much. The problem was so far, that due to the
waves, it was spinning around, but I was able to tie it down, so this problem
is solved. Speed: 3 knots. True, I am going to 180, but the right
direction is 250…. But I am moving!
Lunch: lentil soup with garlic
and pepper, pâté. Rope work in the
afternoon then the usual cleaningJ.
Unfortunately I am getting moisture on different places, lately at the
shelves too. The water seepage is minor,
so everything is just a little wet. (My
parcels are packaged watertight.) Fixing
the seepage is possible only in the harbor – everything is wet here all the
time. Several items are getting rusty –
the telescope, the pliers, the screw driver….I lubricate everything possible,
but it is not a long time solutionJ. A large group
of dolphin showed up late afternoon, they swam with us for an hour. They enjoyed it a lot, constantly jumping and
swimming under the boat. Didn’t quite
understand – they were squealing too – is it possible that they were courting
with Carina?J. The night
was uneventful; I saw only 1-2 ships.
Unfortunately the wind subsided and we were making approximately only one
knot.
2006.10.31
(38th day)
-----------------------
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOGI!
-----------------------
Could not get on the radio due to the
low battery voltage (it is still way under 12 volts.) After breakfast I took a bath in the
beautiful sunny morning.. I noticed then that the bottom of my ship is covered
with plant matter. This must have happened during the past 1-2 weeks, because I
did not notice this before. Scraped off a large portion and made a video of it.
Started fishing, maybe I will have
luck….Before
2006.11.01
(39th day)
Unfortunately my batteries were
low, but still tried to get on the radio – unsuccessfully. G0EJG (
Toward the evening I collect
the empty bottles in the compartment in front of the engine. Since I am under
way now for 16 days from
I proceed the whole evening and night in this direction, speed: 1-2
knots. There is a lot of ship traffic at
night! Yes,
2006.11.02
(40th day)
------------------------
Happy
Birthday Csiga!
-----------------------
Not going to radio again today because of
the batteries, of courseL. Now it is already 5 days
that I can not
give a life sign of myself – this bothers me a lot. Breakfast: green tea, (Korean) biscuits with
liver pâté. By morning I can see the Spanish shores, the ship traffic is
getting dense. Before
The
rain started in the afternoon – too bad.
The wind is picking up too. I
lowered the sail in fear that the bent fixture will give out. (If it breaks,
chances are that the mast will be next…).
In anticipation, I pulled up a spare rope, taking over the job of a side
reinforcer stiffener. (There is another rope as well, holding up the mast
stiffener and yet another rope which is pulling it down.) The current stopped now. During the past 2 days using the current, I
found out how to modify the steering setting to compensate for the
current. (For days now I don’t have to
steer myself, Carina can be set to the
right direction!). There is no wind, but
even if there was, it would be a head windL
(therefore I decided that I will tie up in Almerimar, it is the closest from
here. After a 17 day sailing (more than
1000nm), I moored in Almerimar – a small vacation city.
(36-41.7N; 002-47.6W). I made 2359,5nm since Koper. The people are very kind in the harbor. They have heard of me already, were very
happy that I turned up (I could not give life sign of me for 5 days).
Translated by
Pali/N6DMV.