10.50S 133.10W 7th August 2011
Mojo 2
Andrew Partington
Mon 8 Aug 2011 00:26
|
Things are looking up here. It looks as though we
may have weathered the worst of the recent blow.
By late yesterday afternoon we were back to cloud
free skies and a moderation in both swell and wind. The large seas we saw in the
morning started to organise itself into regular [but still large] lines and we
had a following easterly wind at 18-20 knots, giving us a downwind apparent wind
speed of 15-16, very manageable, knots.
Overnight we really did have fantastic sailing
conditions, despite some persisting swell to keep us on our toes.
The setting sun was a treat last night on a cloud
free horizon. This massive orb just slowly sunk beneath the visible lines of
swell and I caught for the first time the flash of green light that accommpanies
its setting. Jane was out cold preparing for the nights sail so I had to enjoy
it alone.
Following this we had a half moon to assist
us though until around 1.30am. Having moonlight is a huge help to us at the
moment as it is shinning across the ocean at the exact heading we need for
our waypoint. We are simply sailing directly at the light it casts our way.
Things are much gloomier when it is gone. Thankfully each night now it will stay
with us for longer and become brighter.
This morning we had beautiful clear skies and
a steady 18 knot easterly to push us along. We were back to fantastic
sailing conditions and a feeling that these blue skies were with us for the
duration now. Heres hoping!!
The lack of an autopilot has really turned our
routine on its head. Last night one of us was asleep and the other at the helm
station from before sunset yesterday until midday today. We are rotating
through roughly 3 hour shifts so to catch up we are being forced to sleep
during the daylight hours as well. Jane has always been a good sleeper but I
have had to train myself into sleeping outside regular hours. One thing I learnt
very early on is that I just couldn't drink coffee and expect to get enough
sleep for the constant watches. I worked this out across the Atlantic within the
first week. Until then I was under the false impression that you had to keep
yourself on top of things with the assistance of caffiene. I now have one coffee
a day and only ever at breakfast.
Our day to day demeanour is closely related to how
tired we are feeling and I am sure that this has at times been reflected in
this blog!
All day we have made great progress and are now
785NM to the Tuamotu Archipelego after covering another 140NM over the 24
hour period. Pretty good given it was all sailed with just the
genoa.
Andrew Partington.
|