Its nice to say that we have had a great day sail with lots of activity and
sail changes. The wind veered to the SW during the night and by 0700 we were
able to set the spinnaker (Big Blue) and were soon bowling along at 6.5
knots and for once it was in the right direction. Osprey flies in these
conditions and we have now resumed our standard overtaking position with the
rest of the mini fleet around us. We have Callisto and Reverie about 100
miles behind and on our right and Altair is 240 miles away on our left hand
side. We have a regular chat with them on the long range radio at 1700 GMT
to swap stories of the days events. Mike and Chris are on Reverie and they
have been having a torrid time with their engine which today shed a spring
on the shut down system. It is already working with a broken engine mount
which Mike has fixed by suspending that corner of the engine from the
deckhead (ceiling) and tensioning it with a Spanish windlass. It does
however mean they cannot put the engine cover back on and the noise must be
horrendous. They are also having to conserve battery power so most
electrical items are turned off. Charles has been managing the radio
schedules and communications today as we decided Osprey needed a much more
up market and pucker voice for its public image. We managed to keep the
spinnaker flying until lunch time when the wind started to gust through 18
knots which really is the upper safe limit for the sail which is so large it
can easily knock the boat down on its side in higher gusts. We reverted to
the main and Genoa and are progressing well with them goosewinged out port
and starboard. Our autopilot is working hard in windvane mode trying to
cope with the wind and seas almost dead astern. We did try and get the
spinnaker up again this afternoon but decided the gusting condition were too
risky. Kuki has been very active today along with everyone else and is
getting to be a dab hand at assisting with getting the spinnaker in and out
of the hatchway to the for'd cabin. The weather pattern looks as though it
is going back to its normal position with the Azores high starting to reform
in its correct position. If that does happen we should now have favourable
winds for the Azores as we are well positioned to windward of the island and
also able to pick up 0.5 plus knots of current to further assist us. We are
now in contact with Horta and have been also discussing berthing with the
marina and our intended crew changes with immigration.
"Notes from a Small Boat that is Sailing" - well, there was no rest for
Charles this morning as soon as the wind was favourable he was rousted from
his bunk to help John hoist "Big Blue". Since then it has been a day of
activity, well I should say Budda insisted he had to stay in the cockpit to
ensure Big Blue" remained flying whilst Kuki cooked breakfast and sorted out
the laundry. Charles in the meantime was hoovering down below and cleaning
the for'd head/shower - an incredibly enjoyable experience requiring the use
of forceps to clear all the hair from the shower drain!
Since then there have been several sail changes, and thankfully a full days
sailing at an average of around 5.5 knots but up to 7.2. The most
interesting period was in the morning whilst "Big Blue" was flying and the
wind starting gusting up to 15 knots and beyond, reaching 18 knots. Now the
normal envelope for "Big Blue" is 8-15 knots, so it was a case of "do feel
lucky, well do you" as the boys remained poised in the cockpit for a quick
dowsing - they remained calm flying it until the wind was staying above 17
knots and reaching 18 knots, then deciding that they had had enough
adrenaline so down she came.
Budda, still claiming he had to keep an eye on "Big Blue" decreed Charles
should man the HF Radio - this seemed a little bit of an excuse as 5 mintues
before Budda had been in meditative state i.e. inspecting the inside of his
eyelids for cracks. Anyway, Osprey made contact with the other 6 plus
yachts who all call in to Altair at 1200 GMT. Come 1700 GMT, the time for
our daily chat with Reverie/Callisto and again Budda was flat on his back so
Charles again manned the radio for an amusing discussion with Simon & Mike
which included reference to Monty Python's Spam Sketch. In another addition
to the language of Osprey it is no longer refered to as the radio but to
quote Kuki "isn't it time to phone Altair."
Now, Kuki has been on fine form today and has not reverted to her usual
horizontal position on her bunk - in fact she has been positvely joyful.
This has been put down to the confirmation of her desertion of Osprey in
the Azores, flight details were recieved from Anita this morning. Charles
refered to this as "Demob Happy" but John informs him it is known in
nautical circles as "The Channels", and it became more evident when she
discovered we were within 650 nm on a direct course. This has led John &
Charles to consider the question of crew for the leg to Morocco - the
decision reached being to use the old Royal Navy tradition of "press
ganging". So plans are afoot for the use of surprise and cudgels to get the
new crew member onboard, and in anticipation John has contacted customs &
immigration in the Azores to sign Aku on as crew. Now Lou don't worry, Aku
will be well treated once on board, and her bling will only be used to buy
off pirates should we be attacked!
Today has been another baking day for Osprey, although Charles has been
usurped from his position as baker by Kuki - just as well really as even
before he was not allowed to bake on his own, constantly being given helpful
advice by Kuki on how he was doing it wrong. Needless to say an almost
perfect loaf was removed from the oven 2 hrs later.
So it is with joy at having wind coming from the right direction that the
crew are preparing for supper, although tonight the squally weather has
driven them inside the pilothouse so it will not be served on the terrace.
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