Departed Falklands
Ondeck sailing
Ian Jinks
Sat 2 Jun 2007 14:37
Time 1200 UTC 02 June. We left the Falklands yesterday with a procession of Peales Dolphins which were enjoying entertaining us. Before we left we had had sustained winds of gale force, and it had snowed during the night. As early morning preparations were underway, we were hit by a particularly nasty blizzard, that didn't make the forthcoming departure too appealing, however, as we left we had good sunshine, and about 30 kts of wind behind us, so we were in for a flying start. With a matter of hours we were having a comfortable sail at about 10 kts. During the night the wind has eased and we are now having to motor, and unfortunately a bolt in the autopilot has sheared, so we are having to hand steer, rather than just do it when we felt like it. Apart from that all is well, and we have about 1950 miles to go to reach Tristan da Cunha.
ONDECK had a staff conference yesterday, which i was very sorry to miss, as i still haven't met everyone with the company yet, and i am looking forward to discussing some of the ideas i have. Still it is early days, and i am sure that i will get chance on my return.
Ian Jinks on Pelagic signing out