Noon Friday 12th 30:02N 49:36W
Bellone
Fri 12 May 2023 15:34
|
We covered 112 miles in the last twenty four hours,
again having to lower the mainsail in the evening because of no or light winds.
It went back up at four o'clock this morning and we are doing a steady five
knots now.
But what a difference a day makes. Twilight came with
leaden skies and drizzle with the inside of the boat damp from the overnight
conditions. The temperature was down to 22*. I haven't felt that
temperature for five months.
It can be quite easy to
convince myself that I'm familiar with all the equipment on the boat,
especially the safety gear. As I've been going about doing my jobs on the boat
I've been taking a closer look at some of the kit and the other day I
moved something called a dan-buoy. It's simply a long pole with a buoyant
chamber a third of it's length along with a counter weight at it's base. It
has a life-belt attached to it as it's meant to indicate a man-overboard
position once thrown into the water.
On looking closely at the life belt I've seen that a lot
of the stitching is frayed and beyond it's useful like. Fortunately, on
this leg of the trip it's not that important because I can't throw it into the
water if I fall overboard, but it certainly needs addressing in Ponta
Delgada.
Now, I'd better do the weekly test of the fire
alarm.
|