It's been a bit windy 46 32.00N 21 42 00W Miles to Newport via Titanic 2196
Ellatrout3
Tue 20 May 2014 12:22
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On Sunday you will recall I was messig with the
engine trying t5o seal up the exhaust manifold; well as I was completing the
job, about two in the afternoon the wind finally arrived but I could
not get going till four when I completed the work. It built up steadily and by
midnight was a Nor westerly force 5 to 6 and during the night settling to a
steady 28Kts. over the next 12 hours it gradually moved around to the North
where it has been ever since.
On Monday morninig I felt the boat was gfoing too
fast, she kept leaping out of the waves and slamming into tthe trough. When
sitting in the cabin listening to the noise, it is very noisy in these
conditions you can tell when she is going to slam, it goes quiet for an instant
and you wait with hunched shoulders for the crashwhen she hits the trough, it's
ve3ry unnerving. At 05.00 Mondaymorning on one occassion the quiet was very long
and the crash was frighteningly enormous, I had to slow her down or something
would break! I got kitted up in my wet gear, no mean feat on a sloping
floor bouncing up and down, and went on deck, forward to the mast and wrestled
the mainsail down completely. this, much to my relief, steadied things down.
That was early Monday morning it is now midday on Tuesday and it has been
blowing between 25 and 40knots all this time. Looking at the forecast it
is going to continue like this until Thursday evening when hopefully we will
finally break free from the grip of this low pressure system we're caught in, it
will be the longest spell of strong weather I have experienced, I'm
wondering how the othe guys are getting on?
Even with the tiny bit of jib that I am flying
the waves frequenly break over the ship so to do anything, even the most minor
adjustment you have to put full wet gear which takes about 10 mins in these
conditions.
Having said all this ET is coping well so far. and
we just have to stick it out J
Poppa/Dad/Roger
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