Day 15
leeonsea
Lee Price
Mon 26 May 2008 16:21
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N36.56.40 W052.44.16
WInd F5-6 NE Heading SSE
It appears to have rained continuously sinse the
dawn of time itself. First, there was the brutally opressive rain of my two
storm bound days.
Then, for the last 24hrs at least, it has rained a
rain clearly bound for the UK, a low, dank, drizzle that drowns the soul in
sorrow. Becalmed again by 1600, by 0100 I set the sails on
deck and retired. Gave myself 2hrs sleep by way of relief for the persecution
I'd suffered since tea time when the very super wind I'd had for the first time
in 3 days, stopped.
0400 saw me on deck, 12hrs later, setting the main.
I instantly regreted it, the breeze that had finally picked up barely able to
teese my esign flag from it's pole. The flogging was much less in
earnest though, enough I suspected to keep me awake, but as it must the
wind should surely blow more firmly and I was sure I could make out the line of
the front in cloud not 12 miles off that would bring fair weather and
wind, not long now.
It was not to be and by 0500 the sails where on the
deck again. If storms create feats of physical endurance in me then calms push
for a more mental torture, a far worse fait I feel. The light gusts taunted me,
the mood on board has not been good.
The problem is this, if the sails are in still air,
as the boat rolls on the swell the sails back and fill, they act as a break to
the rolling of the boat but the noise is intolerable and the strain on the
rigging in shock loads must be equal to, if not more than that of a good
persistant storm. If one drops the sails for some peace, then the boat rolls
increasingly violently until it is impossible to lay in your bunk, let alone
stand up. Dammed if I do and dammed if I don't.
Eventually, by noon, some little breeze was coming
and going and we we're for the most part east bound. But with only 77miles
logged in the last 24hrs and most of that the previous afternoon before tea when
things had been good, the past 20hrs at least have been a right off and with
little or no sleep again.
It's now 1600, 24hrs has past precisly and now we
have wind again NE blowing hard at F5-6, it continues to be overast, though has
stopped raining at least. It would be fab if this wind would back a bit as I'm
loosing some northing although at least heading vaguely east.
PLEASE let this 24hr period offer something to lift
my spirits.
bugger.
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