36:25N 48:02W Position Update. Still moving slowly (pictures sent in additional blog mail)
The Snark on The ARC
Ben Little
Thu 19 May 2011 05:04
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Hi there,
We are still bubbling along slowly under
engine Each time we get a burst of wind we get excited, all the sail
combinations are tried. We gain a knot of speed, try cutting the engine
for a bit, then it all goes away and we are left with a flat glassy calm
again. The wind zone is a little but ahead of us still but we have a few
days of fuel left at low revs so we are continuing rather than waiting for the
wind to come again.
After yesterday's rationing count, the only victim
as mentioned was cups of tea due to concerns over our gas usage.No-one seems to
mind and it has also had a beneficial effect on our supplies of ginger snaps
where consumption, it appears, is directly linked to consumption of tea in
a ratio of 2:1 (or 3:1 if no-one is looking) (or maybe more if you are making
the tea!! yes eyes are everywhere). As we came on to the graveyard shift
at 1am this morning we were pleased to see that our nighttime share of the choco
ration seemed to be all present and correct then we discovered that our other
crew members had failed to hide the evidence of extra snickers bar
indulgence!!
This was another day of wildlife spotting.
There is plenty of bird life at sea, and if on a future voyage of this type I
would make sure we had a guide book for these as it would be a lot more use than
our fish guide book (still nothing biting). Many, many more dolphins
again today (see the photo update on the blog) different pods this time with
young it tow. We noticed that they are also tagged on the tail fin, some
of them multiple times. In addition to the children they seemed to be
in the company of some whales. Firstly there was a big grey whale
(not sure what type) then some Minkys and several others at a distance too
far to identify. So far we don't have any great photos if them to share
but given time I am sure we will. Thankfully, while still there,
the purple nasties are petering out. It is quite incredible the
number we have seen of these Portuguese man-o-war and over an are
covering more than 1200 Nm of sea. Plague proportions. Now we just
see a few every mile or so. Maybe we will be tempted with a mid ocean
dip? We are now almost exactly half way between Bermuda and Horta in the
middle of the Atlantic ocean so tomorrow when the sun is up we ought to give it
a go so we can say we swam in the middle of the pond. I think we
will have to post a jelly fish watch before we do so as since we don't have a
large supply of vinegar to treat any stings, I don't fancy the alternative
treatment, no matter how much highland spring my crew mates have been
drinking!!
Any other yachts nearby? We hear daily from
Triple D but only from them and I think they are about 600 miles
behind though seemingly catching us up at 1 knot under superior engine
power. Rather a frustrating way to transit the Atlantic but our Wind
Witch's magic seems to have forsaken her... Paul please make sure she gets
a good nights sleep and lays off the Champagne!
happy sailing to our fellow sailors and a fond
farewell to our land based followers.
Ben and the Crew of The Snark
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