Scot Free III
Frank & Anne
Wed 26 Jun 2024 17:06
Monday A gentle start followed by a roller coaster of a ride. F was on watch yesterday when the wind got up, had to reef the main twice( reduce the sail size ) and take in the yankee. The boat sailed well with the reefed main and staysail. Need to always heed the accepted advice “ reef early”. It was very rolly which A doesn’t do well, didn’t sleep well and suffered most of yesterday with the dreaded mal de mer. Sea state partly to do with the Grand Banks being relatively shallow, only 80m. First night A did 2am to 7pm watch. Remembered she prefers the 9pm - 2am so doesn’t have to rush to get out of bed and get dressed in the dark quickly before the effects of the motion hit. Had a very clear call on the radio, didn’t clock it at first as so unexpected. Being asked by the support boat to change course due to the 3 mile exclusion zone around the Hibernia oil field. One oil tanker in sight. Quite an event to spot anything out here. Enjoyed watching more dorsal fins, 6 dolphins (unspecified) stayed with us for about 10mins. Strongish winds and confused seas continued for much of the day. Decided to swap watches as per the Atlantic crossing. A. had recovered for her watch but thick fog set in, very cold and very very wet - rapidly ran out of dry gloves. Think she needs to resort to Marigolds. Of course, by 2am the fog was clearing and F could see the full moon. Not an entirely clear sky but better than being cloaked in fog. He, too, had the excitement of seeing one ship about a mile away. Several degrees warmer this morning. Winds light in the early hours so reefs shaken out of the main only to be reefed again a few hours later. Making good progress, averaging 121 nautical miles a day, not bad considering the slow start. Trip is approx 1200, but very aware of potential lack of wind in the Azores high. Raining now. Staying dry under the spray hood. Changed our watches to Greenland time( seems about right?!) so gradually get to Azores time zone. Hope it works. |