Distance to go 1691 nm 

 

 

The wind continues to be quiet at around 10 knots - just about the strength we need to sail sensibly.  The sea is more gentle but with just enough waves and swell to empty the sails from time to time but we are both settling down much better. 

 

The 'big news' yesterday afternoon was that the swell was quiet enough for us both to have showers!  It just isn't possible to shower when the boat is rolling heavily and wet wipes become the order of the day (too much information?).  We even managed to wash the dishes without the water slopping out of the bowl (this always challenges the sense of humour).

 

It is getting warmer and last night we were able to sail with one less layer of clothing, although the base layer is still a set of thermals.  AND, today we have been able to go about without socks on.  I doubt anyone reading this realised that life at sea could be filled with such triumphs.

 

We will continue to sail south west for about another 12-24 hours until the expected winds fill in and we should start to point west.  Until that happens we continue to clock up the miles sailed with little reduction in the distance to go.  This will be a long passage.

 

It has been difficult to resist the temptation to gybe and turn towards the west and cut the distance down even though we can see from the weather forecasts that we would be sailing into even less wind.  The main reason we haven't is down to Simon.  Simon Rowell, amongst other things, is a weather router.  We came across his name when reading the blog of another boat crossing the Atlantic who recommended him. 

 

We used Simon's services for the passage down from the Canaries to the Cape Verdes and his forecasts were always closer to the reality than those we could download.  He can look at and is has the ability to interpret a lot more information than we can and, added to weather observations he asks us to provide, comes up with what he thinks will happen.  He is an accomplished sailor as well which means the additional advice he provides is so useful (way beyond just the weather).  My only complaint is that I asked for 15-20 knots of wind and flat seas.  He seems happy to help get us to the wind band but is unwilling to commit to the flat seas! 

 

We recommend Simon highly.  Website at www.rowellyachtingservices.com