Wednesday (Day 8) On the Continental Shelf 48:41N 9:10.3W
Scherzo AZAB 2015
Eddy
Wed 1 Jul 2015 15:00
| My Day 8 began with rather heavy rain and now we have hot sunshine with funny rolling low clouds coming through - bringing some useful wind for closing the land. We flew Betty all last night and we did fine - much better than the weather files indicated would be possible. Pushed a bit north as the wind backed, but a very respectable 4-6 knots or so. Now we are in soundings - only 160 metres under the keel versus 3000 or so for the last days. Harriet’s day (from 2am UT) began with a pod of dolphins playing in the bow-wave. Common (yellow flanked) dolphins. Harriet made rolls for breakfast and we used the last of the bacon from Mylor Butcher. In the night we heard a great noise from a stampede of dolphins making a heck of a racket and boiling the ocean with their leaping just a few yards from the boat. Magnificent sight. This morning we heard that 2 boats had got in to Falmouth already. Croix de Sud - which won the outward leg, and Sec Hayai - which came second on leg one, both single handed and-all out racing boats. The skipper of Sec Hayai is 75. What will any of us be doing at that age? Probably not single handed ocean racing. Our matched companion (Tamarind) of the last three days is also a single hander - he is younger than the skipper of Sec Hayai, but by a matter of months. Tough lot on the racing circuit. What is rather nice is the complete mix of rank amateurs like Harriet and me and then the real racers. Somehow, it works on the AZAB - and we are all on a handicap system. Statistics: noon to noon - just 122 miles. I had forecast 130, so we are about 8 miles behind that target. If the next 24 hours go to plan (a modest target of 140 miles), we get in late on Thursday. Currently we are hurtling along at 9 knots with just Betty up, which if lasted would bring us in several hours early - in time for a pint on Thursday eve. Not expected to last, however. Miles run through the water from Ponta Delgada - 1,130nm . Miles to go to Falmouth: 175nm. E&H Harriet and coloured genoa.  Changing the kite  |