Quick Update 04 May 14
Tashi Delek
Mike & Carol Kefford
Sun 4 May 2014 23:34
Miles run:
Sat - 141
Sun - 107 Wind speeds are dropping as forecast so the boat speed has
fallen.
Distance left to run - 500 miles exactly! If anyone is checking our
arithmetic and finding that the distances covered are greater than they
should be given the distances we say we have left to run don't forget that
the distance left to run is calculated as the crow flies and the boat is not
a crow and does not travel in straight lines. Therefore we always have to
cover a greater distance in reality to get from A to B.
Winds - 5 to 10 knots which is now not a lot after mostly winds over 20
knots but the sea is much calmer and we now have a very comfortable ride.
Fish caught - Nil.
Days fishing attempted - 2 However our reel was broken so we are now
trailing a hand line from the stern cleat via a piece of bungee to give some
elasticity in the unlikely event of anything actually biting the lure.
We heard on the radio net this morning that Escape Velocity, a catamaran
that set off from Galapagos a couple of days ago broke their mast overnight.
No damage to the boat and everyone is fine but a massive nuisance. They
have decided to turn back to Galapagos rather than try and make the rest of
the crossing with only 10ft of mast in place and not enough fuel for the
full 2,500 miles left. We have not heard the details of how it happened yet
but have spoken to them and sent our sympathies. So that puts any grumbles
the rest of us may have had about too much wind, too little wind,
uncomfortable sea or no fish into clear perspective.
We have had a much more comfortable 24 hours and it looks set to continue
with the main problem now likely to be too little wind to keep a good pace
up. We are happy with that though and don't mind a few extra days if the
conditions are such that we can leave the helm to look after itself with
regular checks rather than one of us being tied to it the whole time. We
can now enjoy catching up on sleep, reading, writing the full blog for
Galapagos, getting some boat jobs done, spending a bit of time cooking and
sitting down to eat rather than grabbing whatever is easiest, oh, and having
proper conversations rather than simply passing on updates as we swap places
on the helm.
We have changed the sail plan to the one we used crossing the Atlantic
because it means we can keep the wind almost directly behind us. Genoa (big
sail at the front aka Jib or Headsail) is held out to port using a long
aluminium pole attached to the mast and the Jib (aka storm jib or Stay Sail,
a smaller version of the Genoa that sits just behind it at the front) is
poled out to starboard. The two big triangles side by side make an upside
down kite shape that fills with wind and pulls the boat along. The mainsail
is at i's smallest size, the third reef, and anchored in the centre. This
give some lateral stability and reduces the amount of roll from side to side
although there is still plenty left to keep us holding on.
Hopefully today we will be able to sit down together and finish watching the
Wolf of Wall Street and maybe another film while enjoying a glass of wine
and some peanuts before dinner which will be roasted pumpkin risotto.
Pumpkin are great boat veg because they keep for ages.
All is well.