Solo
but not Alone! ![]()
Newsletter
20: 26 December
2007
Day:
18
Position: 18:47.028N
62:40.722W
Approx Miles from San
Sebastian: 2701
Approx Miles to go to Road
Town: 117
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.
A Repeat of yesterday's Headline:
I
have GREAT NEWS for YOU and Me at the bottom of this newsletter,
so either go there now (not recommended!) or make sure you read 'the whole'
newsletter TODAY!
And ......Thanks for all those who have already emailed in...its
great to be in contact! Others now don't be shy, only a few days
left!
Hello Friends, and Supporters,
Emotions
and tension running quite high at the moment....... A great days mileage
yesterday, but it didn't all come easy!
Due
to the wind and sea conditions, Christmas lunch was a bit of a rushed and less
relaxed affair than I had hoped for....but still very memorable! Wind has
been gusting quite a bit and lots of cloud based squally, I think I am in a
weather pattern affected by a low pressure just north. I'm probably right on the
fringe of the two pressure system. There had been a sea building since yesterday
afternoon, and now the swell are quite huge. Sometimes Solone sits on top of a
crest waiting to surf down, and it feels like 'we' are 4 stories up in a
building! This made for a very uncomfortable night with these swells on the aft
quarter, really throwing the boat around. IT was extremely challenging for the
autopilot, so to get some sleep I put a second reef in the mainsail for a
while.
I
am about 40 miles from my first real marker.... a light called Sombrero,
marking an island, actually a rock which is 70 miles from Road Town. >From there
I have about 55 miles of still open but swallowing see, before I then cross
the Virgin Bank. This is a fault beneath the sea that is connected with the
formation of the Virgin Islands, and the depth drops from 1-2 thousand metres
to 30-50 metres in a distanced of less than a mile! Inside this bank is the
more tricky navigation stuff, and the paradise of the Virgin Isles.
Emotions....
well yes there are all over the place, as I try not think about finishing
because I haven't yet. I noticed I have become more conservative in sail changes
and pushing the boat....don't want to lose it now. Then there is this strange
feeling of not wanting to get back into 'everyday' life and the demands that go
with that.... even in the BVI! Then there is Ruth...she is on a plane from
Switzerland and gets in at 6pm tonight....I won't make that, but hopefully by
not miss it by much! I was thinking about sleep too.... I am not
desperately waiting to have a full nights sleep, which I guess means my body is
in a routine that it is ok with.
Its
a bit hectic on deck at the moment, and I think it best send this now and
you will get a full download of my mind once I am safely on anchor.
I
estimate being in early hours of the 27th Dec GMT.
Howard
THE GOOD
NEWS....... (Repeat of
yesterday)
Well,
yes I also thought about YOU the committed supporter and interested blog
reader... how can I provide a further value add service?? Well, a mermaid came
on deck yesterday and gave me a spare satphone email address! I asked for
other things but she insisted she was from the Mid Atlantic Technology
department, and the company policy is not to provide fringe, non-core
services, no matter what the circumstances!
So for
the duration of my trip you can email me on howardsolone {CHANGE TO AT} mailasail {DOT} com,
and it will not interfere with my weather line, and I will attempt to
answer all those who use the facility. Knowing me and what its like here in
the middle of the ocean, then putting myself in your shoes (difficult I know!) I
thought you may want to ask a question regarding something 'stupid' that I
haven't touched on in the blogs? So feel free ask me anything you want, nothing
is a stupid question ok! I was once asked 'Where I anchor every night to sleep?
So that sets the expectation!! Oh,
and yes maybe, with Christmas approaching I am also getting a bit lonely
out hereI!
