Day 3: Azores -> Lagos - too fast

Blue Note
Marco M.
Thu 20 Jun 2013 12:17
Date: Wednesday 19/06/13 - Time: 12:00 Blue Note Time - 12:00 UTC
Position 37:47.68N  19:22.06W
COG 91T SOG 6.0 kt, Wind 30T 17 kt, Barometer 1018.1 stable
Temperatures: Air 17.2C, Sea 11.5C
Last 24h Sailed Distance: 157 NM
Last 24h Decrease Distance on rhumb line: 157 NM
Sailed distance since departure: 303 NM
Time since departure: 2d 0h 15m
Average Speed since departure: 6.28  kt
Intention: sail to Lagos
Distance to End on rhumb line: 512 NM
ETA: Saturday June 22 at 21:30
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

We are still sailing too fast.
We have two reef in the mainsail and a reefed jib and still doing ~ 7 kts in 14 kts of wind on a reach.
Part of the reason is that at the moment we also have current helping us,
http://www7320.nrlssc.navy.mil/GLBhycom1-12/navo/weseu2spdcurnowcast.gif
Using the average VMG speed since departure of 6.14 kts we can calculate an ETA of Saturday at midnight.
However the same plot indicates that as we will approach Portugal at a longitude of 10W we will probably get into some unfavorable current and that should slow us down to
make a Sunday morning landfall in Lagos.
Otherwise on Saturday, we might start to sail with even less canvas.

Flavio seems to have come out of his sea sickness and was able to eat some for breakfast.
Optimistic that his appetizer will come back the lure is back in the water. Also curious to see what will be a catch in this part of the Atlantic.

Otherwise, it's has been an extremely pleasant and easy sail with calm sea and beautiful blue sunny sky.
Between the sun and the wind, no need to run the engine to charge the batteries for the last 48 hours.

The AIS range still fluctuates from a 15-20 nm to the remarkable (old style) range of 100 nm.
I have brought with me from New Jersey a new VHF antenna and a replacement PL-259 connector,
but I was reluctant to fuss around with the AIS in Ponta Delgada.
Some for lack of time and some because there is always the fear to make something not optimum but still functional (like an AIS range of 20 nm)
worst and that would not have been good before a passage.
Probably after reaching the European coast I will try to stabilize the AIS range issue.

Emacs!
Doing 7.1 SOG with 13.5 kts of apparant wind on the beam

Emacs!
Beautiful sunny day on the Atlantic