Newsletter  12:   18 December 2007 

Day:                                                               10

Position:                                                       20:16.540N  40:40.500W 

Approx Miles from San Sebastian:              1516 

Approx Miles to go to Road Town:              1302                                                               

Note:  All times are GMT time, and will be for the whole trip.

            Miles are Nautical Miles, where 1 mile = 1.8 km

            Ohh, for those non-nautically orientated, a 'knot', among other things,  is 1 nautical mile per hour

            If it seems all funny units...its not, there is a very good basis: 1 nautical mile is equal to one minute of latitude on the earth's surface.

Hello Friends, and Supporters,

Just a short one today!  Mainly because the night took its toll and I am feeling a bit washed out! Probably also the 'post high' of getting to the trade winds!

Progress for the 24 hours was acceptable, but does not reflect the energy put in!! The wind cycle is setting in now.... It starts of light from 8am to 11am, then starts strengthening to 15 knots staying stable till around sunset and then picking up to 20 to 25 knots in the evening with gusts as per last night over 30 knots. From about 2 am the wind starts dropping again to the 12 knot area. This has happened two nights in a row now that I am in this trade wind belt...we will see if this is the 'everyday trend'  Remember these wind speeds are true windspeed, and given the angle I am sailing they reduce by 8 - 10knots to get to the apparent wind I experience on the boat.

Well with the wind gusting as it was last night and a bigger sea running now I am in the main wind belt, I did quite a few reefs, and struggled to find the sail set to keep me moving fast but also allowing me to sleep. The boat screwed up out of control at least 4 times. The last time prompted me to put a second reef in, which obviously helped but reduced speed. This is the downside of solo sailing, in performance. With a crew the 30 plus knot gusts would easily be handled with a human helmsman, but sadly the autopilot isn't one, and although I have learnt to get out of my bunk and onto the helm very quickly its not good enough! Also doesn't make for a pleasant nights sleep. I will review my strategy tonight!

Passed the halfway point earlier this morning and just hope progress continues like this.

You probably realise by now, that everyday I get presented with at least one problem to solve! Yesterday's problem was the alternator 'supercharger'. I had this fitted in Spain, and its been great for reducing the time I have to run the engine for charging the battery. Well at night it stopped working, so instead of having 30 amps charging I now had only 12! Anyway earlier today, I opened up the engine compartment determined to solve the problem, and yes Finally found that one of the wires from the Turbo control unit had 'just' fallen off! Lucky it was that simple, and now things are back to normal!  I hope today is a 'problem rest day'! You may remember in my preparation, I said I was preparing myself to have a mind to deal with problems, rather than curse when they happen!!! Well its paying off. 

This morning the deck was like a fishmongers table top with flying fish and lots of their scales all around.

I won't put you through another review of a meal at Restaurant Solone, suffice to say that 'Monday Lunch' was very pleasant!  

A week to Christmas!!  I think I'll still be at sea! Oh well another new experience....

Take care