Moving Again

Where Next?
Bob Williams
Mon 30 Jun 2008 16:52
Noon Position: 53 36.3 N 051 28.4 W
Course: North Speed: 4 knots
Wind: South southeast, gentle breeze
Weather: Overcast
Day's Run: 20 miles

At last we are making way again! The wind is from the south, still a bit
light but sufficient to fill the sails, though the odd slatting complaint
from the mainsail can be heard, the swell from the east persists despite
days of calm. We are making a satisfying four knots. The seabirds are back
where they belong, in the sky soaring and not surrounding the boat like it
is some sort of rookery; and the air, so still, after a while was starting
to smell like one.
Last night I was feeling like Sisyphus, rolling his stone up the hill
everyday only to see it fall back down and having to start over again the
next day. It is now the last day in June and I must confess to being
disappointed in our progress. While I expected calms and light winds on
this voyage I had hoped for a better run than this. Since leaving St Johns
we have averaged only 30 miles a day, that's 1.25 knots, my worst figures
ever; and overall since leaving Annapolis we have averaged 60 miles a day
(2.5 knots). I know why the Vikings never settled beyond Greenland, the
lack of reliable wind, not to mention fog, ice and Indians, would have made
any attempt at such colonisation doomed. Nuuk is still 635 miles away, at
1.25 knots that's another three weeks, Good Grief, Leif! It seems we just
don't want to get past our last highest latitude. Still it is only 380
miles to the bottom end of Greenland at 60 N, I'll focus on this goal for
now.
The forecast is for southerlies 10 to 15 knots over the next couple of days,
so hopefully we will be able to improve these figures quite a bit. Clearing
the Labrador current will help, and once into the West Greenland current we
will be able to drift faster than our average since leaving St Johns.
Thar she blows! Well, just a few Minkes astern of us.
The clouds are clearing and the sun is shining.

Bob Cat:

What a wonderful last few days it has been, sleep, I mean work, in fact lots
of work, a bit of sunshine, food, a few pats, what more could a cat ask for,
well the food could be improved quite a lot. The answer to life's problems
is to stop thinking and to start sleeping, so far this philosophy of life
hasn't failed me. We've started moving a bit today, I'm a bit suspicious
but at least skipper Bob has stopped looking up at the sky and making
strange gurgling noises, I worry about him sometimes, but then I just get on
with my work.