22: 11.11N 21: 58.68W
Mikado
Thu 27 Nov 2008 12:14
West of Dakar in Africa. We have covered aprox 550 miles since the start of
the ARC rally and 1260 since we left Gibraltar 19 days ago. The wind has
been very light and the seas likewise moderate - not at all like the image I
had of the North Atlantic in winter. We are heading south west before
turning west, as the weather gurus advised there would be better winds
further south.
We are now in the tropics (22 deg 14' North, 21 deg 53' West) and the water
temperature is 23 deg Celsius. We had salt water baths yesterday, even
though we have plenty of water with the luxury of a desalinator. We should
be in Trade Winds by now, but the normal pattern has not established itself
yet - Global Warming?? Today is overcast with a fine drizzle occasionally,
but hopefully that will also mean more wind.
We still haven't caught any fish, but one did strike a lure yesterday, so
that is encouraging. Some boats have reported catches. We have only seen the
occasional sea bird, so haven't been too optimistic.
Last night we had a bit of excitement at about 3:30AM when the spinnaker
brace wore through, so the pole slammed forward onto the forestay and let
the spinnaker wrap itself around everything. Fortunately the wind was light
and we got it down without damage and reset it with a new brace. Splicing
job for today!
The boat is going well and the crew are compatible. We are having to run the
generator more than we had hoped, but that is the only issue to be addressed
for the later legs of the trip home.