Rollercoaster
Gudrun V
Axel Busch
Tue 22 Feb 2011 12:02
I love it when a plan works out. Yesterday I sailed north-west close-hauled for 35nm in a light to moderate westerly. As the wind turned north I tacked and sailed west. Unfortunately right into the swell that had already built, but that couldn't be helped. The wind increased steadily and I started reefing. Slowly the direction of the swell followed the turning wind and instead of jumping up and down the boat started to roll left and right. With the odd jump in between. Very entertaining.
Also entertaining was the sky. Mostly bright blue, but with some big and nasty-looking black clouds in my path from which a thick curtain of rain extended to the ground. Scary, especially as the sun began to set and colored the sky around the black clouds blood red. I dodged them as much as I could and only got a little rain. It was a fast but also very bumpy ride and I didn't get much sleep in the night as I was tossed around in my bunk. I tried to make myself comfortable and relax, but it's kind of hard when your face gets alternatively ground into the pillow or smashed against the wall while your butt is hanging outside of the bed in the lee-cloth. Hehe. If the this night is the same I have to set up the camera and film it.
This morning I dropped the main-sail and am now only going with the genoa. I lost a knot of speed, but the boat sails more upright and doesn't turn so hard into the wind when hit by a wave. Easier on the boat, the autopilot and on me :-). Overall I sailed 180nm yesterday again, but only 140 towards my destination. I like going fast. But I have to admin that going slower and more comfortably is also very appealing at times. But I think so far on the trip I was very lucky and caught a good mix.
Now I have to do the dishes from yesterday. I was a very hungry sailor and had outmeal for breakfast, sweet pancakes for lunch and tortillas verde for dinner. I was hoping that the sea would be quieter today, but no luck. There are still a lot of potatoes and onions left, so today I'll make some bavarian potatoe salad.
635nm to go. Getting there :-)