38 33N 023 33W Heading 107 deg 5.2 kts
Pipedream
Thu 2 Jul 2009 16:21
drinking it warm... not really. What a differenced refrigeration makes.
I made a big pan of lemon chicken with steamed snow peas. speed
After clearing the Azores islands (9) we encountered our first low pressure
cell or should I say it encountered us. Traveling at an average of 5 Kts,
that is around 6 mph, there is little you can do to get out of the way. We
saw this one coming on our computer generated weather maps. Finally got
some good wind, but by about 5 AM this morning ... too much. With the wind
comes the large swell and the rain. I don't think anyone got much sleep
last night. I would best describe the motion as almost violent down below.
Putting your pants on can take 5 minutes... It finally moved on about noon
and although the wind has dropped so that we are making between 5 and 6
Kts -just right... the swell is still none to comfortable. We have been
making good time. Went 150 miles yesterday at an average of 6.5 kts and are
now about 670 miles from Lisbon.
Everyone has been pretty much cat napping and reading all day. The boat
store in Horta had a book case floor to ceiling in one corner with a free
book exchange. Pipedream's crew was shuttling knapsacks full of books back
and forth. the trick was finding them in English. I am still having
trouble reading and doing close work because of the motion. The temperature
has really cooled down so I even get to wear one of my nautical wool
sweaters.
Still seeing lots of dolphins. The phosphorescence is not as intense here.
I think Chris and Matt found a squid up on deck this morning. Dawn is like
a who new experience on a boat. At night you are pretty much sailing by the
seat of your pants and the feel of the boat , and an occasional flash light
blink. With no moon, most of the night it is real dark. When the sun comes
up you get to see what was causing the funny noise, that you are missing a
winch handle, or that you were sitting next to a squid all night. We are
running across the Acores current or so it says on the map. I suppose a
wind from the opposite direction would cause it to get pretty choppy like
the gulf stream? We have been trolling fishing lines for days - not even a
bite - of course it is still 3310 meters deep right here - what structure?