Atlantic Crossing Day 12
Macushla
Mark & Sue Owen
Thu 2 Feb 2012 12:55
Miles travelled in the last 24 hours: 166
Miles logged since leaving the Canaries: 1,670
Miles to go to Barbados: 1,273
All is well on board and Macushla is eating up the miles after another fast
24 hours. The moon is getting larger each night and this makes such a difference. The surrounding ocean is illuminated and there is a welcome definition between sea and sky.
As expected the winds increased to a constant 25 knots during the night,
with just a solitary squall giving winds of 30 knots and preceded by light
rain (the first of the trip). With conditions on board becoming at the
limit of being comfortable - after all, we are cruisers not racers - (and
skipper likes his dinner to remain on his plate...!), we decided to shorten
sail further and are now running with just a double-reefed mainsail.
Yesterday the watermaker was re-commissioned, as we'd emptied our first
freshwater tank and it was great to hear it gently purring away in the
background replenishing our supply. We have a small Spectra Ventura
de-salination unit which is very quiet and efficient and makes very little
demand on our power supplies.
The key decisions of each day currently are how to cook and what to have
with the mahi mahi we caught the other day and we're grateful to those
who've sent us recipe suggestions. As we only have a fridge and no freezer
on board this lovely fish needs to be consumed within a reasonable time.
Our fresh fruit and veg is still lasting well, though supplies are
inevitably starting to dwindle.