Little Pea's ARC Blogoramma 1 - We're away!

Littlepea
Thu 29 Nov 2012 12:25
25:42.3N 20:09.2W
So as you've probably guessed by the lack of posts since we set sail from Las Palmas yesterday at 1030 UT, the first 48 hours of sailing have been pretty intense.
 
It's been a while since we have all been on voyage like this (with the exception of Mike - who has been at sea so long he is definitely beginning to form webbed feet) but the rest of us are settling back into the swing of things and making good progress.
 
SOME IMPORTANT STATS FROM DAY 1:
Number of crew to vomit so far = 2
Maximum Boat speed = 14.7 Knots
Number of Reefs = 2
Maximum Gust = 40 Knots
Number of Dolphins = 0
Number of Whales = 0
Amount of Rain on Day 1 = A Lot
 
As we entered our first night, the nearly full moon rose to give us day-like shine over the chopped up water. The sailing was truly exhilarating but due to it's strength, we were given very few options as to where we could sail. The wind abated as the sun rose on day 2 leaving the exhausted crew with the job of making some progress west which we were unable to do during the night. The midday sched (pronounced 'sked') confirmed our fears that we had slipped down the pack after taking the lead in our division whilst rounding the south of Gran Canaria. We battled through the wind, waves, rain and chunder to spend most of our full moonlit night doing sail changes and removing little flying fish from the deck. When the sun rose again, the sea state calmed,  and after a close encounter with a large sleeping whale we settled into the routine which will see us through the next few weeks.
 
SOME IMPORTANT STATS FROM DAY 2:
Number of crew to vomit so far = 2
Maximum Boat speed = 14.6 Knots
Number of Reefs = 2
Maximum Gust = 38 Knots
Number of Dolphins = 0
Number of Whales = 1
Amount of Rain on Day 2 = Not as much as Day 1
 
Ben, Mike, Jags and Minkey