7 December
Persevere
Pat and Bruce
Wed 7 Dec 2011 17:35
7 December 2011
Yesterday was a day of diminishing winds. As the day went on the winds dropped in velocity and changed to a bad direction. Initially we had SW wind at Force 4. That became more westerly, essentially head on to our preferred direction of travel. We tacked the boat to starboard and tried as we could to get some progress to the west. No avail as our best course was almost directly south giving us no VMG ( velocity made good) to our destination. In fact at times the VGM was negative.
We checked several weather sources and they all gave us the same disappointing forecasts. Winds will be very light and from the wrong direction. So again we chose to use the "iron sail" and started the engine at 15:00 local time. All night long we ran the engine with the seas turning flatter and mirror like. Venus provide a nice reflection on the water for many hours as it chased the path of the sun to the horizon. The nearly full moon also gave great visibility for piloting.
Come dawn and little changed. Winds did change direction to the east but the strength was only Beaufort Force 2. Gradually during the morning they grew in strength to Force 3 so we set the spinnaker and gave it a shot at sailing. Speed was slow at 3 knots but we were moving and saving precious fuel we may need later.
As things go the winds dropped again and even the spinnaker could not stay inflated. So back on with the engine and time for lunch. Raising and lowering the spinnaker is easier each time now that everyone knows the routine.
Latest forecast is no significant winds for days. I have been calculating fuel consumption again and again seeing if we can somehow eek out 270 nautical miles from the remaining amount. Hopefully we will get 8-10 knots of wind somewhere to allow the spinnaker to function and grab 50 miles or more under sail. Other wise the last remaining miles of the trip could take a long time.
So 2,465 miles completed and 265 to go. Last noon to noon progress was 140 miles thanks to use of the engine which gives us 7 knots of speed.
Everyone is doing well and we are keeping ourselves occupied with various things like reading, navigating, small repairs and some fishing. Caught a Wahoo but thew it back as I read they may not be safe to eat around the western Atlantic due to some toxic containing food they eat. Not sure but we did not chance it.
Kind regards
Bruce