One little bird.
Rhiann Marie - Round the World
Stewart Graham
Mon 10 Oct 2011 07:54
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Monday 10th October 0721 UTC 0821
BST
17:37.204N 019:09.162W
Wind 7.7 Knots SW, COG 017Deg True, SOG 5
Knots
Unfortunately the winds forecast several days ago
for this area are just shrinking away before me. We now have to pass through the
centre of a shallow low with little or no wind.
Yesterday however we managed to hang onto the wind
all day and worked it for all it was worth. Though the wind was very light
canvas was at least pressed and steady direction at belween 5 and 6 knots could
be maintained most of the day. The dawn saw me cranked right up to 9 knots with
12 or 13 knots of breeze and later in the day as winds got much lighter speeds
fell down to four knots. However a very satisfying day and again conditions
though gentle, were conditions to savour and remember.
At dawn yesterday I was standing on the windward
deck surveying the horizon all around as daylight proceeded the sun. That I
guess is what this part of the trip was searching for. A perfect time for
reflection on ones good fortune and while also savouring the conditions and the
solace - time for introspection and tentative if determined furure diriction
setting.
I also forget to mention to you yesterday that I
had a wee bird aboard. I'm not much of a twitcher but some sort of wee starling
type thing. I'm not sure they all taste the same....... No, no just joking for
goodness sake.
The poor wee thing was exhausted and at one point
flew down into the saloon. Iput out some sugared water. Sugared no less with a
disolved piece of my dwindling stock of Scottish Tablet and some nuts and
breadcrumbs. He was hitching a ride on the transom but eventually after spending
the best part of the day disappeared without so much as a thank
you.
Anyway it was nice to have some company. It is
over month since I left Capetown and after my short stop at St Helena it is now
15 days since I have seen another human being. Excellent!
Now "charging" along in the light airs at 6.8
Knots! - oh 7.0 there. looks like i might be home for Christmas after
all!
My strategy has bben to close the African coast and
of course I had been expecting the winds to as forecast be blowing of the
land a little more north of there, however the forecast is no for the wind to be
blowing out of Gran Canaria. Lovely.
So be it. I will still close the coast as the angle
will help me for the Canaries and of course there is still the expectation of
non gradient forecast coastal winds. However despite barely having seen a
ship for a month there are right now about twenty to thirty ships about 40 miles
to starboard. My plan was to close the Cabo Blanco in Mauritania hopefully in
daylight tomorrow and then move onto starboard tack which leave me heading out
to sea through the night and hopefully out of any traffic and away from the
coast and any fishing activities. However now looking at the sheer volume of
ships I may reconsider that strategy once I take an updated forecast today.
I really don't know what it is with this area but I
am getting AIS signals from more than 300 miles away and definitely
receiving VHF loud and clear at up to 150 miles! For instance just now I have
been listening to a conversation between a ship and Dakar port control - almost
200 miles away!
Talking of VHF the fun and games have started as I
expected on the VHF last night. It seems however that other sensible radio
operators are accustomed to this nonsense and no one was taking the "bait" - so
far.
Today I will get another couple of small jobs done,
hopefully catch another fish, and try to rest as much as possible. I don't see
much scope for sleep as I enter the huge amount of shipping nearer the coast and
to follow that later in the week I have wall to wall 20 knot winds slap bang on
my nose. That will be a real slog as grib forecasts of twenty knots are
alway twenty five knots and the margin on th eupside is greater as the
forecast increases. Gusts are in addition to this. Anyway we'll see and just
have to deal with whatever I am dealt.
Song of the day: Three Little Birds - by Bob
Marley
The flow of e-mails has now trickled down to a few
but all are appreciated. Thanks.
You can e-mail me on rhiann {DOT} marie {CHANGE TO AT} gaelforce {DOT} net
e-mail
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