34 53N 43 27W
Osprey
John Bowering
Mon 1 Jun 2009 21:21
frustration is beginning to settle on our small fleet. After a good days
sailing yesterday where we made up some time; this morning we have a head
wind which will only allow us to head either ESE or WNW - neither direction
remotely encompassing The Azores. Its definitely a two steps forward and one
step back type of passage.One of the things that intrigues us is that apart
from the first couple of days north of Antigua not one of the weather charts
we have received has borne any resemblance to what has been happening on the
ground. According to our present chart for example we should have NW winds
whilst they are in fact NE'ly. It could be, of course that we are and have
been in areas where not much attention is either required or paid to the
detail weather in the area. So after lunch today we started the engine and
are motor sailing into the wind at our most economical speed just to try and
find a more beneficial wind pattern. We are now entering the southern end of
the Azores current so we have to stay to the West of the Islands initially
so that we get the benefit form that current rather than fighting its 0.5 -
1 knot flow.
"Notes from a Small Boat Full of Frustrations" - if only we could get a usual wind pattern for this passage, so far it has been so strange it beggars belief. Last night passed in quite an exhilirating bout of sailing, the wind was gusting up to 20-22 knots and coming onto the port bow such that a close lookout had to be maintained with the amount of sail we were flying. In the end, with the wind veering closer to the port bow Charles & John reefed the sails at 0400 hrs.
Off Charles went to bed, thinking that when he got up that Osprey would still be zipping along at an average of 6.5 knots. How wrong, today has been another frustrating one with the wind dropping to virtually nothing and veering to an Easterly. So tonight we have the wonderful noise of the iron sail to accompany life.
The only real events of the past 24 hrs has been Charles's inability to actually finish any of the drinks that have been prepared. To start with he left a fruit tea on the cockpit table, only for this to miraculously fall when John started the engine flinging the tea all over John's clean cockpit. Then in the afternoon the same thing happened but this time in the pilothouse, doubly annoying as Charles had a covered mug this time. The third incident was at dinner last night, his squash again in a covered cup but not with the lid on properly flying off the table. Finally, and worst of all, at 0100 hrs Charles was making a milk drink and as he opened the fridge to put the milk away a rogue wave hit sending the newly made drink straight into the fridge. Well with the boat heeled to starboard and moving at 6.5 knots through heavy swells clearing up that mess was a nightmare, taking 30 minutes. After that he gave up on making drinks instead drinking bottled water, and Kuki refused to let him make any drinks today insisting she did it.
So the crew is settling in for another night of motoring, making minimal headway and hoping for the appearance of westerly winds, which should be blowing at this latitude!