On the way to Madeira

Luna Quest
W. Eric Faber
Wed 7 Aug 2013 11:17
> Dear Family and Friends,
>
> Noon Position 7/8/13: 39º 46'N 10º 33'W or some 70 miles N/W of Lisbon.
>
> Daily run: 163 miles from leaving Baiona
>
> My poled-out position that I started the 660-mile distance to Madeira did not last long. The wind backed to the Northwest and strengthened gradually to over 20 knots. I put one reef in the main sail late afternoon to give me less commotion to interfere with my culinary skills. Deep in the night I came across a shipping route with one ship after another going north and then some hours later all of them going south. I could have imagined being in the busy North Sea shipping lanes. Luna Quest sailed beautifully with the wind on the beam, regularly achieving over 7.5 knots of speed, but this morning the wind has gone even more westerly having lost much of its strength. The backing wind and the Portuguese current have kept me closer to the coast than I had hoped, so after taking the noon position, I changed course to 230º giving me a close reach in the13 knots of wind and a speed of 6.5 knots.
>
> Eric