Antigua to Bermuda - Day 5

Seaduced
John & Jane Craven
Sun 6 May 2012 21:47
Day 4 - 4 May 2012
Very quiet day today, the sun is beating down on us and the winds have
almost entirely died, down to 2 knots at times, so the engine is on for
now. We had been expecting to hit a trough in the weather today, and it
seems the forecast was correct.
BIG excitement again, we have seen 2 boats in less then 4 hours. This is
kind of reassuring as it proves that we are not as alone as we thought we
were. That said, they were both large tankers which passed us 6-11 miles
away respectively. The strange thing is that when the sea and wind are as
calm as today, we could get a really good view of them. It is quite
strange at sea because you see so far away, there is no chance at all that
on land you ever have an unbroken field of vision for 11 miles.
This evening, we hoped that we would be able to get the sails back up as
the winds were freshening, unfortunately so were the waves and as the wind
turned out to be just a very large squall which soon passed, we were back
to motoring. Nevermind, before we left we knew we were heading towards
light winds which is why we tried to make the most of the winds early in
the trip. They say that on an average sail from Antigua to Bermuda, if
you sail for 3 days and motor for 3 days you have done well - this is
without the very light airs we were forecast. We have also been having a
bit of an issue with the sails, or at least the sheets (lines) attached to
them. Prior to leaving Antigua, we changed our mainsail outhaul, as our
old line had started to fray badly again, we had already had it cut and
re-spliced last year. The old line had got so hard it was impossible for
the jammers on deck to hold it firm. However, the new line is no better
- it is a different kind of rope which the jammers still won’t grip. This
means that once the mainsail is out and fastened, it keeps loosening, as
the line slips through the jammers. Sail changes are therefore very
tricky and require both of us, as there is only 1 winch for the headsail
and mainsail, something we need to look at in Bermuda or possibly in the
States, depending on the facilities available.
Also noticeable now is the beginning of the temperature drop as we head
further north. We have even had our foul weather gear on during the night
watches to keep warm. This has not seen the light of day since we crossed
Biscay in July 2010.


Distance so far 616/945 miles