Day 10
Top Secret
Feel The Magic Yacht Vacations
Sun 20 Jun 2010 20:15
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Position: 36:34.48N 58:21.26W
Speed: 7.1 Knots
Heading 072 degrees
Just got a break... some wind... not much, but
enough to turn off the engine. (we were planning on sailing across the
Atlantic.. not motoring across it!) We have been motor sailing with the engine
set very low (2,000rpm) to save fuel. It seems to have worked...yes we do go a
bit slower, but the 0.5 knot sacrifice is worth saving 30% on the fuel. So we
still have more than three quarters of a tank of diesel left.
We are heading in the right general direction, but
I would prefer it if we were headed a a bit more North. But the wind is
dictating the speed of our trip, and I just want to get somewhere, even if that
isn't where we want to go... Canada would be fine!!! Actually Canada is the
closest land to us right now, except for Bermuda.
Can't believe how high up we are (north) already.
The days are much longer now, with sunrise at about 4am and sunset at about 8pm.
This is all local boat time of course, as we determine what time we are using by
where we are. The water temperature has taken a trip south. It started at about
29C in the BVI and is now hovering around the 21C mark. The daytime
temperatures are fine, we actually have no clue what the temperature is, but it
feels great and sun bathing is a must. The evenings however are a different
story altogether. Long sleeve shirts, jackets and fleeces are hauled out at
around sunset.
No need to run the generator now for 3 days, as the
engines are charging the batteries as we motor sail. We will need to run it
soon, as the water levels are low again. With a water maker on board
it seems that we are using much more than we would without one. The
water maker uses too much power for the inverter to handle off the battery, so
we will need to run the generator to make some more water. It only takes about
an hour to fill them up. It makes about 2.5 litres per minute.
Matt was assaulted by a flying fish last
night. It slapped him silly and left a few scales in the cockpit. Mari has found
her bullet proof jacket again and is no longer feeling sea sick. Rean and Mari
did an English breakfast this morning at about 8am local boat
time.
I hope the new wind that has just arrived lasts for
the rest of the trip, we need it to make good time and actually get
to Lanzarote.
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