Nearly becalmed again!
Calypso's Web Diary
Joe Drury
Fri 10 Jun 2011 10:07
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Hello loyal readers,
41:59.06N 16:14.55W
0945 GMT
After a good night of running before the wind at
5-6 knots, I awoke to an all too familiar noise, the sails slatting empty
against the rigging, so with a groan I got out of bed and saw the windspeed indi
was reading 3 knots, from astern. Bugger, going nowhere quickly, then. After
going above decks to check the sails I also found a rip in the foot of my Genoa,
so when I finish breakfast i will have to get my needle and thread out. At least
the sun is shining!
The weather system looks a bit desperate, after the
low pressure passes south of me the wind is due to set up from the SW,
so I'm looking at 3 days of rough beating into it, not ideal at all. Why
does this always happen to me? Oh well, I'll get lots of sympathy from Alex, she
knows what it's like to be in that situation.
Whilst it is calm today I plan to relax, listen to
some Chris Rea and make sure the boat is tidy and ready for the last push to the
Azores.
Couple of thank-you's, to Andrew for the latest
fleet update, seems I am 9th in class, 8th for distance, right in the middle of
the pack, which is great! I hope I can hold my position. Also to Auntie kath and
Mum and to Anne and Alex for their latest emails. Thanks dad for checking in,
hope you can keep checking the tracker and the blog ok.
Joe
PS. I need some mechanical advice, is there any way
I can tweak my 90A alternator to provide more current and volts to my battery
bank? No matter how long I run the engine I only manage to achieve 13.00VDC into
them, no more than this. Then when I cut the motor the batteries reduce to an
"at rest" charge of about 12.40V. I'd rather see the alternator pushing
13.5-13.8 volts into them, then perhaps I can go for longer without charging, as
the noise annoys me. With these light winds from astern the wind charger can't
cope, especially at night when I'm running the radar and my masthead lights...
Help would be appreciated. I tried to put my multimeter across the alternator
terminals, but SOMEONE left it on in the toolbox and I dont have another 9v
battery. I used my tongue instead, and I got quite a tingle, so I reckon the
alternator is ok, it's new after all.
Ranking 1900 GMT 09/06/11, by Distance to
run:
1
Franglais 437.7 5.4 13/06/2011 03:22
11/06/2011 21:35 4 Stratagem 487.3 5.2 13/06/2011 15:48 12/06/2011 15:41 7 Christina 499.2 4.9 14/06/2011 00:35 13/06/2011 01:06 2 Quaker Girl 506.5. 5 13/06/2011 15:25 12/06/2011 03:57 5 Concerto 532.3 5 14/06/2011 06:09 12/06/2011 20:44 10 Finistere 532.5 4.4 14/06/2011 20:47 13/06/2011 18:58 3 Carolina 569.5 5.9 13/06/2011 18:59 12/06/2011 14:04 9 Calypso 569.6 4.9 14/06/2011 16:13 13/06/2011 05:51 11 Rebecca 576.9 3.8 16/06/2011 01:07 13/06/2011 22:46 8 Caprice 586.5 5.2 14/06/2011 11:01 13/06/2011 04:00 6 Relief 592.9 5.7 14/06/2011 02:06 12/06/2011 21:38 13 Erica 596.3 4.1 15/06/2011 20:19 14/06/2011 12:31 14 Tantina II 611.6 3.8 16/06/2011 10:36 14/06/2011 17:06 12 Becca Boo 657.3 4.5 15/06/2011 21:47 14/06/2011 03:58 15 Lexia 766.6 3.1 20/06/2011 01:16 16/06/2011 18:59 16 Foula 786.7 2.7 22/06/2011 00:51 18/06/2011 22:52 |