Sailors Run Bounding Along

Readers — On December 11, Jeff Hartjoy set off from Callao, Peru, on a singlehanded nonstop trip around Cape Horn, bound for Buenos Aires, Argentina, aboard his Baba 40 Sailors Run. We’ll be running his reports in ‘Lectronic throughout his voyage.

I’d intended to sail out of Callao but the wind was light and I had to start the engine to avoid a collision with a 500-ft ship which would have meant the premature end of this adventure. Luckily the wind picked up after a few hours and I was able to shut down the engine. My biggest challenge for the first few days was to steer clear of hundreds of fishing boats. I was 180 miles offshore before I could relax my vigilant watch.

It’s taken several days to figure out a workable watch system. My initial idea of getting up every 20 minutes was difficult because it took so long to get back to sleep. I’ve modified it for the conditions and my current position — I stay up all day then, at night, set a 15-mile guard zone on my radar that will sound an alarm if a ship comes within that zone. I get up every two hours or so for a check, then back in the rack.

My daily runs have been good so far — averaging 135 miles — with no engine hours since clearing Callao . . . until last night. I awoke at 2 a.m. to an unfamiliar smoothness to the ride. A quick check of the radar showed we’d slowed to 3.7 knots. I checked the wind indicator which showed we were still close-hauled. Then a look at the GPS showed we were sailing 100º off course! Clearly, the wind had shifted. As I attempted to tack to get back on course, a micro twisting wind wrapped the genoa around the forestay about five times. This thing was a freakin’ mess! I tried several things to unwrap it, including motoring around in circles, but nothing worked. I finally woke up enough to realize that, by bringing both sheets forward and unwrapping them individually, the mess would go away. Thankfully I got it cleared before the wind intesified.

I’ve seen three consecutive green flashes as the sun dropped over the horizon, each one more spectacular than the last, and the seas have turned from a turbid brownish green to a fantastic cobalt blue as I sail hard on the wind, deeper into the southern Pacific Ocean.

I was reminded by my daughter, Ginger, why I’m doing what I’m doing. "Dad, when we were little kids, we’d go into the bathroom and see, written on the mirror in soap, ‘Hawaii 1978 and the World 1982’." I’d forgotten about these goals but she hadn’t. "That’s why I can accept what you’re doing as it’s been your lifelong dream to cruise the world. And you’re doing it." I was late getting out here to live my dream but I have to admit it’s everything I hoped it would be. The dream has gotten me through a lot of tough times and made facing each day a little easier.