The autohelm is fixed - Canaries passage day 4
Moorglade's Voyage
Ted Wilson
Thu 14 Oct 2010 11:21
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Our position is 31:03.79N 13:49.09W
Thursday 14 October 11:55am
Shortly after our last diary entry Ted was able to
get to the root of the problem with the Autohelm and fix it, so there was no
more need for the jury rig or hand steering. Fortunately, as we have been
motor-sailing in light winds for most of the last 24 hours, necessitating much
calculation as to whether the fuel would last out to our destination. In fact we
seem to , have husbanded our resource well enough, through low revs and
maximising the use of the sails, to be able to get all the way to Las
Galletas without a refuelling stop. We should arrive there sometime around lunch
time on Saturday.
Apart from the fuel calculations and the
concentration on sailing it has been a very uneventful 24 hours - no dolphins,
only 2 ships, both 5 miles away, hardly any birds and flat seas. (Quick ref for
the family - One of the passing ships was called Great Mary, we weren't
expecting to see her around here!) Even dinner of sausages and onion gravy
wasn't that memorable apart from the rather spicy Portuguese sausages. I'm
planning something better tonight, with the help of the cook books, out of
what we have left (no more fresh meat apart from bacon).
Since breakfast there has been sufficient wind to
sail with. This filled in most opportunely as the engine had to be stopped due
to overheating. That problem was fixed quickly but we haven't needed to use the
engine since then and are able to maintain 5.5 - 6 knots close fetching in a
South Easterly.
KLW
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