Solo
but not Alone! ![]()
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
