Bermuda to Azores 8.5.13
Persephone... Cruiser/Racer
Nigel & Karen Goodhew...
Thu 9 May 2013 08:36
|
Well, this is more like it! What a difference
a day makes. Today we were a little low on battery this morning, so we
started the engine for the first time since leaving Bermuda. It was not happy,
but staggered into life and ran haphazardly for three of four hours. Nigel
suspects the fuel again, and we resolved to run it for an hour or so each
morning to keep it moving each day. We may have to change filters again before
we use it for actually propelling the boat.
This afternoon we shook out 2 reefs and built our
speed to 6 plus knots. The sea state has steadily subsided throughout the
day. It's still lumpy by Solent standards but we have lost the perpetual
slamming as Persephone was falling off big waves yesterday...the action is
smoother with only the occasional large bump now.
We estimate the wave height is now around the 2m
mark rather than the monsters we had yesterday....breaking growlers which were
at least 4m high.
This evening we have 15 to 16 knots of wind from
the north, are making 6.5 knots over the ground in th direction 095T. It is
sunny, the sky is clear and all is well.
Music is on and all is well with the
world.
Philip Meakins' advice is to crack on with this
course for another day or two, though it is a fair bit south of the rhumb line,
anticipating a large windshift to the right which will be our signal to tack and
head north...maybe over the weekend.
We are officially over half way to the Azores now,
though suspect our mileage sailed will be about 120 miles longer than the rhumb
line route in the end...
computer says 975 miles to go.
Position as at 2045UT 33 30.408N
45 33.859W |