Day 8: STT -> Azores - on/off wind and sun

Blue Note
Marco M.
Sun 5 May 2013 15:10
Date: Sunday 05/05/13 - Time: 12:00 Blue Note Time - 11:00 EDT
Position 27:28N 54:44W
COG 79T SOG 4.2 kt, Wind 30T 8 kt, Barometer 1004 raising
Temperatures: Air 23.6C, Sea 19.7C
Last 24h Sailed Distance: 96 NM
Last 24h Decrease Distance on rhumb line: 88 NM
Sailed distance since departure: 878NM
Time since departure: 8d 2h 00m
Average Speed since departure: 4.52 kt
Average VMG since departure: 4.00 kt
Intention: sail to Horta
Distance to End on rhumb line: 1466 NM
ETA: Sometime in 2013
Diesel consumption:
- 53 gallon left
- 54% diesel burned with 35% of passage done, ration = 0.64
- 112 hours left motoring
- 440 range left on motoring

Detailed Track (50 is the maximum number of point, i.e. once the last point reaches 50, the last point always is 50): <http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0EIVGO9oiEYLjqAfRxhderm34cEEF9dMP>http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0EIVGO9oiEYLjqAfRxhderm34cEEF9dMP

On/off wind for the past 24 hours.
We had a stretch of 5 hours where we could switch the engine off and sail with 9-11 kts of wind.
Yesterday the wind was on a broad reach and we used the spinnaker to give us a good sailing speed of 5-6 kts right along the rhumb line.
This morning the wind is from 30(T) and we are on a close hauled course.
At time the wind goes down to less than 6 kts and we have to start the engine again.

We passed the 1/3 mark of the trip and still a long way to go (especially if there will be no wind).