Something happens every day 40:29.0N 51:28.1W From Newport 922 miles stll 1129 to Terceira
Ellatrout3
Sun 13 Jul 2014 19:02
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I said last night that the sun had just dropped into the
sea and I was going to get some dinner and while I was preparing it I watch a
black cloud coming up behind me. It was obviously precipitating, raining,
so I closed all windows and hatches. It was very calm so I just expected a heavy
down pour. I served my dinner onto a plate: Where and from what direction
the wind came I don't know but it got behind my mainsail and blew it aback
pinning the boat down onto the now lee rail. Ella trout hash in my hand ,
tropical downpour and gale outside, boat held down going nowhere - what do
I do??
It was plate in the sink, should be safe there, strip off,
no time to look for waterproofs and out into the fray. To release her I
had to let the jib go and turn her back to the wind, i.e. gybe the boat.The
problem was the rain was so heavy I could not through my glasses and being short
sighted I could not see over them. So you have to imagine this blind naked
man slipping and sliding from helm to self steering to instruments and
back again in a frantic effort to get things under control. It took a
good 10 minutes by which time the wind had eased and the rain had
settled into a steady down pour. Being totally drenched I went for the
soap and shampoo and washed away my tears and fears.
Having toweled myself down my Ella Trout hash was still
warm - just!
So yesterday ended on a hectic note. But it was a
good day really, my noon to noon bst mileage was 145 miles.; noon bst for
me is 7 o clock in the morning and during the night I lay in my bunk while
she thundered along watching the chart plotter. It was showing a
consistent 7 knots through the water and 8+ knots over the ground. The
Gulf Stream was giving me a hearty push.
The Gulf Stream continued to push me a long well into the
morning sending me a bit further south than I want to go, not wishing to get too
near the centre of the Azores high where there is no wind, but that's ok,
I'm sure we'll have chance to correct it later!?
A couple of points about nature out here; I've noticed it
before there are no birds when you are in the Gulf Stream and yet there is
pleanty of sea creatures. A piece of fishing net that got tangled around
my self steering blade had loads of small crustations living on it.
Unfortunately for them I did not return it to the sea. A Squid came on board at
some time last night, now I think about it he probably came to join me in the
shower, if I'd seen him I would have rinsed him, shapooed him and put him
back. Finally - the weed: For the last six or more days we have been
sailing through patches, drifts and indivdualb bits of yellow seaweed. It
gets caught around my steering blade, which is how I noticed the fishing net and
if it builds up too much the steering vane can't cope especially when the wind
is light. So there is plenty of life here, why are there no birds?
I'll leave you with that conundrum.
Love Poppa/DadRoger
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