FW: Big Seas

Truantofsark
Fri 11 Feb 2011 12:11
19:00.75N 38:08.48W
The bad weather has finally kicked in and we have had a difficult last 24
hours. The wind has been 25 to 35 knots, gale force 8, but the sea state has
been much more churned up than those winds would normally imply. The
goose-wing sail plan has been tossed and turned all last night, so at first
light we put the genoa away and took out the staysail which is also our
storm sail. We are now reaching, heading for Brazil somewhere, but intending
to turn when conditions improve. Sadly things are not expected to get better
until Sunday/Monday. The washing machine is now on spin cycle. One of the
mainsail batons has come apart, although this is not a big issue, plus our
steering was grumbling under the strain last night, which is more of a
concern. We are tightening what we can see in the engine room and being kind
to the autopilot by not putting out too much sail. We will be slower but we
are as comfortable as we can be with these conditions. Saw an oil tanker
yesterday about 300 meters away; called him up on the VHF radio, but he
wasn't feeling chatty.