8.27S 124.24W 3rd August 2011
Mojo 2
Andrew Partington
Thu 4 Aug 2011 01:29
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No mutiny overnight but progress had been slow
again for us today.
Overnight we had around 10 knots and were only
using the mainsail. We had a few showers come over us but they did not bring
wind with them.
Most of today we have had very light winds and
battled with constant wind shifts. At one point the wind was north-east with a
lot of north in it. By lunchtime out of frustration we downed the mainsail and
set the boat up with the genneker to starboard and the genoa to port as we had
done across the Atlantic. This improved the situation as we were able to make
about 6 knots for several hours, until the wind dropped down to 8 knots
true and 5 knots of apparent wind speed. This winged out arrangement works
really well provided that the following seas are not too large, as you can tend
to surf down waves.
It is now 5.30pm and the wind has just picked up
again to give us 6-7 knots apparent and a boat speed around 4 knots. At one
point I was thinking of firing up the motors but will hold off as long as this
wind lasts.
We sailed only 125NM over the 24 hours and have
just passed 1225NM to our waypoint.
The upside of the light winds is that we have
enjoyed another stunning day. The seas have calmed right down as well and are
looking like they did on our first few days out of Galapagos.
I had the fishing line out again today but is the
only day we have fished and caught nothing. Maybe better luck
tomorrow.
We are at the point of the crossing where you start
to miss the everyday things we take for granted. The daily routine of watch,
sleep and eat starts to become a chore as well. During the daytime hours you try
to catch up [Jane is asleep on the lounge right now] with the sleep you
missed out on the night before but you never feel fully rested. This is all a
little easier in light weather of course but lack off progres has its own
frustrations at this point in the crossing.
Let me assure you that you have not seen anything
as large as an ocean when you cross it in this way. We have just ticked over 2
weeks out here and anything becomes interesting when all you have seen for 2
weeks is water, sky, sun, moon and stars. A wooden oar floated past
us the other day and it generated conversation for hours.
Speaking of the moon it has started to make a
welcome return to the sky above us. We will be into our fourth night with it
again tonight and each night now it will stay longer and become
brighter. It makes a huge difference to
night vision and by the time we get close to Tahiti it will make night-time
navigation that much easier. A few nights back it was so dark you could hardly
make out your hand with it held just in front of your face.
We now have 9 knots apparent and the boat has woken
up. Hopefully this will stay with us overnight.
Andrew Partington.
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