18:13.133N 052:45.822W Low Breeze on the High Seas, Engine Squeezed to Apogee
Irene IV - World Adventure
Louis Goor
Mon 22 Nov 2021 20:17
Monday
The fix is in. The weather has been analysed from a myriad of angles -
TimeZero weather forecasts North and South of our position, messages back
from Irene IV HQ, cloud formation interpretations and tarot card readings
all point to the same fact that we will have no more substantial wind for
the remainder of our passage.
With a weak changeable puff of about 6 knots constantly shifting behind us,
our sailing speed would have us arrive just in time to kick off the next
Oyster rally in 2024, so there is no option but to proceed under engine and
re-send requests to St Anthony and St Christopher.
The days pass one after the other in the same way - high daily temperatures,
warm nights, and mild breezes. For the male cohort of the crew, shirts have
become heavily optional.
Thankfully, provisions are in good shape, so if our arrival is delayed there
is a very low risk of tummy rumbling or thirsty crew. Manuela as always
leading from the front on food strategy, often seen wielding scissors to cut
up Las Palmas carrots for salads.
We find ourselves adding a new name to our grace-before-meals dedications;
in addition to absent friends and those who provide for our sustenance, we
add that of Perkin's Engines and their robust propulsion technology. So far,
so good, as the now-familiar engine hum accompanies our relentless progress
towards the voyage's end. (Perhaps a little less wholesome thanks are given
from those of the crew sleeping in the aft cabin who are on more familiar
terms with the aural dynamics)
Stuart has been busy transferring fuel between tanks, writing up
spreadsheets of consumption per mile, and tuning RPM to the optimal level
for efficiency to maximise our chances of making as comfortable as possible
an arrival in Antigua. As the Cap'n digs out the Caribbean charts, Sarah
realises that she has met the chart designer during her previous Caribbean
delivery days. Perhaps we will have a chance to find out where X marks the
spot, after all.
Sarah has also been checking the health of all crew. Blood pressure and
pulse checks indicate that the meals and watch schedules have functioned
well, although it was probably a good decision to take Stuart's readings
before rather than after Ian's suggestion that our galley olive oil stores
would make fine fuel reserves.
If this all works out, please send appropriate levels of Christmas cards and
first-borns to Perkin's Engines and a local diesel supplier of your choice.
Thank you to the well-wishers and updaters from terra firma.
The Capn's current forecast says we will make it, even if on olive fumes.