02.01S 100.09W 24th july 2011
Mojo 2
Andrew Partington
Sun 24 Jul 2011 22:25
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A very healthy 146NM over the 24 hours to midday
today but we still have a very long way to go.
Just approaching sunset last night we hoisted the
genneker for the first time in a week. It went for a swim off the Las Perlas
Islands after a failure in the roller fitting which connects the sail to the
halyard. The tricky part was getting the sail all the way to the masthead
because the sail was of course unfurled when it went in the water. We sent it up
running downwind in just 8 knots and behind the genoa and thankfully it went up
easily. We then re-furled the genneker and stowed it ready to go for the
morning. Overnight the wind picked up for a couple of hours to 17 knots but
by midnight was back to a consistent 12-13 knots. Another uneventful night
sailed at a very reasonable 5-6 knots.
This morning we had the first overcast start
to a day since leaving Galapagos. Things were pretty grey until around
1.00pm and after that it cleared up to another stunning
day. All afternoon we have been soaking up
the sun and the boat is finally drying out after the constant moisture of Panama
and Galapagos. We are back to wearing just shorts and t-shirts after a
couple of weeks of trying to keep warm and dry. I still can't get over the fact
that at Galapagos we were at sea level at the equator and the
weather was really quite cool.
We started running with the genneker at lunchtime
and now in the late afternoon we are still sailing with it in about 13 knots of
wind. The sail has made an immediate difference to our boat speed which is
presently varying from 7 to 9 knots with the occasional flurry at 10 knots. I
suspect we will go back to the genoa overnight as we continue our theme of "slow
and steady wins the race" Even if we just use this sail during the daylight
hours I think in reasonable conditions we should start seeing 150-160NM days
fairly consistently. The sail demands more attention than the genoa and having a
problem at night with it could seriously test Jane and I.
Talking about boat speed I should also point out
that in crossing the Pacific from east to west you gain the assistance of the
"South Equatorial Current" which, at this time of year, is worth another 1-1.5
knots to your boat speed. So even if you sat there with no sails up just playing
cards all day you should be heading west at 24-36NM per day.
If anyone has been following our bread crumb trail
on mailasail.com you should be able to see that since leaving Galapagos we have
made virtually no distance to the south. The reason for this is that there is a
recognised area of unsettled weather between 3-8 degrees south and 95 -108
degrees west. It is believed that this area is an extension of the
"Intertropical Convergence Zone" [The Doldrums] and can produce all of the nasty
weather conditions we experienced off Panama. There is no way known we are going
to risk taking a hiding like that again. For this reason we have not dropped
below 2 degrees south and will remain here until close to 108 degrees west.
Whilst we have great sailing conditions we will not mess with the
plan!!
The thing that has struck me most about the
Pacific, other than the calmer seas, is that we are seeing evidence of life
every day. The Atlantic was for the most part devoid of wildlife but here we are
seeing it every day. This morning I collected around 8 squid and a couple of
flying fish from the deck. Two of the squid were on the cabin top!! We have seen
whales in the distance today and are seeing dolphins every day. I have not
fished today as our freezer is now full but I think there is every chance you
could catch fish here every day. There are seabirds around us constantly and
there are lagre schools of flying fish taking to the air from time to time. The
other thing that is noticable is the lack of human rubbish [mainly
plastic] that was so prevalent in the Atlantic.
It was great to hear that Cadel won the Tour. What
a great result for him after all the tough times he has had in this race and how
close he has come to winning it before. I would have loved to have been able to
see him ride in to Paris.....maybe next year?
Jane gave me a [rough] haircut today. I sat one
step up from the water whilst Jane hacked away from the step above. I was never
going be a moviestar but it is considerably less likely now.
It is now late afternoon mojo2 time and we have
just ticked over 2397NM to the Marquesas as we enter our fifth day at sea.
We are saddened to hear that the son of freinds of
ours in Albany has been in a nasty motor vehicle accident. Our thoughts are with
them and hope that the outcome will be a good one.
Andrew Partington.
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