Mojo the Flying Christmas Tree
34:06N 38:19W
I over-advertised the “downwind sleigh ride”. Wind totalling around 10kts is still going my way but too light for sailing. Motoring at 6-7 in 2m swell means apparent/net wind is only 2-4kts so no sailing. Obviously I have a go at it every so often if it’s Oooh look 7 kts… then it’s down to 2kts again, and put it away.
I haven’t seen another boat/ship closer than 5miles for at least the last four days. So no big deal out here having a snooze. I can set a waypoint say 12nm ahead so the screaming alarm wakes me in 2hours. After a bit of this, and especially if it’s not raining or storm-cloudy, I switch on ALL the exterior lights which makes me very visible indeed. Then check radar guard zone to 4miles and can snooze most of the night. A few years ago I made the saloon table convertible to large sleeping area with up/down legs so I am always just a few steps from the helm.
The motors give noticeably better fuel consumption with half-open engine hatches, and motors certainly seem happier when their surroundings are at ambient temperature.
The port engine died yesterday but only fuel starvation, fixed with new filters. I was kinda expecting this after cleaning out the main fuel tank with siphon and shop/wet vac before I set out. I took out lots of clag from the tank but likely loosened any remains.
I may find other not-sailing sailing boats heading to Horta up ahead who perhaps didn’t also start with enough fuel for the entire trip. If so, I generally use both motors to roar past and put them over 4 miles behind (out of radar-alarm zone see) so I can snooze again. “Buddy boating“ and/or a rally might sound safer, but isn’t really.
Bill ex-Sweetie asks about the conditions. Perhaps the best illustration is the pic below. That aerosol can hasn’t fallen over the entire trip yet. But this is a catamaran feature- it wouldn’t last the first hour on a monohull. I put it down upside down to avoid rusty rings but yeah, I should put it away…
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