Day 3 - A little bit more comfortable
Juniper
John and Sally
Tue 24 Nov 2009 11:55
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25:26.878N 20:10.505W
A much more comfortable 24 hours although by the
time we report at 1200 our mileage will be down. Wind has dropped to circa 15
kts which is OK but we are heading generally downwind so lots of rolling ( 165
degrees apparent). The night was easier with only one boat seen plus a chinese
merchant man (cries of number 33 with rice please as he passed) on his way to
Brazil.
Our strategy is now clear on the race website
tracker. Rather than the traditional go south until the butter melts and then
turn west, we elected to try the great circle route heading with plenty of west
straight away. This proved initially to be a good move as it left us with less
distance to go than 190 others over the first 24hrs. We are aiming for 24N 25W
where we will decide whether to dive south into the established trades (more
predictable wind but more miles) or to keep going on the great
circle.
The forecast yesterday gave a warning of very
lights winds above 26N so some that went on the more Northern route than us
(same logic but higher risk of light winds) will be stuck so we are pushing to
avoid this lull. Currently for those technically inclined we have winds E
force 4 with 2-3M seas with 6.3kts SOG.
Slight concern this morning as we heard a very
limited Mayday - SAR services are now searching but very little information. Not
a race boat as far as known.
All are well and settling into the
routine.
John, Jonathan, Guy,
David
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