Well on our way to the Azores -- nearly a quarter of our distance from Lagos to Ponta Delgada now run

Yuva
Jim & Peri Holden
Fri 27 May 2016 08:47
37:21.36N 12:32.30W
posted by: Jim

Further good progress. We are reaching with fair winds and reasonable if somewhat lumpy seas, laying our course directly towards the Azores. The wind has been generally southerly, F4 to F5. We spent all afternoon and evening yesterday under full main and genoa and staysail in mainly F4, but I furled the staysail away last night as the wind rose to F5 and F6, and I also put a couple of reefs in the main and genoa. Just before midnight, soon after reefing, we had a rainy squall sweep over, but no lightning. We kept to a conservatively reefed sail plan overnight.

This morning we are doing well with one reef in the main and one in the genoa. The seas are reasonable, not slowing us down particularly, and we are making about 8kt over the ground. We could sail a bit closer to the wind, but would lose comfort, with little or no gain in VMG, so we are opting for a good mix of comfort and progress.

We expect to be headed by a veer in the wind overnight tonight, at which point we will likely tack to a more southerly course for a while, in antiicipation that the wind will back again to southerly before the end of our passage.

S/Y Yuva