00.55N 88.19W 15th July 2011
Mojo 2
Andrew Partington
Fri 15 Jul 2011 13:45
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Very close now with a paltry 140NM to go but this
has been a very tough leg for us all.
Just when things appeared to be settling down we
were sucked back into the rotten weather yesterday. In the morning we were again
contending with winds over 24 knots from the south-west. At times this gave us
an apparent wind force of over 30 knots. The seas were nearly as bad as 3-4 days
ago. We had no option but to continue to press on and make as much south as
possible. Most of the time we were down to the third reef in the mailsail and
very little headsail and were still peaking at a boat speed of 8
knots.
This morning the seas are considerably better but
the wind is still hitting an apparent 24 knots and we are still bouncing around
as we beat into a SSW breeze. We are unlikely to make our final waypoint in one
reach but will continue to try.
We are hoping our freinds Patrick and Megan have
found a nice spot to hide in the Las Perlas Islands because it looks as though
they will be right at the centre of this blow with wind speeds over 40 knots. We
are thankful to now be 800 miles from there but have still been feeling the
effects.
Fishing has ground to a halt, other than the dozens
of flying fish that land on our deck in the night. We have even found three
squid on the deck as well.
We will head to Peurto Ayora on the island of Santa
Cruz. It is the largest settlement in the islands and will be a great place to
reprovision and have some minor repair work done. We had a failure in the
masthead fitting for the genneker coming out of
Las Perlas and we will need to have it repaired. Hopefully it will get a workout
on the Pacific crossing. There has been no chance to use this light wind sail
here!!
I am now looking at the Pacific crossing to the
Marquesas in French Polynesia. Yachts average the crossing in between 15 and 30
days. The distance is just under 3000NM [gulp!] and the winds should be the
very favouable south-east trades blowing at 15 knots. At this time of the year
the trade winds are very reliable and I have read that if you encounter rough
weather in the doldrums between Panama and Galapagos, the SE trades are very
well established. Lets hope so.
It is now 8.45 am and the wind has again whipped up
some rough seas for us. It could be another long day.
Next report will be from Peurto Ayora in a coffee
shop sipping a flat white.
Andrew Partington.
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