Day 9: Confused Seas and Sqawls
Buoy 'N Sea
Phil and Trish Littman
Wed 28 Nov 2007 16:53
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21:11.85N, 64:44.44W
Wednesday, November
28th
The winds came around for us, from East to ENE, to
NE. This put us on beam reach late yesterday to a broad reach (downwind) today.
This is the first time we've sailed downwind the entire trip.
Last night around 11PM, a squall hit us, bringing
rain and 30kts of wind. We quickly put a second reef in the main. Soon after we
had to alter our course 20 degrees to slip around back of another squall. After
that, it was squall, squall, squall. All night. At one point we "heaved to"
doing what Steve calls a "fisherman's reef" waiting for one bigger one
to pass. The genny was brought in to about half. We consistently saw 20-24kt
winds all night (30-35 in the squalls), and despite the stopping and
maneuvering, managed to keep good speed. This is
typical for the tropics.
Once day break came, the skies cleared. The
forecast call for more squalls, lighter wind, and high seas through the end of
the trip. We're also getting "confused seas" -- this is where waves come from
different directions.
All this is nothing to be concerned about, we're
managing quite well and drying out after a soggy night. Due to the change in
winds and our speed, we may be making landfall sometime Friday, but lighter
winds over the next two days may negate that.
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