Fedor becalmed- Surrounded by sea of ice

by Robert Williams on 29 Mar 2008 Day 61. He has endured hurricane force winds, freezing conditions, the threat of icebergs and mountainous seas. But today, Fedor Konyuhhov is pleasantly surprised to find himself almost totally becalmed in the Roaring Forty latitudes of the South Atlantic, mid way between Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope.

The 56 year old Russian adventurer who is pioneering a circumnavigation of Antarctica over the circular Antarctica Cup Racetrack, reported:

'We are in the centre of a High Pressure system, the wind is down to 5-10 knots and the barometer has jumped to 1034 Mb – the highest it has been since starting this Challenge 2 months ago!

The day is absolutely gorgeous; azure blue skies; sunshine; clear and frosty air; 1-2 meter waves - All very unusual for this region. I spent all day on deck. It was a perfect day to inspect the boat and deck hardware - all is in good working order. The rudder tiller (repaired a week ago) is holding firmly and looks solid. I'm very proud of my repairs. I ran the watermaker for several hours and managed to produce 200 litres of fresh water. This will be enough for several weeks, perhaps even to get to the finish in Albany.

I even had a school of dolphins followed the boat for several hours to make this a great day to remember. This was romantic sailing at its best – just what many people expect sailing on the yacht to be. I know differently. In no time, a wet blanket will be thrown over the boat once more and freezing cold conditions will return.

According to the forecast things will get back to 'normal' in 18 hours:
28th March 08/1200 UTC: WNW 20-25 knots
08/1800 UTC: NNW 30-35, gusting 50 knots; squalls
29th March 08/0000 UTC: WSW 35-40, gusting 50 knots.

I hope the weather coming will refute this data. I really would like to stop this day and live it again.'