Newsletter  3:   8 December 2007 

Day:                                                               1

Position:                                                       27:12.174N  18:07.520W 

Approx Miles from San Sebastion:              2744 

Approx Miles to go to Road Town:              74

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

Hello Friends, and Supporters,

Well  26hrs underway now, and the distance sailed from the figures above show it all.... no wind until 8am this morning. It was a very frustrating afternoon and evenning with the wind never getting above 5knots, most of the time zero, and when it was blowing as Sod's law would have it, it was either dead on the nose so I had to beat, or dead downwind, and I had to gybe downwind...all at 1-3 knots of boatspeed. Lots of adjustments all the time, so very little sleep, but not much productivity. But that's a part of sailing! Weather was different to what I expected from the grib weather files.

Not the ideal start, but thats behind me now, and from 8am this morning I have a 18-20knot North Easter, and we are going great guns. Solone has been sailing at around 9 knots, surfing often at 12-13 knots, and a high for the day of 14.5 knots.

I have had the first few problems already...the ones I was planning to expect!!  The first one was the failure of the split pin on the clevis ppin that connects the boom to the gooseneck. I found the situation when the ppin was almost 90% out and the boom had been twisting at the gooseneck and has caused some minor structural damage. Should be ok.

Other problem is my new 'low powere usage' LED tricolour navigation lamp, right on top of the mast!  It stopped working last night...so I'll have to go up there and see when things calm down. Fortunatelly no other shipping around at the momement, and I don't expect much for days/weeks.

On the positive side...it was a wondereful sunset last night, and I had a very special view of Mt Tieda, on Tenerife basking in the crimson light, almost looking out of place rising out of the sea to its 3000+ metres.

So how I am I feeling so far:

Hmmm.....just accepting the new disrupted routines, lack of sleep, and the feeling of constatntly being 'on duty'. I know in a few days this will all become second nature, and I am trying to relax and just get into it..

The reality of the huge distance ahead, and keeping up this routine is sometiimes daunting, but once again, it will all settle down and as the miles start clocking up, and warme water, and real trade winds are with me.

I go throgh thoughts of "Why do I do this, and why on my own, etc.... but then I recollect that its always like this at the begining of 'the journey', and one needs the whole journey to gain the unique and valuable experience to have the perspective. I then go back to the Ulysses factor stuff.... and it all becomes clear...!

As far as food goes, I have just been snacking on the frsh stuff...fruit, eggs, fresh bread, and ofcourse some of the Jamon! 

Till tomorrow.....take care

Howard