Alone around the world by James Naomi

Author:James, Naomi
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: James, Naomi, Express Crusader (Yacht), Voyages around the world, Travelers
Publisher: New York : Coward, McCann & Geoghegan
Published: 1979-12-14T16:00:00+00:00

Naomi James

nervous about approaching land. I’ve taken lots of sights which all put me in the same place, but I can’t get rid of the sense of insecurity. How peaceful the last weeks appear now, with the thought of what the next few days will bring. I wish I could continue on my way without having to go close to the land for the rendezvous.

To take my mind off the worry I wrote letters and finished the article I was writing for the Daily Express. In the evenings I worked on my chess pieces, and was quite pleased with the first knight, except that in my clumsiness I broke off both his sword and his nose and had to glue them back on.

18 November (Day 71) Disaster!

The Sailomat has suffered some irreparable damage due to continual waves hitting the stern, and I shall have to call into Cape Town to have it fixed.

It is a horrible decision to have to make, but to continue without adequate self-steering would be stupid at this stage. I should be thankful that it’s happened now and not a week after Cape Town. I feel so depressed - the fact that I’ll be able to have a bath and eat a steak doesn’t impress me at all.

I can spend the rest of my life having baths, and would much rather be moving on even though it means being out in the cold Southern Ocean. If only I had brought some more bolts with me . . ., but one can’t remember everything. Well, there’s no point in moping — just accept the fact and do what has to be done.

I’m running almost parallel with the shore but fifty miles off, heading for Table Bay where I hope to pick up a pilot to guide me in. I’ve got charts of the coast but none of the harbours.

I think I can see a light patch in the sky above the place where Cape Town should be; I wish it was daylight so that I could be certain. I’ve spent hours these past two days reading details of the coastline, but without detailed charts I wouldn’t dare to risk closing the land during darkness.

The next morning I wrote:

Land! That bright patch in the sky was Cape Town. I can see lots of ships heading there. And now with the daybreak I can see Table Mountain and what the Pilot book calls ‘The Twelve Apostles’. I hardly dare believe it!

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