Hurrying home

JJMoon Diary
Barry and Margaret Wilmshurst
Thu 22 Aug 2013 02:00
We are over half way on this last of our big legs and we haven’t a great deal to report.  The wind has been light throughout, generally from a favourable direction.  We have been sailing, motor-sailing or motoring, trying to keep the speed up while remaining frugal with fuel.  We are on track for a Monday morning arrival in Dartmouth although it is too early yet to be confident.
 
The warm, sunny days pass peacefully as we try to come to terms with the end of all this gallivanting and make plans to avoid too much chaos during the transition to “dirt dwelling” as some American yachties call it.  The nights are noticeably cooler now and we have dug out the duvets and added extra layers when in the cockpit.  We are fortunate on this passage to be enjoying excellent moonlight; it makes such a difference.
 
We have already “seen” a lot more shipping – at least their AIS targets on the chart, and we have seen in reality two pods of big whales swimming past close at hand.  After all this time complaining that we have had only the most fleeting and distant sightings we now find whales wherever we look.  Well, nearly everywhere.
 
So, all’s well on board (the traditional report to a radio net).  On Friday we should finally lose the influence of the Azores high and start to experience the effects of the low pressure systems that sweep east in succession across the Atlantic.
 
By that time we shall probably be getting quite excited.