Stein HOFF: News from the route

STEIN HOFF: news from the route

Monday, 30th. September
Stein still struggling with his data system, he is in the process of getting expert help, so hopes to be back soon. At least he has a telephone which works, and he has sent this short report:
Position at 12 GMT: N1525 W3346 331 n.miles to way-point 7, 9 n miles past 24 hours.
He lay on the sea-anchor (for 20 hours) until 6 a.m. During the night, the wind gradually decreased and backed, and there has been a light NE breeze duting the day, although still a swell from SW. It is cloudy, but just enough sun to charge the batteries.The bolt for the foot-plate broke yet again, so that was another repair job, and he has scrubbed the bottom again, the growth gathers very quickly. There have been lots of fish round the boat, schools of king-fish and dorados and the pilot-fish!
He feels in good form, things are going better and he send his regards. Diana.

Sunday, 29th. September
No direct report from Stein today as he is having trouble with the PC. He ran out of current while using it, and now that he has charged up again, finds that it does not seem to be working properly. His position at 12 GMT was N 1533 W3342. There was a tropical wave forecast for his area, and this did indeed hit him at 3 a.m. in the morning, when there was lots of lightening, and the wind both increased and veered to the south He has been lying on the sea-anchor since 9.45 this morning, the wind has gone more SSW and become a little less. So he is hopeful that this will not last long. He has been lying reading for most of the day, Iris Murdoch's book "The sea, the sea".
Hopefully he will be on-line again tomorrow if he solves the problem. Diana.

Saturday, 28th. September Day 50 7 weeks at sea!

12GMT pos; N1551 W3316. Moderate breeze from ENE, moderate sea. 1/2 cloud-cover. Temp 30/27 (!). 364 n.miles to way-point 7, 36 n.miles past 24 hours. At last a distance which seems in proportion to the effort! The conditions have changed since yesterday, the steep waves have mostly disappeared and the boat is going easier and faster. I still have problems getting 3 knots, but am just a little under. Even better, the wind has backed a little more, giving me a push in the right direction. The course has now gone from 208 to 198 degrees during the 12 days since I changed the way-point, but if I reach 10 degrees north a bit west for 35 degrees, I still consider that the hurricane risk is minimal.

This afternoon, there has been a thin cloud-cover over the whole sky, so the heat is less troublesome, and I have had a good long row, while making 10 litres of water, and listening to "The Count of Monte Cristo" again. Yesterday, it was "Round the World in 80 days", and today English poems in reprise. Many small flying-fish on deck at the front of the boat today, but further aft they seem to have escaped through the scuppers. Tonight I will open all four of them. I usually have them shut to stop splashing when the boat is rolling, also to stop any small things on deck being washed into the sea. But that doesn’t matter at night. (I should have thought of this before!)

Otherwise not much to relate. My pilot-fish is still there, darting out to taste anything I throw into the sea, unless the dorados get there first. They will only have fish, though. My muscle pain is still there, but I have given up tablets at the moment. But my energy, which was low yesterday, is back, and now it is fun to row again. It is also nice to read the cheering messages in the guest-book. I hope everybody realises that I do reply there from time to time, and can answer any questions. Today I had a look into Emmanuel’s home-page and read his reports. Poor lad! He deserves a medal of honour if he gets to France on his own! Good luck ,Emmanuel!

(Emmanuel is rowing from USA to France, see www.oceanrowing.com, Diana)

The days go fairly quickly, imagine 7 weeks at sea – tomorrow 50 days, and soon 2000 nautical miles behind me. I hardly dare to think about getting to land again. I concentrate on the daily activities – meals, check the mail, eat, write my report, make water, scrub the hull, swim, listen to a cassette, and so on. One day at a time, and with as many pleasant moments as possible. In this way, it has been at least an 80% positive journey so far. Bit there is still a long way, I am prepared for almost anything, better that way.

Continued week-end greetings from Stein.

Friday, 27th.September day 49 Evening visit from dolphins

12 GMT pos; N1622 W3250. Moderate breeze from ENE, moderate sea, ј cumulus clouds. Temp 29/27. 400 n.miles to way-point 7, 25 n.miles past 24 hours. Still going slowly, and I am sure there is counter-current, probably going north-west. The wind has at least backed a little, and gives me a small push, although 3 knots is now difficult to keep up for more than a few minutes at a time. The pain in my neck keeps me back a little, and it has been very hot this afternoon. I try to drink a lot, sometimes the dark colour of my urine shows that it is not enough.

I had an active day yesterday, the light cloud cover sheltered me a bit and made we feel more energetic. Then today I have washed the sheet and towel, which are clean and dry for the first time since Lisbon! Not much to boast about, but it shows how even simple tasks are much more of an effort in these conditions, and I am constantly anxious about not having enough water. Although now there is no problem making water with the sea-water intake from a can on deck, except for the bother of constantly filling the can.

The lockers in the middle of the boat where the water-cans and batteries are stored, have been cleaned out and dried today.

I took the opportunity of checking the stores, and seeing that there is enough weight under deck for the boat to be self-righting if it should go round. At present I have 40 litres fresh-water and 10 litres sea-water in cans under deck. In bad weather, I will fill another 10-20 litres of sea-water for stability.

Lots of small flying-fish on deck this morning. I managed to save a couple that landed early in the morning. I have noticed that there are many fish like the one I called a jumping-fish, several times I have seen 4-5 at a time jump form wave-top to wave-top. I thought earlier that they were flying-fish, but they are probably a relation that has another way of escaping quickly.

Dolphins was yesterday’s big experience. The flock had about 20-30 animals, some were so big with large dorsal fins, that they looked like killer-whales. Odd that so many had large, light areas on their bodies, especially on the breast. They were around for several hours, chased away all the dorados so that only the pilot-fish was around while I scrubbed. (the boat has now been scrubbed twice on each side, so this is not the reason for my slow speed!). The pilot-fish has grown! He is really lively, darts back and forth around me all the time, examines all that i touch and tastes anything that loosens.

While I was scrubbing, I could hear whistling a short way off and a couple of times a dolphin came about 4-5 metres from me. Once a school of flying-fish passed between us – a fine sight. The boat was fairly stable, and I swam towards the dolphin, but then he flapped his tail and was gone. Back on deck, I still saw them swimming by 4-5 at a time, and one had a blue piece of plastic or cloth hanging onto his head. He must have got his head into something- too bad I couldn’t help him to get rid of it.

I have to admit that I have given wrong GMT times. I heard on the BBC that it was 7 GMT, when I thought it was 8 GMT! Now it is called UTC, that is Universal Time Central. My GPS confirmed that BBC was right! I have good friends in Greenwich and will continue with GMT.

I wish all a good week-end – and don’t forget to trim a bit!

Greetings, Stein.

Thursday, 26th.September day 48 Repairs

12 GMT pos; N1640 W3228. Moderate to fresh breeze from east, moderate sea, ј cloud with small cumulus clouds, but also some high wind clouds. Temp 28/26. 425 n.miles to way-point 7, 27 n.miles past 24 hours.

It is going slowly! I spend as much time as usual at the oars, about 9 hours a day, the sore neck hinders me a bit, but the main problem is the direction of the wind and sea. But it could be worse – might have had contrary winds! There is at least not much splashing, and enough sun for good charging. Today I made 15 litres of water- a record- and plan to wash my sheet and large towel early tomorrow. Just now I heard whistling, and sure enough, there are dolphins around the boat – I’ll be right back!

It is now 15-20 minutes later, and I have enjoyed the company of a large flock of dolphins of all ages. Many large animals, some with depigmented areas, a couple look almost like dalmatians. I have filmed and taken photos, will send tomorrow if they are good. I already have 2 ready for today. The one is from the corner of the cock-pit where STAR 11 is showing the Argos sender. This is the instrument which sends my position automatically – in fact every 90 seconds – and which the Ocean Rowing Society via Servie Argos in France uses to plot my position. It’s battery is guaranteed for 90 days, so I have an extra one with me. It is packed with the survival suit in the front cabin. The sender also has an emergency button, so I have three emergency beacons on board if there should be a crisis. Every time the Argos sends a signal, a red light flashes. I only see this when I row in the dark, and the little, red blink reminds me that someone is following me all the tome.

Last night it was calm and magical out here. I listened to more of Richard Fawkes’ history of opera, and enjoyed one musical pearl after another. It was so beautiful that I got goose-pimples several times! Appreciation of classical music is something I didn’t discover until I was nearly 40, but now it increases all the time, one of the joys of getting older!

One of the fastenings on the foot-plate broke yesterday, and was repaired today. I had adjusted it in Belem, and had bolted it on a little squint so that it finally got a metal fracture. The foot-plate is important not only to push against, but also to stabilise the runners that the seat slides back and forwards on. So today I cut out a piece of aluminium, filed it, bored a hole, put in a bolt and fixed the damage. A couple of days ago, I had to throw out the first burner for my stove. This had been used by Diana for the whole of her trip, and a rust-hole had developed in the bottom. Baked bread today, not totally successful, couldn’t get the pressure up in the pressure-cooker. I fried the bread on both sides afterwards. It was at least big and light, even if under-cooked. So now I have to see if the seal in the cooker is leaking. This pressure-cooker has already been across the Atlantic twice, I suppose I should have brought a spare seal…

The wind has died even more. I need a wash and will see how the hull looks. Maybe I will also meet a dolphin?

Best wishes, Stein.

Wednesday, 25th. September day 47 Portuguese man-of-war!

12 GMT pos; N1702 W3210. Light breeze from east, moderate sea, ј cloud, light blue sky. Temp 27/26. 252 n. miles to way-point 7, only 29 n. miles past 24 hours!

Since I took in the sea-anchor yesterday morning, it hasn’t been possible to keep a good speed or a perfect course. There is not much wind, what there is comes right in from port-side, and the waves are short and steep, which makes the boat roll and lose speed. So I am steering 10-15 degrees further west than the planned course, even then it is difficult to row faster than 2-2.5 knots. I probably have a counter current which explains the steep waves.

The painful neck-muscle is also bothering me more than before, Doesn’t look like the enforced rest did it any good. It is the attachment of the trapezius muscle form my neck to right shoulder blade that is irritated and gives a burning sensation after about 10 minutes of rowing. I am now trying to massage it regularly and take Celebra twice a day as a therapeutic trial. But mainly I must not get stressed about my speed or a little pain, this is no competition, and I can take the time I need.

Last night was starry, despite a slight haze. The milky way was clear, but the Northern star is getting more difficult to see now as it is only 17 degrees over the horizon. I listened to another CD of the Goon show, not only good comedy, but some good music. I think the recordings are nearly 50 years old. Today Diana is at the theatre with Rigmor to see the opera "Hansel and Gretel" by Humperdinck. I envy them a bit, but it inspired me to listen to the cassettes on the history of opera – 6 hours of interesting information and great music.

Today I had a well-deserved afternoon rest, or so I think. (it is over 30 degrees in the shade). As i stepped out onto deck to hang up the bed-clothes, I saw one of the sea’s more peculiar creations – a Portuguese man-of-war. If I had been rowing I would have tried to turn the boat and get a picture. But the animal was on a 45 degree course to me and went off at a surprising speed. What one sees above the water looks like a flat, pink and blue plastic bag, and is the air-filled sail of a jelly.-fish! The body is under the water and there are tentacles several meters long. The sail lets the jelly-fish swim into the wind. This is the biggest one I have ever seen, the sail about 30 cm diameter. The tentacles give a very painful burn. We experienced this once on Red Admiral, when a visiting child climbed up over the stern. As he got up, he started screaming and writhing in pain, and we realised what had happened when we saw some tentacles on deck. His parents rubbed it with methylated spirits and this helped within a few minutes. Well, that was the day’s anecdote. Now I will be on the look-out for Portuguese men-of –war, and have the camera ready. I will also have a good look around when I jump in for a swim!

Greetings, Stein.

Tuesday, 24th.September day 4 On the road again!

12 GMT pos; N1726 W3150. Moderate breeze from ENE again, moderate sea. ј cloudy, Temp 28/26. 481 n. miles to way-point 7, 1 n. mile past 24 hours(!) The rough weather with SE wind fortunately didn’t last too long. I took in the sea-anchor after 25 hours at 10.30 this morning and could again row in the right direction., which is now 203 degrees. During the afternoon it has calmed down even more. I dropped my afternoon nap to get a few more miles in the right direction. I’ve also washed clothes, made 12 litres of water, dried cushions and aired out.

It took longer than planned to send the pictures and report last night, so that the sun had just gone down by the time I got my diving-mask on. It was cooler and I had to warm up with some knee-bends and push-ups. But push-ups with feet on one gunwale and hands on the other don’t work! Under the boat, my pilot-fish greeted me enthusiastically and gobbled up as many barnacles as he could manage. As I grew accustomed to the dim light, I saw lots of other fish, shining blue and silver. After 15 minutes. I couldn’t see much, but had got off most of the growth on the hull. Soaped and showered on deck, then a rub down with half a liter of warm, fresh water. The height of luxury!

When it was dark, with no moon, I decided that with so many fish under me, I could try my luck at fishing. It took 2 minutes to get a small dorado – I caught his tail!

While the rice and onions were cooking, I cleaned and gutted the fish and laid him on top with an egg. 10 minutes later it was ready, the fish steamed in one piece, and it was easy to clean away the bones. The egg was just right, a little Tabasco sauce and dried herbs, and voila!

I put the alarm on for 7 a.m., but the wind had still not veered, so I listened to the BBC World Service instead. The endless middle-east conflict is an on-going tragedy, and that USA with Britain’s support really plans to invade Iraq, I find more incredible. Why cannot humans enjoy what is peaceful and beautiful? At least here the more existential questions are dominant. My first aim is to get to N10 W35, which might take 2 more weeks.

The gull which I fed yesterday got some flying-fish from me this morning, and followed for several hours. He sat on top of the cabin, which wasn’t easy, as he slipped back and forth on the slippery solar –panel, looking as though he was skating! Good entertainment. He cleaned the feathers on his breast whenever he had a calm moment. I am curious to know how he gets enough fresh-water, or gets rid of salt.

He doesn’t have a nose like the petrels, both the small storm petrels and the albatrosses. They have a special organ at the base of the beak which eliminates excess salt. I will also need some help to fins a suitable name for my striped friend the pilot-fish.

Now there is constant life around me in the sea, lots of flying-fish and sometimes a dorado chasing them at full speed. Almost unnecessary with more entertainment, but I have enjoyed listening to the rest of Roald Dahl’s stories today. He is Welsh, but had Norwegian parents, so we feel he is partly Norwegian. I really enjoyed his children’s stories when the kids were small.

Now I must get out into the good weather again.

Greetings. Stein.

Monday, 23rd September day 45 On the sea-anchor

Position at 1320 GMT (I was asleep at 12GMT!); N1726 W3147. Moderate to fresh breeze from ESE, moderate sea, cloudy. Temp 26/26. 482 to way-point 7, 23 n.miles past 24 hours. The course is now 203, originally 208, to way-point 7.

The wind eased and the sea calmed down a bit last night, so I could open the half-.way presents form Diana, my mother Eli and Rigmor. The sun-set had just celebrated with a splendid display of colours, I thought that it was a beautiful performance, but not exactly a sign of good weather. I had a show of presents in the cock-pit, almost like my birthday, nice card, balloon with hearts, ingredients for a carrot-cake, lots of other goodies to eat, 2 CDs with tales by Roald Dahl, and a little bottle of Cointreau. (Liqueur glass is not part of my equipment here on board!) I also had a comforting telephone-call from Diana who reminded me that bad weather is part of the game, and told me off , quite rightly, for letting water in through the ventilator for the third time! OK ,OK; I have learned my lesson, now it will only be open in obvious good weather.

After dinner and presents, I rowed for an hour, listening to Roald Dahl’s fantastic stories. I hardly managed to hold the course with waves coming in form the side. The night was more comfortable than the past few days, but the compass indicator kept going round and by morning we were going straight west… I tried the oars, but gave up after half an hour, and at 9.30 a,m, put out the sea-anchor instead. That reduced the drift westwards to 0.5 knots, not much more than the current. The anchor consists of a 3 metre parachute-like cloth part, which floats a couple of metres under the water, with a little buoy up to the surface. At the bottom of the parachute is a weight in the form of a shackle and a swivel, then 70 metres of pleated, elastic nylon-rope back to Star Atlantic 11 and me. It has to be that long so that the anchor and the boat are at the same phase of a wave (both at the top or the bottom) and to give enough flexibility to stop it breaking. Diana used this equipment a lot on her row over the Atlantic in 1999, but this is the first time I try it. And it works very well, especially when the boat lies directly into the waves.

From Trudi in Barbados, I hear that there is a low-pressure south of me which I suppose is the reason for the change of wind direction. It is moving west, so I hope it won’t last long. I have caught up on some sleep, read some instruction-manuals, checked the photo-equipment and fed a sea-gull. He was quite shy at first, but the pieces of crisp-bread must have tasted good, because he became more and more courageous, landed first on the cabin-top and then on the deck in front of me to say that he wanted more. He is still keeping an eye on me, swimming just outside the port window of the cabin.

I have just had one of the best meals of the journey. First a little red wine (Camillo Alves Vinho de Mesa Tinta) with Portuguese cashew nuts and mushrooms from my mother, then cod-stew with more of the same nuts and mushrooms, as well as a box of Norwegian crab and some crispbread mixed in. Tasted great! (I hope you are noting this, Lisbeth at Luihn restaurant?!) Then Earl grey tea, Diana’s cake, Turkish delight and Rigmors milk-chocolate. Was I full !

It looks like I will be here tonight. I plan a dip to wash myself, scrub the bottom and say hello to the pilot-fish. I might even try to fish later, although it may seem rather brutal to treat my friends in this way….

Greetings, Stein.

Sunday, 22nd September. day 44 Half-way!

12 GMT pos; N1742 W3126. Near gale from NE/ENE, rough, almost complete cloud-cover, low, black clouds. Temp 27/26. 505 n.miles to way-point 7, 36 n.miles past 24 hours. The course to the next way-point is now 205 degrees, so I am getting pushed a little more west. After I got inn all that water last night. I almost put out the sea-anchor, but then I would have gone even more west. I felt quite stressed because of the irregular waves and stayed outside until 1 a.m. There were some splashes on deck, but no repeat of the sudden lurching over. I rowed for 2 hours after the moon came out. Watching the rolling, growling, living landscape in the moon-light was both fascinating and a bit eerie. Even if I row with the waves coming sideways, I can make quite good progress, and I can avoid some heeling with the oars and the weight of my body. On the CD I listened to a collection of my favourites, which had a calming effect on my nerves. So thanks to Armstrong, Lennon, Cline, Bilk, Lynn and others. Vera Lynn’s "we’ll meet again" could be interpreted different ways, but I chose not to be melodramatic.….

Not much sleep, lots of noise and movement, but still some slow progress. Yesterday’s mistake was leaving the galley hatch open. Today’s was having the ventilator in the roof just slightly open and of course getting a spray right in my face. I had just checked the E-mail and guest-book - the day’s highlight. So again I have a damp mattress and sheet and a few drops got onto the PC. It has nine lives, but now I am taking no more chances. I will just have to sweat a bit more!

An addition to the list of water damage yesterday, is my jelly ladies who were lying in a glass which got filled with water. The ladies were transformed to a pink lump with an arm and a leg sticking out here and there. They have now found their way over the side to the fishes…On the deck today was a fish which didn’t have the usual "wings" but ordinary fins. Must be a jumping-fish! Otherwise it looked like a flying-fish, probably a type of herring. I took a picture of it on my knee.

Otherwise I am about half-way in my voyage. The Ocean Rowing Society worked out yesterday that I have rowed 1791 miles from Lisbon, 100 n.miles more than the straight line (I thought it would be more) and have still 1728 to Georgetown. It will be a little more since I am going south before I take the direct course, but I think that is good enough to declare that I am HALF-WAY! In these conditions it is difficult to celebrate, but there is some blue sky in the east, and the wind has eased to a fresh breeze. Hope the seas will become calmer soon. So I will probably have a glass of wine with my evening meal and open a couple of presents. I have tried to eat normally, but my appetite is not so good in these conditions. I have managed to shave and make 10 litres of water, which was a small victory. I shall finish while the PC is still dry, and look forward to better weather. Best wishes from Stein.

P.S. A special greeting to family Potter in Maine, USA, who sent me a nice greeting in the guest-book. I have in fact some pictures of "American Star" when she came to Barbados, taken by Thomas Herbert! Thanks to you and the others who have sent a greeting – please keep them coming!

SH

Saturday, 21st. September day 43 Autumn solstice, storm and 6 weeks at sea.

12 GMT pos; N1812 W3104 Gale to strong gale from NE, very rough sea, ѕ cloud. Temp 28/26, 541 n.miles to way-point 7, 39 n.miles past 24 hours.

The wind and sea increased last night, so I got the boat ship-shape before I stopped rowing at 22 GMT – an hour after sun-set. Even the fine, full moon didn’t help, the waves crashed and splashed so it was both uncomfortable and a little scary. A bumpy night followed, lots of banging and splashing, but no seas over the deck. The boat kept a reasonable course, so made some slow progress. At about 4 a.m., the course changed a little to port-side, a sign that the wind had backed, so I adjusted the rudder and it became a little more comfortable. I could see in the moon-light that there were fish on both sides of me like an escort. Perhaps they were looking after me? It helped my nerves to listen to music and open a little packet which Elisabeth gave me to open when I needed comfort.

This morning the wind increased again, and the waves were 3-4 metres, sometimes higher. Even so it was possible to row, and I have had a fairly normal day. But it is not pleasant, all tasks are a bit more difficult, just keeping my hat on is a problem! And using the toilet-bucket would give the comedian Billy Connelly some good material!

This afternoon the sky and the visibility have cleared, the wind has died a little, and I got a false feeling of security. I say "false" because as I started to write this report, I experienced the biggest wave of the trip so far. The boat heeled over to starboard so that the side was under water. The cock-pit filled to about 20 cms., and many litres also got into the galley – that is record that I hope won’t be broken. But amazingly there was only a minimal splash into the cabin, a few drops got onto the PC. So in the middle of writing this, I have had to spend an hour emptying, drying and tidying. The cock-pit bilge-pump has been in use for the first time. I don’t think anything of importance is lost or broken A few tea-bags, match-boxes, sports-drink powder and a paper-roll have ended up in the sea. And I have learned a lesson. From now on all hatches must be properly shut, except in good weather! I have also split up my store of matches and put them in different places.

In these conditions it is not easy to take pictures. I have already spent some time at the PC today, filling out my weekly psychology questionnaire from Pfizer. I have therefore asked Diana to send the picture which I took for the local newspaper 2 days ago for the web-site, and I hope to send one from my half-way celebration and hopefully better weather tomorrow.

A good dry, peaceful week-end to all.
Stein.