Thurs 9/8/12 – Day 3 - Here and There - 37:40N 22:25W

Watergaw
Alan Hannah/ Alison Taylor
Thu 9 Aug 2012 17:19

Until fairly recently, we thought that the Azores and the Canaries were close to mainland Europe and North Africa respectively. In the case of the Canaries, we were right, with the nearest point to the African coast being only about 50 miles away. The Azores, however, are one third of the way to America, and a minimum of about 800 miles from the Iberian coast. The islands are quite well spread out, with some 100 odd miles away from their neighbours. Flores, of course, claims to be the westernmost part of Europe, and a distant outpost it is too.  For us, this means that the 2 hour flight out to Terceira becomes a week or more passage back in Atlantic conditions.

 

The good news is that our timing and weather strategy has begun to look better today, with our last gybe yesterday coinciding with a wind shift driven by the Low centred north of the Azores and the tongue of High pressure building from the south west. Our track now shows a pleasing catenary curve, bending nicely to point towards our destination. Thus all of our miles this last 24 hours have been to the good. We are now blasting along in mostly sunny conditions, doing 6-8 knots all in the right direction. The outcome is that we are only about 630 miles off Cabo de Sao Vicente now. Unfortunately, it cannot last! On Friday and Saturday, we are likely to lose a fair bit of our favourable wind, but that is another day and another dollar…..

 

This is our fifth serious offshore passage in the last year, and we will have spent about 2 months at sea (don’t tell Ali who may never forgive me for missing the Murray Gold!)). Though these sea-going trips are not to be taken lightly, it is amazing how relatively more sanguine you become with experience, and how more quickly your body recognises that it might as well adjust sooner rather than later. Ali’s first few days’ of queasiness has become about 24 hours where she needs to take care and use her Relief Band. The first night is always difficult, but we are finding sleep adjustment takes only a couple of days now, when it took a week the first time we set off.  I am not sure this is the kind of acclimatisation either of us wants to utilise on a regular basis, but it sure helps when you have to knuckle down to move the boat!

 

Ali is still getting the dolphin sightings, when I am below decks. I will be getting a complex (or new glasses) soon……

 

 

Watergaw