[password]seabird14
[position] 32 04.5 S 015 23.7 E
[heading] 300T
[speed] 8.3 kts
[weather] 16-18kts S, 2-3m seas SW, 1016 mb, 10% cc
[status] 1512 nm to St Helena. 8.3 kts at 300T, port broad reach, sgl reefed main plus jib. We cleared Cape Town harbor at 1500 local time yesterday afternoon, and began the first night of our Atlantic Ocean crossing. Winds were 20-25kts out of the S once they settled in, so Kailani clipped along nicely with the wind just aft of the port beam. The night sailing was tiring as we encountered many fishing boats which we had to maneuver around. The most challenging were the Chinese, whose tactic seemed to be to wait until they had an approaching yacht, then turn on their lights/AIS, giving us just barely enough time to alter sail plan to weave between a seeming pop-up game of ships appearing one after the other. Trying to confirm their course and speed, and whether they were actively fishing, was aggravated by the fact that none of them would answer their VHF. One group appeared to be fishing around a "mother ship" who was stationary, and we barely cleared this ship, who used his VHF to scream "sea anchor! sea anchor! sea anchor!" at us. We are tired and resting up this morning, and after lunch will get Kailani optimized for the wind which is backing more to the SE and weakening. For now it looks like we may be clear of the fishing shoals. All well on board.
[END]