Trade winds at last
Moonshadow of London
Peter Mantle
Mon 3 May 2010 20:02
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Frustratingly light winds and a smooth sea meant we had to motor all day and by late afternoon we had to decant our cans of deisel, which we carry on the stern, into the fuel tank. So we hove to, a strange feeling, where the boat hardly moves held by the pressure of the wind on opposing sails.Decanting fuel is a team effort, unlashing the cans, holding the fuel filtre steady, manoevering and pouring the fuel without spillage on a rocking deck so it took about an hour to empty 10 cans.
Just as we were finishing the tradewinds came in at last and soon we were goose winging with the main out to port and the jib poled out to staboard at 7 knots.
The sunset was glorious and we were relaxing on deck,not having seen another boat since NZ when suddenly we noticed a huge cruise ship about a mile away, camoflaged by the light of the setting sun. She sailed past us lights ablaze like a huge block of flats!
Down wind sailing all night with a carefully controlled jibe means that we have now completed 550 miles of our 800 mile passage. Get a new e-mail account with Hotmail - Free. Sign-up now. |