Spellbinder's Web Diary - Wednesday 7th November- at sea on passage to Sal, Cape Verde Islands

Wednesday 7th November- at sea on passage to Sal, Cape Verde Islands

Spellbinder

Wed 7 Nov 2007 12:15

Last Friday afternoon at La Gomera there was a swimming trip for Ros, Mike and Martin to a black volcanic sand beach outside the harbour area, catching the last of the afternoon sun. With the clock change, sunset is around 6.15. Back to the marina for wash and brush up before we all walked up the hill to the Parador hotel for a "Last Supper". The parador did not disappoint, and Mike was particularly impressed by his pre dinner pernod, which was a glass full, and special request required for water and ice. Somehow he made it to the dining room.
Saturday morning saw a final trip to the market for fresh bread and other essentials, and a final clean up of the boat, plus a top up of water using our new inline filling filter, before an early lunch, and then off we set at 1 pm. Initially we enjoyed a brisk north east wind, but it soon became apparent that it was the local acceleration zone around the island, and we were down to force 1 within an hour. On engine, and apart from a half hour effort to sail around tea time we remained under engine for the next 24 hours.
All settled down to the routine of being at sea. We are in an elaborate watchkeeping routine, which took Henry all of Friday afternoon to draw up on a sheet of paper. Essentially Henry and Martin are watch and watch about, as watch leaders. Bunny, Ros and Mike take it in turns to spend a day out of the watchkeeping bill to act as cooks and cleaners, otherwise known as the mother watch, while the other two watch keep with Henry and Martin. Are you confused? So are some of us, Mike not best pleased to be woken and told it was time for his watch, when he was mother watch and therefore all night in.
The days routine starts with sunrise, which is around 7.30 am at the moment. Breakfast on the watch change at 8, sandwich lunch on the watch change at 12, afternoon tea at 4, with cake if lucky, and then supper around 6, so we are all tidied up before the sun sets at about 6.30. Night watches raid the larder according to taste.The pressure cooker features large as a convenient method of cooking for five, and fresh fruit keeps the scurvy at bay.
Sunday afternoon there was enough wind to set the genneker, and so we sailed on slowly over night, hoping the forecast force 3-4 northeaster would develop.
By Monday morning we had a force 3 to give us a steady 4 knots or so, but no sign of the Canary current, which should be adding anything up to a knot to our progress. Otherwise normal life at sea, with engine runs to top up the battery and operate the watermaker, and long periods looking at an empty horizon. Very few ships around, and one yacht which was just visible on the horizon for 24 hours.
Tuesday much the same, hot and sunny by day, cool and very humid by night, 92% humidity and decks soaked with dew. Same again, today, Wednesday, except the wind has rather deserted us again, despite a forecast NE 3-4 we are ghosting along under genneker in force 2-3 at only a couple of knots. 398 miles on the log, 362 miles still to go. We might arrive by Saturday, but given the food stocks we could last another week.