Sunday morning
Scot Free III
Frank & Anne
Sun 2 Oct 2016 06:10
The wind dropped overnight so we left the chute up and should just make the channel at dawn.
For the first time in more than a year I am having to consider tidal currents again. Very weak in the Canaries but in the channel we are approaching they can be strong. By my calculations (ha ha!!) we will arrive at the start of the flood tide which will be against both the wind and the slacker but more constant Equatorial Current. So, no help through the gap with tide and what we have against us could make it rough, as it will be wind over tide. Although, compared to the Exe channel it should be a piece of cake.
We have had little to no moon this trip, as we approached new-moon, so the sky is very clear for star gazing and shooting star spotting. Also, the water is highly "bio luminescent" and a slight stirring of the water causes a very bright trail of sparkling, Tinkerbell style, Disney fairy dust. A trail of this has been following the boat for days, in the wake of the disturbance from the rudder. Great for fine tuning the autopilot as it looks just like the diagram in the manual, a long series of linked Ss. Whenever dolphins swim near the boat, at night, you just see flashes of light all round the boat as they dive back & forth.