Sunday 25th June 36 16.830N 34 27.741W
Persephone... Cruiser/Racer
Nigel & Karen Goodhew...
Sun 25 Jun 2017 20:13
|
It is now 2000 UT and official; this is the longest
sail we have ever done. Not perhaps in distance...that is still the ARC 2012
with the dream team, but in terms of time spent at sea, this is the longest. We
are now into our 22nd day!
The last 30 hours or so have been quiet. We started
yesterday morning with a true beat. The wind was from the Azores and we had to
play shifts, yes shifts, to make the best easting against the light wind...6
knots, and the west bound current of 1 knot or so. After playing that game
for a few hours, the wind shut off. So we put the engine on to chug down
the rhumb line and see if we could find any wind. Surprisingly, after
about half an hour we detected a slight infilling breeze from the north east and
within a few minutes we had enough to ghost along eastwards at 2 or 3
knots.
So engine off again, but with a nice full
battery.
Wildlife watch saw a couple of groups of whales at
dusk, and Persephone now sailing beautifully in flat sea, course
075.
The galley swung into action...cakes baked,
macaroni and ratatouille for dinner and a general mood of calm on the
boat. Yesterday's GRIB was grim reading, but last night we got a new
download which seems to suggest we will have wind, albeit light, if we simply
point at Horta and sail direct.
We have sailed past 35N 35W suggested as a waypoint
by Tim, and have been making 5 knots or better all day today.
Cheesy scones and tomato soup for lunch today...and
pot luck for dinner as we search through our depleted stocks....
The only black spot is the engine. I changed all
the filters yesterday, but it's not keen to run for long. There's an
intermittent fuel blockage somewhere, but I think I will wait until we get to
Horta before a full investigation.
All well on board and 307 miles to
go...
|