BECALMED
Aquila
Alan and Sarah Bennett
Tue 10 Jun 2008 14:04
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40:38.10N 43:07.5W
Noon-noon
run: 111miles. But we must confess that 28
miles of that was under engine, as we have been completely becalmed since
0500. We are steadily chugging along at 4 kts, more to charge the
batteries (as of course Gilbert goes on holiday when our speed drops) than in
the interest of making progress.
Our Low is proving to be incredibly
persistent. Normally you get winds with Lows, but not when you are
positioned mid-way between two of them. We can see frontal activity about
100 miles to the SE, where there is wind a-plenty, but there certainly is none
here.
We are also left in the seas of the previous days
blow, so continue to roll around and with no sails up to damp the motion.
We have tried various combinations as steadying sails, but it is a trade off
between a slight decrease in motion and considerable wear on the sails. So
we continue to whistle for a wind.
With satellites becoming harder to access by the
day, intend from now on to separate photos from script, as script only needs
access for a couple of seconds, but photos need a a minute or so.
The task for this afternoon is to take the port
side of the aft cabin to bits (sorry Tom!) to see if we can locate the source of
some diesel that is finding its way to the bilge. I strongly suspect that
heater pump that was troublesome two months ago when I first moved on
board. We shall see.....
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