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Farr Gone Blog
Stuart Cannon
Thu 7 Apr 2011 21:10
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There is no truth to the rumour that due to a
shortage of olive oil (true) I unpacked the helicopter on the aft deck
and flew 3000 miles north. Apparently, thanks Will, I entered the format of the
lat long incorrectly and my marker went a bit off track. Fussy things these
puters. Inconsistent things these humans.
This has probably been my lowest mileage 24
hours but its been quite overcast so the temperature is relatively pleasant. The
wind is very iffy and comes and goes at whim and from anywhere.
The truth is there is only one degree of
seperation. Well maybe one point something but close, and I needed an excuse to
use that line. As I get closer to the equator, forward movement has declined and
I'm not confident about how long the next 111 or so miles will take. I
could motor but I've done well on fuel having 60% remaining but future needs are
so difficult to guess and there is no great hurry so some more enforced R&R
is in order. I know the crew wont object too strenuously. I can imagine the draw
on computer power if you wanted to race across this. Grib files and sat images
would be the only way to maximise speed. An air pressure of 1016 is considered
perfect for wind. 1012 is bad, stormy and 1020 is too high with really light
winds so the racers would be aiming at routes through here following air
pressure gradients. Really way too hard for this little black duck. I'll just
plod along.
Have had quite a bit of rain so the sails are all
clean and the boat is sparkling. It would sparkle a little more if we could
crank up the speed as well but mustn't grumble. I have this feeling of being
very fortunate all the time I am doing this and it makes being patient very
easy. And to really put my mind at ease I just have to think back to the
"concrete kids" in their ferro cement, engineless boat spending months
getting through the doldrums to Ecuador. I have their chain, well mine as I
bought it, in the forward anchor locker and there was quite a bit of it. A lot
of weight went in the bow which is not a great place to put a lot of weight but
what can you do? Actually I think it effected perfomance less than I expected
but it does hobby horse a bit more in sloppy seas.
Went through all the charts today. The winner is
clearly Ipad. All the charts and often more details. Certainly more usable for
those with less than perfect eyesight.
Hark! is that a breath of wind I hear? Must away to
pull on lines.
BTW dont forget my email is farrgone {CHANGE TO AT} mailasail {DOT} com as I wont
recieve any messages on facebook etc. COG
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