Position 24:43N 65:10W
PASSEPARTOUT
Christopher & Nirit Slaney
Wed 4 May 2011 13:04
|
Almost half way to Bermuda.
We watched the yachts which are racing towards Bermuda
lining up for the start and it was strange not to be there with them. Five
minute warning, four, one, GO!
We always knew that Passepartout is not a yacht to
compete in and we are not going to stretch her to the limit either. She is our
home afloat and we have to respect and treat her as such.
After the start for the Cruising
Division, Chris was still under the impression there would be another count
down for the Open Division. When he finally agreed with me that this
was not the case and we just had to cross the line in our own free time, we were
definitely the last boat to leave Nanny Cay.
For the first few hours we sailed in company
with a dozen or so other rally yachts. The bigger,
faster hulls were soon over the horizon. At night
fall we were still in step with Aurora, our dockside neighbors from Nanny
Cay and Mawari. The night was moonless, cloudy and dark. After reviewing the
weather forecast I was not surprised to see Aurora cross over our wake and take
off on the opposite tack to the north east. We surmised they wanted to get well
east in order to be able to swing around towards Bermuda when the forecasted
northerly winds would kick in on Tuesday.
Yesterday we heard they had to turn around and head back
to Tortola after suffering a serious rigging failure.
So here we are, back on the Atlantic swell under puffy
white clouds and endless sky. The night sky is becoming more familiar was
we head north; Bermuda is close to the latitude of Tel Aviv. No more Southern Cross!
This is the first time Chris and I make an eight hundred
mile passage double handed. I must confess that I was a bit worried that we will
get tired but so far so good. The hours of darkness
are short and we start our watches late at 9.30 p.m. local.
Yesterday was a perfect sailing day, We had a constant
17kts, well trimmed sails and a lively but comfortable sea. The only
problem was we couldn't steer a course for Bermuda. Around midnight Chris
started the engine, we furled the sails and since then we've been steadily
getting back on track. It's slow going as we are pushing into the waves and not
nearly as comfy as we would like. At least it's the right direction. Perhaps in
a few hours we will start tacking again...
Nirit |