Fw: A tale of 2 halves
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Simanderal
Michael Hughes and Ger White
Fri 30 May 2014 05:15
Yesterday started well, with a decent wind on a broad reach until just
after lunch. We then had a long squall—plenty of wind and some rain going on for
about
an hour, reefing in and travelling fast. And it was followed by----nothing.
It’s usually the case that around a squall there is very little wind—so we
imagined we
would only have to wait half an hour and the wind would return as before.
But no, we waited..and waited..and waited. The wind remained very light and what
is
termed “variable”---in other words multi-directional. After a while
we switched on the engine---while waiting for the wind. But I’m not going to
motor to Chagos
so when we still had no wind after an hour of engine, we turned it off and
lay a-hull---ie drifting nowhere while we waited. It seemed unlikely we would
make Chagos
on the 31st.
It was not until 2 a.m.---during Ger’s watch---that the wind returned—and
some wind! From zero to 15 knots and rising, good sailing angle---we were back
sailing quickly,
back on course and FAST. The wind continued to rise and we’re now sailing
in over 20 knots of wind and well reefed. Given the experience of the last 24
hours, I will no
longer predict an arrival time---though tomorrow seems to be back on!
Hoping for it, as a big wind is accompanied by a big sea—and a lot of rolling—so
a calm anchorage
would be nice!
All is well. |