Day 91 - Leg 5 Day 16 at Sea 'Arrival at Ascension Island'
Seaduced
John & Jane Craven
Thu 24 Sep 2015 11:34
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So much for my last prediction. The winds dropped
to between 10 - 15 knots and we were making slow progress. If this had
continued, it could have taken us an extra 5 days or more to reach
Ascension Island, even if we used all the remaining fuel to motor in the
lightest winds. This is our longest leg of the trip, just over 4,000 miles
and, instead of it taking us around 23 days, it would have been nearer to 30
days. So, after downloading the latest grib (weather) files, I decided
that we would turn on the engine and motor to Ascension Island. The idea
is to stock up with fuel, buy a few bits & pieces, fruit, veg. etc. have a
an evening ashore and then depart the next day.
The winds continued over the next few days in pretty
much the same way, just enough to sail slowly, but often in the wrong direction,
so we continued to motor. it has been a pretty boring few days but we are
just about to anchor in Clarence Bay. We each had to complete an
application for permission to land and email it off to the Ascension government
before we left Cape Town, as the island is largely a US and UK military
base. We have received confirmation of our entry permits and we now just
need to go through the usual customs and immigration
precedures.
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