Birthday at Sea - 26th and 27th April

Vega
Hugh and Annie
Fri 28 Apr 2017 18:33
We continue to progress at around 150 miles each day. At this rate we will be in the Marquesas by 10th May. Thinking this was a remarkably good pace for a 37' boat we looked up the time for the same passage undertaken by friends Chris and Julia in their 36' Halberg Rassey in 2000 and see it took them just 21 days, much what we anticipate if these winds persist. We are averaging 6kts whilst sailing conservatively (usual reefed main and sometimes reefed genoa). Given the 15 to 20 knot wind and big seas we are quite happy. We tried the cruising chute but it jammed before fully opening and has been lashed to the foredeck ever since in case of lighter winds.

Different boats react to the same conditions differently. This might sound obvious but influences the choice of route. Nautilus, a 42' Ovni, is longer and heavier than Vega and goes better in stronger wind. She is therefore sailing a more southerly course than us because the wind is forecast to be stronger below 10S but will sail a greater distance this way. We, on the other hand, are lighter and go better in lighter winds and flatter seas and are going south more slowly because the more direct, shorter westerly route should give us the conditions we prefer. Our choice will backfire if the wind goes further south and we are left up in the Doldrums.

Jadean is the other boat we are sailing with - a 45' catamaran. Their choice of route is more complicated because cats don't sail well into or directly with the wind. A beam reach is ideal and therefore wind direction is important to optimise the course to steer. As this will change from ESE to E as we head south they will try and maximise the length of time with the wind from the south east which means sailing a more northerly route - again with the risk of being stranded in the Doldrums but in their case with two young children on board!

Little Dove, Rustler 36', is sailing from Ecuador to the Marquesas and planned and provisioned for a 30 day voyage, arriving on 15th May, but allowing for an extra week. They may find they still have a lot of food to eat if they also have this wind and arrive earlier. On the other hand Thom, a single handed sailor in his Vancouver 28 has just arrived in the Marquesas after a 38 day passage direct from Panama. His colleagues gave him a "Wilson" tennis ball before left England and he now apparently has a more than passing similarity to the Tom Hanks character in Castaway!

Yesterday was my birthday and Annie was happy to come for a sail to mark the occasion. She gave me a copy of "Return to the Islands" which is a sequel to "A Pattern of Islands" and that neither of us knew existed until she tried to find a better copy of A Pattern. It is the perfect cruising read and we plan to visit the Gilbert and Ellis Islands after Samoa in 2018 in the footsteps of Arthur Grimble. Only one birthday card but emails from all my three sons with birthday messages. We opened a tin of Cassoulet for supper and ate it and the chocolate cake Annie had made while listening to Simon and Garfunkle - the perfect end to a lovely day!

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