This Just In! AMARA making incredible time heading toward Cape Town!

Martin just sent me this news flash!  They took off on Sunday and are making spectacular time heading to Cape Town. 

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"Reuters AP (Well, not really, but if Rueters knew, they would totally have posted this.)

Martin Frey reporting from off Cape St. Francis

The sailing yacht AMARA achieved a new 24 hour distance and speed record over the last 24 hours from Midnight to Midnight.  Distance traveled was 253.1 nautical miles (291 miles—That's fast!), making her average speed better than 10.5 knots!   These results were achieved with the assistance of the favorable Agulhas current and not likely to be repeated until AMARA sails up the Gulf Stream off the eastern coast of the USA.

Sometime tomorrow afternoon AMARA will also achieve another first with the rounding of the southern tip of Africa which will take her to a latitude of 35 degrees south, the furthest south that she has ever been."

AMARA should be reaching landfall on Friday.  Martin reports that Cape Town is less than 2 days away.  Yay!

Bunny Chow... Well, Not Literally

Last Saturday night, Martin, David, Doug and John went to a Blues Festival in Durban.  First stop... Bunny Chow

In Durban the people are very proud to be the only place in the world where you can get Bunny Chow.  Bunny Chow is a lentil and meat curry that is served in a bread bowl.  It is extremely popular and is inexpensive and often very spicy. 

Tradition dictates that the proper way to eat Bunny Chow is with just your fingers making for very messy hands. Given that that they are leaving Durban on Sunday, it was imperative that they all ate their Bunny Chow today.  Martin had his at lunch and here is the crew getting their Bunny Chow initiation Saturday night while they were enjoying the Durban Blues Festival. 

PS. No bunnies were been harmed in making Bunny Chow.

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Here are some photos of Charlie, the crowd pleaser, at the Blues festival.

I have another post coming shortly...

Cool New Video—Adventures On AMARA

Doug sent me this great video of him and the gang during their passage from Reunion Island to Durban.  It's quite entertaining as it shows the whales greeting them as they approached Durban. It also gives you an idea of how rough it can get on the high seas.  He was also able to capture some footage of them while they were in the gale that had winds upwards to 48 knots.  Never a dull moment on AMARA.

Enjoy!  (And thanks, Doug!)

Landfall this morning—Durban, South Africa

AMARA and her crew reached landfall today arriving in Durban.  As they approached land and were just off the coast, they were greeted by Southern Right Whales that came up next to AMARA while breaching and spy hopping in the water.  Martin felt like it was the welcoming committee coming out to greet these tired sailors and escort them in to South Africa.

I spoke to Martin via Skype this evening and it was so nice to get caught up and be able to see each other on our computer cameras.  He was very excited to be on land and was enjoying a breakfast at a local coffee shop.

I'm just so glad that they made it to Durban and am anxious to meet up with Martin in Cape Town in less than two weeks.

More news to come in the morning.

Gales and Currents

Martin sent me an update via email on what they are currently dealing with.  I thought I would share it on the blog.  They are almost there!

"We have about 100 miles to go before we get to Durban, but we are in a full Gale tonight.  I just got off watch and had winds up to 48 knots (which is around 54 mph) and some lightening just to keep it interesting. The boat is doing well in the waves.   We are also just about to cross 30 miles of the Agulhas Current which runs down the African coast at about 4 knots. Fortunately the wind is going the same direction as the current, so the waves won't get any bigger.

Don't worry about anything, I'm having a blast, and just thought you would like to hear what we are dealing with at the moment.

I will let you know when we arrive in Durban.

Love
Martin"