Parasailor sailing
Christine's Atlantic Circuit
Peter Lansdale
Fri 2 Dec 2016 17:18
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14:56N 036:16.2W
We had quite a mixture of wind yesterday. After putting
up the parasailor at dawn we had a period of zooming along at 7
knots. Gradually the wind eased and early in the night we were flopping
along with the parasailor struggling to fill. We carried it all night as the
weather seemed quite stable with no squalls around. Lightening in the west as we
have had for 3 nights. Gradually the wind increased and changed direction so
Peter called me up soon after 2.00am to gybe the pole and get on a better
course. I was on from 3 til 6 and went from worrying that the sail would tangle
due to no wind to worrying about the wind strength as it gradually increased and
we were soon sailing at 7 knots. Sail still up, has been very well
mannered, had gusts up to 20 knots, now dropped considerably. But on course
making good progress. The parasailor has been up for 16 hours and we are
expecting to be carrying it tonight.
For anyone unsure, a parasailor is similar to a
spinnaker ( a large balloon shaped sail used when the wind is coming from
behind), but has a large slot across the sail about one third from the top. This
slot has a wing across it which is supposed to help lift the sail and make it
more stable.
Skipper
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