Finally wind
African Innovation
AJ
Tue 4 May 2010 18:04
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After a realatively depressed communique yesterday,
it feels good to finally have found some wind. We have since a little after I
sent my update yesterday at noon, our time, (19:00 UTC) been sailing with only
the briefest pause. Speed isn't high, but as long as we are moving at above 5
knots, we are happy. We have about 8 knots of wind blowing
We have moved 337 nm since we left San
Cristobal and have 2678 nm to go. At the present rate of sailing we will be
there in 23 days.
Onboard we measure each 24 hours from 18:00 -
18:00, because that is when we hoisted anchor and got on our way from San
Cristobal. So if we look at the first 24 hours, we logged 115 nm, of which 98 nm
got us closer to target (we were searching for windand lost valuable miles as we
were sailing due south, until we found wind). Our average speed was 4.79 knots
and we used one engine for propulsion for 17 hours. Our average wind speed was
around 3 knots. All in all a poor first day.
Our second day is better:
We logged 129 nm of which 127 brough us closer to
Hiva Oa.
Our average speed was 5.37 knots
We ran the engine for 11 hours.
Average wind speed was around 7 knots, especially
towards the end, when we were sailing.
Our third day will hopefully be even better. We
will certainly have sailed a lot more, because as of yet, we have only used the
engine about 30 minutes. From now on, I will be explaining our daily progress
based on our 24 hour runs from 18:00 - 18:00.
We are flying the gennaker or assymetrical
spinnaker as it is also called and it is pulling us along. Compared to other
sails, this sail demands more attention, but it is a real lifesaver in light air
conditions, which is exactly what we are experiencing now.
Today we are going to enjoy a nice fish soup on the
fish Martin and I harpooned with our spearguns in Las Perlas. We are trying to
make some room in the fridge for a Wahoo or Mahi Mahi (that we have yet to
catch).
It feels good to be sailing again.
- Andreas
2:32.78S
94:41.47W |