34:48.3N 043:03.0W Midday (BST) Fix 27 May 2010 To Boldly Go ...
Oboe D'Amore's Web Diary
Nigel Backwith
Thu 27 May 2010 13:02
2010
View our progress on Google Earth at: http://blog.mailasail.com/oboe
GPS Position: 34:48.3N 043:03.0W
Sea Miles (previous 24 Hours): 159nMs
Sea Miles to date: 2,407nMs
Present Course Over Ground: 074°M
Present Boat Speed 6.4kts
Average Boat Speed (previous 24 hours): 6.6kts
Average Boat Speed to date: 6.1kts
Estimated GPS Position in 24 hours time: 36°:25'N 040°:14'W
Sea State: Moderate with swell
Wind Speed and Direction: 26kts SW (Warp Speed Scottie!)
Barometric Pressure: 1006mB
Winner winner, Mahi mahi dinner. More than that, a roller coaster cockpit
feast of mahi mahi stuffed with roasted red peppers and spring onions served
on a bed of Lyonnais potatoes, topped off with black pepper and olive oil
marinated medallions of beef. Enough about Ryan's special day. Let's move
on.
We have been heading northeast for 24 hours with the wind and waves pressing
our port quarter, under sunny blue skies by day and a spectacular full moon
at night. The moonlight is bright enough to read by and casts a massive
swathe of mesmerising light over the black ocean. The increasing swell,
like a wall of water, catches us up from astern, lifts us gently then leaves
us to surf its trailing edge with a swoosh of adrenaline and a remarkable
turn of speed.
With the benefit of a new weather forecast, we confidently gybed directly
towards Horta, Azores this morning, with 25-30 kts of wind and the 3m swell
directly on our stern, as the long-awaited high winds and high seas firmly
established themselves. We have been at pains to position ourselves to
avoid the worst of the weather and our earlier dive south is now paying off,
albeit at the cost of a lost day. There are two storms nearby, one to the
north and one to the southwest and we are slicing right between them.
Result or what!
Oboe's mainsail is so short it looks as if it has been borrowed from a laser
dinghy. It is doing very little of course, except stabilise the boat and
eliminate much of the rolling associated with downwind sailing. In
contrast, we are running a full genoa billowing at the bow propelling us at
warp speed to the safety and comfort of Horta Marina, now only 5 or so days
away and one day behind schedule. Oboe is a comfortable, stable, downwind
machine and below decks one would never imagine the stormy scene above.
Sleep still comes easily in the relative quiet below decks. Perhaps our
first 200 mile day? ...
Nigel
Date: 27 May 2010