Stein HOFF: News from the route

STEIN HOFF: news from the route

Friday, 20th. September day 42
Uncomfortable – not much progress

12 GMT pos; N1845 W3041. moderate to fresh breeze from ENE, rough sea, Ѕ cloud, Temp 28/25. 580 n.miles to way-point 7, 35 n.miles past 24 hours.

Lots of PC work yesterday, first editing and sending a photo, then the usual report, then a telephone interview with the local newspaper Fedrelandsvennen who wanted a fresh, high-quality picture. I got the camera with delayed action rigged up on the lantern pole, took a couple of pictures which I edited and sent while the boat rolled as much as it ever has done. Then I had the same problem that I had earlier, that the file was too big and for some reason the PC went into an irreversible "stand-by" after 12 minutes when there was just a little of the file left. So I had to do the whole thing again, this time with a little coarser grain, and fortunately it went through in 9 minutes. By this time I was dizzy, sweating and had a pain in my neck! I just hope the picture could be used in the newspaper. I hear that some of my older patients have been wondering how I have been getting on – they don’t usually have inter- nett. So if Fedrelandsvennen can follow this up with more reports, that would please me very much.

Sun-set and sun-rise were both splendid and gave me encouragement, but I haven’t made very good progress. Still ate a good evening-meal at 11 p.m. then crept to bed. A bumpy night with rolling and thumps from the bow. This morning we were a little further west. The original course of 208 2 days ago is now 206 degrees to N10 W35. I suddenly realised that the boat needs to be balanced differently to steer better in the side-waves. I have now taken the life-raft and some other ballast to the fore-deck, and the steering seems better. But the sea has increased, now sharp waves of at least 2 metres, and the wind and waves are coming right into port-side.

Felt a bit weak and tired this morning. But still made some water using the can on deck – a bit of extra work with filling it every 10 minutes – and after 2 hours had 11 litres. The reserves are back to 40 litres. After lunch and a rest, there is a little more fight in me, but I don’t think I will do much more than 30 miles the next 24 hours. The weather forecast this morning indicates a low-pressure south west of me and that won’t help the wind direction.

Thanks for half-way congratulations form Arne in Shanghai, although I don’t think that will be before Sunday. The course I am on now increases the distance a little. This afternoon I have measured that I am 1751 n.miles from Georgetown and 1646 from Lisbon.

The last fly had to surrender last night. Just before mid-night, I saw a ship with strong light a few miles behind me, possibly another fishing-boat , but it had disappeared half an hour later. 8-10 flying-fish this morning, so my moon-light theory is wrong. The fish at the rudder are still at it, banging sideways into the rudder, they must have sore backs by this time! There are now lots of fish about, and any food leftovers that I throw overboard get recycled by my friends in the deep. So I am not alone any more.

Diana wonders why I take my symbolic glass of wine in the middle of the day and not in the evening. The reason is that I am pretending to be South European and take a siesta in the middle of the day, while in the evening I usually row for an hour or two after dinner. I also like to listen to the radio or read a bit after I go to bed at night, and that is not so easy if I have had a glass of wine. But I can assure all that my alcohol consumption is low, today when not in top form I take nothing stronger than Earl Grey tea.

Right, back to the oars and "Dicky Dick Dickens".

Good week-end to all

greetings form Stein.

Thursday, 19th. September day 41
Visit from two flies and "Edly"

12 GMT pos; N1913 W3017. Moderate sea with moderate breeze from NE. 3/8 cloudy with "trade-wind" clouds, good visibility. Temp 28/25. 615 n.miles to way-point 7 41 n.miles past 24 hours.

During the night the wind backed a few degrees to NE and increased again, which made it a pleasure to row this morning. With the wind and 2 metre waves coming from 30degrees to port-side, we got a good push in the right direction. It was fun to see a speed of 5 knots or more for a few seconds at a time as bigger waves rolled past. But during the afternoon the wind has backed again and decreased; the swell is the same, so we are back to the uncomfortable rolling that I described a few days ago. The lack of wind also makes it unbearably hot, so today’s epistle will not be long!

But the day has had its experiences. At 6 p.m. I heard a thump and strong flapping. On the starboard deck, was a large flying-fish with such appealing eyes that I slipped him out through the scuppers. Anyway he smelled so strongly of fish that I was glad to be rid of him. Dawn was beautiful and was rowed in to the sounds of Roger Whittaker. I took the picture of the margarine at breakfast. Even at the coolest time of the day the margarine is almost liquid. I use a lot of oil ,so the consumption of margarine is low, and I don’t use up a box before it goes rancid and has to be thrown away. Apart from that living without a refrigerator is surprisingly OK.

The lack of fishing vessels has surprised me, I haven’t seen one during my 40 days at sea, not even along the Portuguese coast. But at 11.20 this morning I had a visit from "Edly". I was so busy filming and taking photos that I forgot to register the nationality, but the boat and crew looked Asian, maybe Korean. I waved the Norwegian flag and indicated that all was well. They drove round me then continued north-east. Shortly afterwards I discovered two stowaways in the form of two flies! The same thing happened after another ship has passed earlier. I have got rid of one of them, but the other has taken cover. I like company, but as I said, this is a solo row!

Rice and onions last night, so again egg-fried rice for lunch, with pepper mackerel, a few olives and a glass of wine, Then tea and cake and 45 minutes on my back. Have washed a few more clothes. After each rowing session I am so sweaty that I have to change shorts and T-shirt, so during the day there is always one set hanging up to dry. Not many days pass before I get a string signal that they need washing…

As I write, the second last Thursday cross-country run is taking place in Kristiansand. If there is anything I miss apart from family and friends it is jogging in the woods. Diana and I have been taking part in these runs for 20 seasons, but this autumn she will have to represent me. I am now being entertained by NRK’s (Norwegian TV) criminal series "Dickie Dick Dickens". This is on 6 CDs, which are just the job, thanks Camilla and Martin!

Rowing greetings,

Stein.

Wednesday, 18th. September day 40
Insured!

12 GMT pos; N1949 W2956. Moderate to fresh breeze from ENE, very varying cloud formations with both low and high clouds. Good visibility. Temperature 28/25. 656 n.miles to way-point 7, 39 n. miles past 24 hours. This I am pleased with as the conditions make it difficult to row and the current is going more westerly than my course.

The day’s good news is that Gjensidige NOR insurance company has decided to support me by insuring the boat – that is really great, and feels very safe! Thanks to the company and to Sven Jacobsen. I won’t take any chances! That is why I am now hanging onto a course that neither the boat nor I find very comfortable. It was stupid of me not to stick to my original way-point of N20 W28, instead of heading sooner towards Georgetown. Too late to change that now, I will just have to manage. Anyway it is better to roll in side-waves than lie on a sea-anchor. Or even worse, end up in a hurricane! Diana has been in contact with Reidar Schaaning and he confirms that I should get south of N10 before the middle of the Atlantic, so I am south of the area where the feared hurricanes originate. Reidar has worked with hurricane preparation in the Caribbean for the International Red Cross. I changed course to 208 degrees almost 2 days ago, and already it is 207, which means I am drifting a little west. I will do my best not to drift any further. Many thanks to Reidar.

Even though the wind has increased it is very warm in the afternoon, and rowing then takes more energy than otherwise. This morning there were a few black clouds and a little rain, barely enough to wet the deck. The clouds have come and gone at great speed throughout the day. I am prepared for any weather, but the barometer is behaving quite normally for the trade-wind area.

Health is pretty good. I stopped taking antacid tablets 3-4 days ago, but after some heartburn last night have decided to take one a day as prophylaxis. I have a little stabbing pain in my right shoulder-blade when I have rowed about half an hour, but it gets better with some stretching and massage. Also a bit of pain in right hip, but the back is no problem at the moment. It likes the rolling! My hands are also amazingly good. I cut down and file the calluses and thick skin and have so far avoided deep cuts in the skin which were such a problem in the 97 regatta. This is mainly due to regular use of cream and gloves. I am soon ready to open Hoff’s manicure salon!

Appetite is good. The last loaves of bread have not gone mouldy due to frying the whole bread almost daily on one or other side. Slices fried in olive-oil have now become a favourite to eat with the freeze-dries meals. There are 25 eggs left of the original 36. None have gone bad, they have been rubbed with vaseline and I turn them regularly. Today I have made 11 litres of fresh-water, used the system with the can on deck. Took 2 hours.

Not much to report from nature. No flying fish, either because of the schools of bigger fish, or that they see the boat in moon-light. The dorados have been playing their game of hitting the rudder again. My other entertainment has been BBC’s production of "The Hobbit" by Tolkien. A fantastic radio theatre with lots of effects. I have heard all the CD’s with the story twice . Thanks again Elisabeth, it is great!

I enjoyed the greeting from the sailing family Jacobsen in Fredrikstad, and take it as a great compliment that young Aksel uses my reports in his Norwegian home-work. Greetings to you, Aksel!

Best wishes, Stein.

Tuesday, 17th. September day 39
A new course - and new friends

12 GMT pos; N2021 W2930. Light breeze from ENE, temp 28/25. From last night a new way-point: N1000 W3500 (WP7). It is 695 n.miles from here, and I have gone 37 n.miles past 24 hours.

After talking to Diana on the telephone yesterday, we agreed that I should take a new, more southerly course to reduce the danger of rowing into a hurricane area. The danger is mainly west of W35 and north of S10. If I kept on going straight to Georgetown, in two weeks I would be about N15 W35, in a potential danger area. After the middle of October, the danger gets less, but now I am about 2 weeks ahead of schedule. I changed course last night from 245 to 210 degrees, and at once there was more rolling and less speed. This is because the wind and direction of the waves is now coming in on port-side at an angle og 45 degrees to the course. But the wind is light, so it is still dry on deck. It is also nice and dry in the cabin - no damp sheets at the moment! So no complaints. This course will make the journey a little longer, both in time and distance, but I can hope that the wind goes a little more northerly. .

I mentioned yesterday that there was not much life in the sea. Right away I heard some noises coming from the rudder, regular bumps that made me think something was wrong. Had the rudder begun to loosen? I pushed myself up through the narrow stern hatch, looked down into the sea and had to laugh out loud. The reason for the noise was a school of fish, a few of which were slapping their bodies hard into the rudder! There were about 10-20 fish around the stern, and judging from their narrow bodies, were dorados. Probably the explanation for this odd behaviour is that they were trying to get rid of parasites. I also hit the rudder with my hand, which they didn't like - later there were no more noises.

I woke up early today, and as I got ready to row at dawn, I saw several fish jumping around the boat. Now I have just had a swim and taken a closer look at my new friends. It looks like I have 2 schools of fish around me, one with middle-sized dorados which all seem to be female, and one deeper down, with bigger, more torpedo-like bodies, probably a type og tuna-fish. Not only that, at last there is now a proper pilot-fish under the boat! It is about 12 cms long, has 7-8 black stripes on a yellow-grey body. It really welcomed me when I jumped in for a swim. At last there was a use for the barnacles which I brushed off. The little chap ate what he could, and tasted and spat out some of the rest. Deeper down the bigger fish got their share. The pilot-fish kept coming up to my brush and looking for new tit-bits, just like when they clean their mouth and teeth on big animals.

Despite 25 degrees in the water, I soon became cold, and enjoyed a cup of Earl Grey tea afterwards, with fruit-cake and chocolate, before turning on the PC. Last night and today I have listened to 4 CDs with "David Copperfield" by Charles Dickens. Another good one I still have is a BBC production og "The Hobbits" on 5 CDs. So life out here is really pretty good. But fragile. It is strange to hang on a rope behind the boat, and look at what is at the moment my whole world. If I let go, I wouldn't last many minutes...

Today's picture is the sun-set 2 days ago when the high clouds got a fine red colour. The radar reflector can be seen on the metal frame above the front rowing position (where I mostly row), also the round sensor for the radar-detector and the pole for the lantern. Then there is a picture of me at the cinema with my head to the stern of the cabin, right under the ventilator. In the foreground under the roof is the radar-detector itself (CARD Marine Radar detector).

Until tomorrow, best wishes from the Atlantic and

Stein.

Monday, 16th September day 38

12 GMT pos; N2041 W2900. Temp 28/25, light breeze from ENE, calm sea. 1/8 cloud, mostly low cumulus, some higher ones in the south. 1669 n.miles to Way-point 4, 41 n.miles past 24 hours – not bad considering the weak wind.

Last night the sun-set was flaming red, with high pink clouds parallel to the horizon. The sea was livelier and I thought more wind was coming. But not so. It is on the hot side now, but I keep hanging things up and don’t complain! Before I went to bed, I saw the lanterns of a ship far to the east, and at 2.15 a.m., I was awakened by the peep of the radar detector. A couple of nautical miles ahead – a safe distance – I could make out the contour of a large ship. These are the first two for many days. Good that the radar detector works!

Three small fish hit the deck last night, one was still alive and I think he survived his unpleasant landing. But none this morning, maybe due to the moon shining on the deck all night. Yesterday and today I saw a tropic bird like the one I photographed earlier, and today I saw one with mostly grey feathers, maybe a young one. Otherwise I keep looking for fish, turtles and whales. But with many British comedians to keep me entertained,I can’t complain. I have heard the following during the past days: Monty Python , The Goon Show , Tony Hancock and Joyce Grenfell. It is good that nobody can see me sitting here half-naked in the middle of the Atlantic, laughing out loud!

The temperature is increasing, and is now 25 degrees in the water. Tropical storms can form when the water temperature is over 26 degrees, but these do not become hurricanes until they are west of 35 degrees. The danger of hurricanes decreases as I get further south. Thanks again for greetings in the guest-book. To Roger Diss in Los Gigantes; sorry I had to row past without an interview, hope to see you next year. Thanks Tom Lynch for your greeting. Tom is the previous webmaster for the Ocean Rowing Society, and he got on well with my mother.

I have bread rising outside, and Diana is coming home from a week-end in England, so I won’t give her too much to translate.

With thanks for another fine day at sea.

Stein.

Sunday, 15th. September day 37
Still good weather

12 GMT pos; N2058 W2820. Light breeze and little sea from ENE, ј cloudy, mostly low and friendly, but in the north some high wind clouds.. Temp 28/25. 1710 n.miles to way-point 4, 44 n.miles past 24 hours.

6-7 flying-fish today, the biggest almost 8 cms, approaching eating-size! Last night was the most comfortable so far. Mild night air, moon-light and calm sea. No problem to keep at 3 knots as long as I rowed, in conditions in which the most suitable out-fit was gloves and wedding-ring! Just a shame I became too tired to row at 2230 GMT, about 4 hours after the perfect sun-set. Almost no dew the next morning confirmed that the air is now drier. The day began with an interview on the radio, "good morning, Sandefjord". I should have told my mother and Martin and family who are together this week-end, near my home town of Sandefjord.

Today has been partly dead calm, but I won’t complain as long as it doesn’t last too long! I have made more water, which increases the reserves to 40 litres. I have also checked most of the lockers, cleaned them and dried them out, and greased the rubber-seals with Vaseline. Had my main meal at 4 p.m., put up towels and T-shirts to protect myself, but sweat was pouring. It was 34 degrees in the cock-pit! But having fresh water, I could wash off the sweat and sun-screen before I had my afternoon rest – what a luxury! Since I had rice and onion left from yesterday, I made egg-fried rice with some chopped olives, a box of Portuguese squid, a box of Norwegian crab, red-wine then sports drink, dried fruit and a chocolate for dessert. Was I full! Next meal will be freeze-dried cod and potato crisps.

The last pictures are a portrait of a flying-fish which at least had a beautiful death, and a little more sight-seeing with Star 11. She is showing the starboard corner of the cock-pit. From the left are sun-glasses, knife, cutlery, reading-glasses, Garmin GPS and compass. My Tilley-hat is lying up on the hatch over the galley On the GPS, you can see the speed in knots, the distance in nautical miles to the way-point, and a type of compass rose, which shows if I am on course. The compass also shows the degree of rolling.

I wonder what weather is coming, as the high clouds have increased during the afternoon, and there are two layers. The lower has a south-north direction, the upper an east-west one. There is now also a long, lazy swell from the north, with over 100 metres between the tops. Nothing form the south, so hopefully no reason to expect southerly winds. I was a bit hasty yesterday in my comments about the possibility of storms from here to Georgetown. I see now that there is 1-2% danger of gale near the coast at the time I will be approaching, but until the last 3-400 miles it looks very peaceful, at least statistically!

Best regards,

Stein.

PS: STAR 11 was a present from Bodil and Kjell Mardon Olsen. She knitted her, and he made the oars. They have also given us mascots for Red Admiral and for the first Star Atlantic which capsized near here in 1999. SH.

Saturday, 14th. September day 36 5 weeks at sea. Lovely weather

12 GMT pos; N2115 W2736. Moderate breeze fra ENE, almost cloudless sky. Temp 26/24. 1754 n.m. to way-point 4, 46 n.miles past 24 hours.

A little slower, but so much more comfortable on board now!

This afternoon the wind and seas have become gentler, and there are rows of small clouds which are pleasantly reminiscent of fine tropical weather. I hang up clothes and towels in strategic places to keep the sun off while I make food and eat: because under the awning there is absolutely no wind, and the air seems to vibrate with the heat. Yesterday evening and this morning were a beautiful reprise of the day before. Days when it is good to live, and possible to hear oneself think!

I have listened to Richard Fawkes ”History of Classical Mucis” As an introduction to this series of 4 CDs, I rowed at dawn to Bach’s violin concertos. Last night, Star Atlantic Cinema was open for the second time on the trip. I watched ”Dirty Dancing” from 1997, with Patrick Swayze. Lots of good music and erotic dancing, not so good for an old boy alone at sea!

Slept well, less rolling, feel in good shape. Main meal today was boiled rice with onions, Portuguese sardines with piquant tomato sauce, a little Tabasco sauce, a few olives, beetroot and a glass of red wine. Then fruit-cake, nuts and Maxim sports drink. (Too hot for tea). Many small flying-fish this morning, some so small they fall into cracks and turn up later in the day. I could make water in the ordinary way today, got 7 litres, while I was in the sea and scrubbed the bottom. Again, I could hardly believe how much new growth there was. Now it is gone, that is twice I have scrubbed the hull. Only a few jelly-fish to be seen, avoided touchimg them. Still no fish to be seen, that is odd...

Thanks to Trudi and Herb for weather-forecasts. Difficult to know which is the safest route to take, but at the moment I will keep to the planned course and cross fingers! According to the pilot charts, there is 0% storms and 70% chance of following winds on this route all the way to Guyana.

Continued good week-end.
Stein.

Friday, 13th. September day 35 A good day!
12 GMT pos; N2128 W2648. Fresh breeze from ENE, moderate sea. Temp 25/24, 1/8 cloud, cumulus. 1800 n.m. to way-point 4, 51 n.miles past 24 hours – great!.

Last night there were sharp seas and at times severe rolling with banging not only form the waves, but also form all the stores around the boat. But we had good speed, and little water on the deck. If there is anything I hate it is getting wet after sun-set!
Both sun-set and dawn were spectcular – almost worth the whole trip! With moonlight last night I should maybe have rowed more, but we were drifting so well, and the body was so tired that I crept into the bunk at 23 GMT, wrote up the log and read for an hour. I have Robert’s copy of ”Historical World Atlas” and read about ancient Greece, the Trojan wars and the myths about Odyssevs.It is the story of his adventures I have on cassette. The boat is going a little further north that the course to Guyana, which may be good as Trudi in Barbados thinks I should keep north of 20 degrees for a while to avoid tropical waves. But I thought the tropical depressions which lead up to hurricanes only occur north of 15-20 degrees, and get stronger as they go west. So maybe I should get south as soon as possible, Trudi?

I slept badly, difficult to find a good position due to the rolling, but the seas have decreased during the day, and now at 17.30 it is almst pleasant to sit here. 20 small flying-fish today, I have taken a picture off 15 of them with a jelly lady on the rudder to show this system. It is an idea from Phil and Rob on Kiwi Challenge - winners of the 1997 ARR regatta – and developed by Hugh, my
future son-in-law. It works perfectly. The rudder is not so squint as it looks in the picture, it is the length of the ropes going back on each side that are different. The rudder is thicker and deeper than the original design and only needs small adjustments to change course. I have rigged up a 10 litre can on deck to lead salt-water into the water-maker. It needs at least 50 litres of sea-water to make 5 litres of fresh. It thas worked well today and I made 10 litres, and finally washed the sheet that got wet in the bad weather a week ago! No pain-killers for the past few days.

It is less damp, probably better for the joints. I am eating well, taking my vitamins, and have started taking the second bottle of omega-3 cod-liver oil!
Good wek-end from Stein.

Thursday, 12th. September day 34
New daily record!

12 GMT pos; N2155 W2602. Fresh breeze to near-gale from ENE, 2-3 m waves. Temp 27/14. 1851 n.miles to way-point 4, 55 n.miles past 24 hours – new record!

I’m rolling westwards at a good pace, no doubt the wind and current are with me. Sometimes there are large, breaking waves, but they seem to be "kind" and don’t splash and break over the side. It is odd, because when I look out over the restless sea, I can hardly see any difference from last week when it was so uncomfortable. It is probably due to a more regular direction of the waves, even though I can see an occasional wave coming in a different direction than ENE.

Shouldn’t have written that! Right away, I got a good "kick" on starboard and a splash over the deck.

Last night I watched a beautiful sun-set, followed by clear moon-light as I listend to Homer’s "Odyssey" This production consists of 6 cassettes, 9 hours of listening, good stuff. Elisabeth gave it to me for the 1997 regatta, so I have heard it before, but that is just an advantage. It is full of drama about ingenious heroes, gods and goddesses and even sailing and rowing: to be recommended!

Otherwise I have celebrated my grand-daughter’s 6-months birthday; Half a birthday to you, half a birthday to you Half a birthday dear Hedda, half a birthday to you! Never in your life will you grow and develop as much as in this first half-year. Sorry your grand-father is away for so long and can’t follow your progress, I will try to make up for it later. I’ll also take the opportunity of thanking Martin and Camilla for another energy-packet: not chocolate cigars this time, but dates – much appreciated!

In the rolling this afternoon, the water-making went all wrong. I solved this by letting the machine suck sea-water from a bucket. But the bucket has to be filled all the time, and the rolling means it only takes 6-7 litres. However it is a "water-tight" method, and 6 new litres have been produced. With so much leaning out, my hat was blown off, over the deck and out into the sea on the other side. I managed to get it back without having to jump in, and it was good to have fresh water to rinse it. I have also repaired the cooking-pot whose handles had rusted. Five small flying-fish on deck, and lots in the air.

Diana is taking a long week-end to England – have a good trip, greetings to Elisabeth and Hugh and Joyce and Donald!

And to you others: it is soon Friday!
Stein.

Wednesday, 11th.September day 33
A day for remembering

12 GMT pos; N2229 W2512. Light breeze from ENE, moderate sea, ј cover of low cumulus clouds. Temp 26/24. 1906 n.miles to way-point 4. 46 n.miles past 24 hours. Good!
Like many today, I have thought about what happened a year ago. Diana and I were visiting friends in a suburb of Los Angeles and had ordered a taxi. We were going to the air-port to get a plane to Texas to visit old sailing friends. All planes were cancelled, and we had to get to Canada for our flight to Norway 4 days later. We were lucky to rent a car, and drove across the entire USA to Niagara, where we walked over the bridge into Canada. On the car-radio and on TV in the motels at night. we could follow the nations reaction to the tragedy.

The last day here has been quite different, very peaceful in fact. Nothing exciting to recount. However Diana tells me on the mail today that Emmanuel, rowing from USA to France, has had a terrible time. Good luck, Emmanuel, I hope the last of hurricane Dolly soon dies out!

Back here, it still feels like trade-wind weather, and last night there was a good, even swell with me, and I got a good speed. With an almost cloudless sky, clear moon, and the Milky Way over me, it was a pleasure to row a couple of hours after sun-set. With an evening temperature of 23 degrees, the conditions were almost perfect. During the night about 4 a.m., I heard either dolphins or small whales round the boat. I wish they would visit me during the day! Long time since I have seen a ship, and no peeps from the radar-detector either.

An hour ago, I had a deck-shower and a good wash. It has freshened and we are rolling a bit in the current, so I didn’t take a swim. Water production is 4-5 litres daily, the machine won’t make any more because of the continual air-blocks. but I get just enough for my needs. But no more clothes-washing at the moment.

Photos today of clean rower and the day’s dinner. I had rice with tuna-fish in tomato sauce yesterday. There was left-over rice, which I fried with garlic salt and olive-oil, then an egg. Served with pepper mackerel, a few herbs and red wine, finished off with a cup of tea and Diana’s fruit-cake, and you have a celebration meal! (Thanks, by the way, for greeting from Luihn restaurant in Kristiansand – not sure if you have this on the menu. I recommend it – but I miss a salad.)

Greetings from a newly-washed rower who hopes for a less violent future for all the World.
Stein.