CALM WINDS - AGAIN!
Aquila
Alan and Sarah Bennett
Thu 19 Jun 2008 14:01
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47:37.40N 19:23.00W
Noon-noon run: 100 miles
The same pressure zones that we were a blessing a
couple of days ago and which gave us our record run of 173 miles have now
deserted us, and the conditions couldn't be much different. Around midnight last
night, after a couple of hours of holding onto the final puffs and managing
to ghost along at 2-3 knots, the wind finally gave up, resulting in
the trusty engine being called into service once again. It is still
running at midday today, and we have transferred out 25 litre reserve into the
main tank to stop the skipper going even greyer (if that's possible!).
It's a debate about which comes first - wind or an empty fuel tank!
Much of yesterday was spent pondering what to do
with the situation which we all knew was going to happen. For although Grib
files can be a God send in many situations, there
are some when there is not a lot you can do about the weather that is going to
catch you up! The skipper, after a considerable length of time spent pondering
over Grib files and charts, came up with two ideas...
1) We head south east to France.
2) We head north to Ireland.
The reasoning behind this was that there would be
better winds in those areas, pushing us into the English Channel, as apposed to
the calm which is sitting right in the path we want to take.
However, after considerable advice and input from
the crew, it was decided that we would use Secret Option Number 3!; that if
you can't decide what to do...do nothing...!
So here we are, having been becalmed at midnight,
with not a hint of wind for a considerable length of time! In the meantime
we have been donking slowly ESE in order to intercept a favourable wind at the
first opportunity. It looks as thought the south east option has it.
Maybe around 1800 this evening we might see the result........
Although lacking in wind, the crew has been treated
to a couple of fantastic displays by some very friendly whales. First spotted by
Ian around a mile away, there were three (maybe more) whales just below the
surface taking in lots of air and creating a lovely 'water fountain'
display.
Later on in the day, Sarah jumped up in the cockpit
and started shouting "WHALE". About 400 meters away on our starboard side was a
pod of whales swimming in the opposite direction, with their fins just above the
water, resulting in a mad grey dash for the video camera, but they were too
far away to get any footage of them. Furthermore, both Tom and the skipper
during their respective dawn watches have had an unidentified companion very
close to the boat. Grey, bigger and slower in movement than a dolphin, we
are left wondering what it wa. Maybe a whale calf, thinking the boat its
mum?
Supper last night was a welcome change from the
previous couple of days, with the weather allowing the crew to sit in the
cockpit enjoying a lovely bottle of red wine. The head chef was having a
day-off, so the meal was prepared by Tom, resulting in a pasta with a tomato and
Italian sausage sauce, which as usual was all gone by the end of the meal.
All very civilised.
Things we could do without:
- Calms!
- Diesel in the bilges - thankfully now but a
distant memory
- Leaking water pumps
- Burst tin of tomato soup in the bilges. At
least it wasn't sweet corn!
- Roget's thesaurus
- A deficit of fresh
veg.
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