Friday 27th
Gwylan
Charles Manby
Fri 27 Nov 2009 21:26
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Noon to noon we ran 186nm in quite light winds
which made us worry we were in lighter winds than others, but it looks as though
it was a good performance certainly against the other Oyster 56s. We have come
quite a lot further south than many boats so in terms of distance to finish
others are sailing a more direct line but seem to have had lighter winds.
This was all part of our cunning plan obviously. So we put up the
parasailor/spinnaker yesterday at 11am and it has not been down since except to
repair a small tear. We had 12 hours yesterday when were making 7 knots
but now we are happily above 8 knots again still under Parasailor and we intend
to keep it up all night again. Over 20 knots of wind we are doing 9+, max
speed trip to date is 11.1kn. Parasailor does make her very balanced and
we feel much more confident on hoisting/lowering. At noon today we think
we were 33rd in the overall fleet and in the lead in our class. But it isn't a
race of course.
As for that tear in the parasailor, we had no
protection on the outside of the top spreaders near the top of the mast.
So volunteers forward: Tom and Lucky the Bear decided to put on their harnesses,
attach themselves to halyards and up they went. Photos to follow.
Lucky said it was a long way up but he managed to hang on well.
Fishing: who said there are no fish in the
Atlantic? Maybe no tuna but today we caught 4 more Mahi Mahi, one got away
and we threw 2 back; it was Fish Pie for dinner. Nicky says we are ahead
of menu plan on the fishing, so there may be fishing quotas imposed to make sure
we eat the contents of the freezer.
Sailing in shorts and T shirts - yes please, but
that is what we are wearing at night now. Last night was very clear,
balmy. So first time I recognise the Pleiades. We have moved ship's
time back 2 hours, as we are 30 deg W. Watches are 3 hours on 6 hours off and we
are switching watch partners.
Astro navigation is coming along nicely, with
sights today putting us 1, 3, 5 miles away from our gps
position.
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