Mandalay
Robin & Jenny Martin
Mon 29 Nov 2010 11:49
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Not as advertised - the trade winds absent from
duty
Anyone who claims a westward Atlantic crossing at
this time of year from the Canaries is 'all downhill' in trade winds with
romping easy sailing could in future be pursued under the trades
description act. At least, though. we now have wind, and we are going in
the right direction with just over 2000 miles to go. The frustrations
of wind zithers and sail changes akin to a certain lady's undergarments have
been replaced by grey skies, choppy seas and wind hard on the nose more
reminiscent of the English Channel. The fleet, widely dispersed, had been
contemplating over the radio net Christmas at sea. This has been replaced by
reports of some 30 boats calling into the only marina in the Cape Verde Islands
for fuel, so much having been consumed in the voyage to find the illusive
trade winds. Fortunately Maymio could sail by, thanks to our judicous
use of the engine and very long range fuel tanks. This was fortunate
for reports from those that did stop spoke of the marina running out of fuel and
skippers scrounging fuel cans to carry diesel from the only garage. This was
complicated by the immigration authorities stating that crews did not need to
undertake immigration procedures 'as long as they don't go
ashore.'
The next few day will determine whether our dog leg
course will pay dividends. In the meantime our routine on board has settled into
an agreeable pattern. The black art of managing the Hydrovane, our automatic
wind helm is being perfected, allowing Jenny to spend time making rock
cakes for the ravenous crew, Robin to indulge in fishing (or the untangling of
line from his reel) and Tony to plot the positions of our competition
(or should we say fellow rally participants) all whilst operating at
45 degrees to the horizontal. However awkward this sometimes is, and
even cleaning ones teeth takes a new form of dexterity, it
beats working!
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