Near Gale Force 7 28 to 33 Knots Full Gale Force 8 34 to 40 Knots 45:48.3N 19:47.1W
Ellatrout3
Wed 15 Jun 2016 15:08
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It all started about 10 o'clock Monday night when
I quickly had to reduce sail by two reefs and three rolls in the jib. Even then
it was too much and I had to slow her down by turning up into the wind, the
waves had been building up for a while and were taking charge so I had to
turn and face them, This means I had to turn the boat so that the bows
were angled into the waves which took us north instead of north east where we
wanted to go. She seemed to be coping well in the twenty knots of wind so I
went to bed. I was up again at 01.00 and again at 04.00 shortening sail
still further, we now had 24/25 knots of wind across the
deck.
At 08.00 I reduced sail as far as I could go
without taking them off altogether. I have found in the past that with just
the storm jib up she will not point into the wind and waves but tends to lie
across them, although she lies quiet I do not like this position so I kept
the main up with three reefs which was really too much for the 30 to
40 knot winds we were now getting. All day Tuesday we had a
continuous 30 to 35kts but on top of that, especially in the morning squalls
formed under the clouds and we had spells of over 40kts for 15 or
30 minutes at a time. We obviously had too much sail up but by feathering
the main sail I could deflect most of the load and we crept slowly north at
about 2 knots. The sea became enormous, frequently breaking over the boat and
slamming her side ways or turning her if it hit the front or the back. After one
of these hits she would shudder to a stop then stumble back on course and press
on. ET was magnificent throughout and I believe played a big part in
keeping me safe.
This went on all day and all night, although I
have to admit I new little about the night because I was so worn out that I
put the storm boards on and went to bed and slept through to 08.00, waking only
once at 01.00; I didn't get up as the wind was still howling and ET was coping.
We still had a solid force 7 this morning, 30 knots, but somehow it seemed
calmer and by midday it had dropped to a steady 25Kts, force
6.
I must say I'm glad it has passed and a force six
seems quiet acceptable!!!! Still got 3 reefs in and most of the jib but now at
least it is appropreate to the wind strength. Also both yesterday and today
there has been a lot of sun, white clouds and blue skies, but you can't sit out
and enjoy it because of the howling gale and you keep being dumped on by tons of
water!
Poppa/Dad/Roger
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