Hot and Humid
Oldnick
Sun 15 Dec 2002 15:29
|
A fair bit of news since our last entry. First of
all, the Doldrums only lasted about 40 miles before we were in 10 knots of SE
winds! We motored for just 10 hours to get through them, which were basically
just a series of thunderstorms. And to think that we had prepared with enough
diesel to get us through 400 miles of them.
The Equator was next on the hit list, and on
December 13 at 2022 GMT we passed from the northern to southern hemisphere. It
was rather funny really, because as there is nothing to look at outside so to
speak, we were all huddled around the chart table looking at the GPS readout as
the moment approached. We didn't go for any of the traditional King Neptune
dunkings or sacrifices so perhaps we will suffer with bad weather for not doing
it!
Since then we have been plugging away at the SE
trades sailing on a close reach. By necessity we have had all the hatches closed
because of water on deck and to say that it is hot and humid down below is an
understatement. Gone are the days of having lunch on the foredeck..we are
confined to the cockpit which at times is rather small for the four of us.
Hopefully these conditions should not last much longer as we hope to return to a
northeasterly airflow in a day or two as we run down the Brazillian coast. We
did have our best day yesterday as far as sea miles goes - 170
miles!
|