And of course we have our KISS Wind Generator…who we rebuilt in Malaysia and now it runs better than when we got it! We have had it for almost 11 years somit needed some TLC, but honestly…we have never gotten more power out of it then we do now since that rebuild!
But for two days now…no sunshine….and no wind! So we finally had to pull out our secret weapon…Our Honda Generator. This secret weapon…a great backup, does not have to be the biggest best model…this is the one we got…and it was great to not have to run the engine when we got low on power today. To get the specs…click on image below.
Below is a book I have not read, but it was published in 2016, so it should have some great ideas for solar power, wind generators, hydro generators, and more. It is available through the image link below.
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Wondering what to buy for the Sailor on your shopping List? Here are a Ten Ideas for the sailor on your list…click any of them for more information, to order, or for some other ideas!
Remember, if the sailors on your list are full time cruisers, they only have so much room on their boat! Gifts should be practical. Best is to send cash so they can go on a safari, or take themselves out for a nice Christmas dinner. But if your sailor is close to home and you just don’t know what may be useful for them, here are some ideas!
If you don’t see something below, go to
They have a lot of ideas and sales around this time of year too. Shipping is very quick and can even be sent overseas.
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1.
Most sailors these days would like to video what they are doing and where they are. This was Patrick’s Christmas gift this year after he lost his first one. He loves it, and the Hero 5, even though not the newest is really the best one in his opinion!
2.
A good book, with good ideas for every sailor! We keep this onboard and get new ideas from it all the time.
3.
We have one of these onboard so every device on or off the boat can have accurate positioning. Sometimes we even take it hiking with us to record how far we have walked 😉
4.
Great on a boat…even
better in an anchorage!
Not only is this great for use on the boat, at night, but it’s great too for taking night walks on those dark islands we anchor at. Fun and purpose all in one!
5.
We don’t have one of these. But given the option, it’s always what we feel about sailing!
6.
We can not recommend this more highly. If your sailor will be anchoring a lot, this is a great stocking stuffer to make sure he keeps that anchor snubber in place!
7.
Better hurry so they can engrave the boat name on it!
8.
If your sailor is preparing to cross oceans, this book is something we not only have onboard but it has its own sewn cover for it to make sure nothing happens to it. One of the best books for a Sailor who makes a lot of Ocean passages.
9.
Your sailor can keep this aboard and if there is a medical emergency,he or she won’t have to do it all by memory! Lots of great ideas in this book for both preparing to go offshore, and actually having something happen when away from the doctor!
12.Or a gift card to West Marine…by clicking here:
They have a lot of ideas and sales around this time of year…and the sailor won’t be able to decide to go out to dinner instead! They will appreciate this later on when they have something nice for their boat!
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We have been contemplating what to do, where to go in 2019, and though we enjoyed Madagascar…ecspecially the lemurs…we are wondering if it’s worth it to strategize to get back there from Tanzania, to then have to strategize and struggle to get back to the east coast of Africa…where we are now, in order to go south again.
Note: These are currents today…in December. It is quite likely they will be quite different in April/May.
So we will stay in Tanzania for about 3 more months, til the end of March, working our way south to the border by the end of March, at the latest. We will then depart for South Africa via Mozambique. But we won’t be departing Tanzania until we can do one more grand, excellent Safari here, for nearly a week, and then a big music festival!
Here is what I have learned about our trip south from Tanzania, along the coast of Mozambique, to South Africa.
This chart, part of this above article is particularly helpful: It is the 34.5 percent that I am most concerned about as those cyclones don’t have that much notice…The 28.8 percents…the most northern ones, will be earlier in the trip and we won’t leave safe harbor if we see one of those coming. The bottom two will be out of the way by the time we get that far south, and they have a much longer warning period.
I have looked closely at the cyclone patterns since 1972 on the climatology plugin on Open CPN. Again…May is in the clear…
During the passage, my Iridium GO and Predictwind Offshore will be activated again so that I can get updates every 12 hours to see the details of what may be stewing…This will be very important not just for early cyclone warning, ecspecially the ECMWF model, but also for the all important currents.
I have consulted with a local weather guru, Des Cason down in South Africa, and have talked to and will continue to talk to local sailors who have gone up and down this coast more than once or twice. There is some conflicting information here so I need to keep talking to them! It may be my understanding of what they are saying…or it may be a difference between months traveling. It could also be the effects of cocktails while the sun sets.
I have closely examined Jimmy Cornels Ocean Cruising Pilot Charts, and April looks very mildly risky while May looks to be totally in the clear.
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Some things are very clear to me after all of this research, and while they are still clear to me I thought I would document them for future sailors considering this route, straight down the Mozambique coast in the April, May or early June timeframe. I also invite anyone who has recently made this trip to comment below on your experiences, and with any advice. One can never hear too much about the next leg of one’s passage.
One MUST get down to Mtwara on the Tanzania/Mozambique border by mid March or risk going against wind and potentially current too to get around Capo Delgado just over the border in Mozambique. Des Cason and local sailors give conflicting reports in regards to where the current splits as it hits the Mozambique coasts. Pilot charts agree with the local sailors…Predictwind as we get closer to that time will give us a very good idea as to where it splits and if we will have a helping or hurting current as we found this Cape.
March is still a very strong chance of a cyclone, and though they don’t hit this coast often, it’s still a chance. So we won’t go much past the border until April. In April there is still a very minor chance of a cyclone, and it will NOT have much notice to us since the ones that hit in northern mozambique either develop just northeast of Madagascar, or develop near Mayotte…so we have to be prepared to sail fast one direction or the other to escape it. We need to stay as north as possible until mid to late April to be totally in the clear.
May is ideal. The Southeast winds have arrived, but they aren’t strong.the current down the Mozambique Channel is a helping Southerly flowing current. The Southwesterly busters…periods of very strong south and Southwest winds only happen a few times a month, unlike the traditional October/November Crossing from Madagascar, so you have much longer weather windows (which a slower boat like ours needs).
Late June until mid September is a bad idea since you can get Winter Storms, and who wants to sail when it’s cold anyways, never mind in a storm?
From the chart above, if we can get one third of the way down the coast, we have escaped the short notice cyclones late season cyclones, and then only have to watch carefully for the cyclones developing in the central Indian Ocean which end earlier.
We will get to the Tanzania/Mozambique border by middle of March and then hold up there for as long as possible. And then fly down the coast as fast as we can in late April/ early May. We have heard mixed reports about clearance in to Mozambique so we aren’t sure yet if we will spend time there. I guess it will depend on weather.
