30th January 2016

Awelina of Sweden
James Collier
Sat 30 Jan 2016 16:04
19:30.53 N, 023:33.40 W

The wind and wave size increased again yesterday to a steady force 7 occasionally gusting 8. The waves started to break over the back and side of the cockpit, we put a washboard in place and also dropped one side of the new "tent back" of the spray hood. The slightly alarming conditions continued until around 2 am when the waves dropped quite a bit although the wind didn't. This allowed us to reel in a few miles before the wind began to drop around dawn.

Despite trying a poled-out staysail our average speed dropped below 6.5 knots and we need to make an average of 7 Kts to arrive in Mindelo before sunset on Sunday. It's no real issue if we don't as we can heave-to offshore to wait for dawn but we'd prefer to spend the night at anchor in the bay. Therefore we decided that the main needed to go back up, albeit reefed, and the jib would then need to be poled out to the port side. In the bouncy conditions this took an hour or so to complete, leaving a good appetite for breakfast. It seems to have paid off however as the boat speed has increased and at 2:30 pm local time we have 168 miles left to go.

Its amazing the way the body adapts to things. Three days ago we thought a force 6 was a rather bouncy given our time ashore not under way, now we feel its quite a gentle conditions. The nights out here are cold and we have had to revert to blankets or the duvet to sleep under, not just a sheet. Plus long trousers during much of the way. Fiona even tried out her new waterproofs; very good when you get unexpectedly soaked from the side.

Finally we can also report some sea life at last. One solitary kittiwake flying up and down the wave fronts came to check out some vegetable peelings we threw overboard. They really can fly superbly, twisting up and down the sides and fronts of the water skimming the surface apparently effortlessly; but 200 miles from land you wonder if they sleep on the wing, keep going all night or stop and float about for a bit.

Finally Elisabeth Burmeister thanks for the tins of Pate. You provided lunch this afternoon: the best kind of tin to open at sea.