Sunrise…new day…Day 2
Wallace's Sailing Adventure on "Arbella"
Mike and Vicki Wallace
Thu 28 May 2015 18:55
23:23.4N 67:17.3 W Every sunrise and sunset during a "bluewater passage" is spectacular. This entry captures what we see most mornings….and yet every one is unique! Today the sunrise was the high point of the day. As conditions continued to change to very light and variable winds, we realized we were not going to be keeping up the pace of Day 1…this would not be a 200 mile day! So now we are back to focusing on "fuel consumption and conservation". Here is a summary with just two calculation sets we ran right after sunrise: a) 2300 engine rpm, fuel consumption 11.4 liters/hr, speed 7.6 knots; and b) 1800 engine rpm, fuel consumption 6.3 liters/hr, speed 6.3 knots. Now…with the distance to Little Creek, VA inside the entrance to the Bay at 975 miles from here (where we can get fuel, with 125 miles left to go "up the Bay"), and with our fuel down to 988 liters, what do you think we should do…and we want to get home as quickly as possible. What if the wind stays like this….and Commander's Weather, our weather advisors, are telling us that it probably will (but could be better or worse!). So this is a good problem…again…for Mr. Webb's 3rd Grade Class at Lake Magdeliene School, Hillsborough County, FL, near Tampa (they are adopted and honorary "Crew of Arbella")..they have done calculations like this during prior passages! I will give you our answer tomorrow! The day went forward uneventful as the crew got further into the "passage routines"…and we had pork tenderloin for dinner…not too shabby!
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