10:18 PM Wed 18 Feb 2009 GMT
 | | 'Mohsin celebrates passing Cape Horn - Round the World Attempt onboard Musandam'
Oman Sail
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After 40 days at sea, non-stop, what a milestone for Mohsin Al Busaidi! Cape Horn and its infamous dark jagged rocks that mark the crossing of the two mighty oceans of the Pacific and Atlantic has now been crossed.
As the crew drew close to Cape Horn the sea state changed dramatically and the light winds and waves of the Pacific began to change into the huge rolling waves of the Atlantic. Gale force conditions with gusts of up to 40 knots (75 km per hour) mean that Musandam is now surfing on the waves from the west and over the swell from the east. The water colour changed from Pacific blue to emerald green and finally on Mohsin's and Loik's watch the horn was in sight.
'this is the second time I have seen land since I left Muscat. As we passed Cape Horn the overcast sky cleared somewhat to give a partly sunny sky and gave us an unreal chance to see the rocky outcrop of South America in its full glory - I never imagined I would be so lucky. I hope I can now inspire a new generation of Omanis to also become 'Cape Horners' ' said a jubilant Mohsin this morning. According to sea faring tradition, Mohsin and his fellow crew members onboard Musandam now have the right to wear a ring on the left earlobe for having successfully sailed past this great milestone.
As Didier Ragot, Jules Verne Trophy (fastest sailing circumnavigation via the three great capes) co-holder once put it, 'once you round the Horn, you know you're not going to die and that whatever happens, you can cope.' It is certainly not a scientifically-proven statement and there is plenty of room left for chaos after this landmark, yet the comment, made by a man who had seen thousands and thousands of kilometers at sea around the globe, speaks volumes about the emotional power of that rounding, its importance in the context of the first Omani attempt at a round-the-world journey.
Plagued by choppy seas, the trimaran's progress has remained good, but tiredness and lack of sunlight is starting to take a toll on the crew says Charlie: 'We are moving along in petty rough seas, not the giant rolling swells that we were expecting but some life onboard is reduced a fair bit to eating and sleeping and sailing, much less reading or writing anything.'
 | Cape Horn - Round the World Attempt onboard Musandam - Oman Sail |
On Day 37, under gloomy gray skies and with Cape Horn lying some 2,000 km in front of Musandam's bows, the crew wouldn't have liked some calmer conditions, but it wasn't to be as another gale rocked the boat. Requiring all seamanship available, the crew spent 48 hours - both day and night - in extremely uncomfortable conditions as the boat was tossed around as if it was an item of clothing stuck inside a washing machine set on the spin cycle. As Mohsin described 'it was hard to tell if i was soaked from the waves or the torrential rain - I have never been this cold and wet before in my life. Eating had become almost impossible with the motion making life onboard just really difficult. The spectacle of passing Cape Horn is keeping me going, I just hope we pass in daylight hours'.
The next morning was to bring some respite, lovely surfing conditions with no spray on deck and beautiful well-oriented waves, and after some 40 days and 40 nights at sea it was time for Mohsin to reflect on the way sleep patterns affect the perception of 'daily routine'. if there is such a thing in an environment of perpetual motion. '3 hours on / 3 hours off watch means that I sleep when I need to, day or night. The interesting thing for me is in Muscat we don't have much difference in the length of day light and darkness (12 hours each), out here it changes all the time with the shortest night so far being 6 hours - the countdown has started to Muscat and my own bed - i wonder if i will have the watch system sleeping pattern when i get back on land.' Well, according to the accounts made by the vast majority of long-distance sailors who have lived under a watch system for more than a month, the answer is clearly yes! Funny how the thought of returning to Muscat seems to be on everyone's minds these days, when there is still a last great cape to round and more than 15 700 km to go still - surely, the psychological illusion of 'liberation' associated with rounding the Horn has been at work aboard Musandam!
And to next week ...
The Atlantic Ocean could prove to be the most difficult test for Mohsin and the crew on board Oman Sail's 75 foot trimaran as they now sail towards the African continent. The crew will have to keep an extra visual, especially at night, for drift ice. The sea temperature has now dropped to below 8 degrees C - without a survival suit, a human would not survive for more than an hour in water this cold and it is going to get much colder.
www.omansail.com
by Oman Sail media
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