Position 21:06.85N 19:30.46W

PASSEPARTOUT
Christopher & Nirit Slaney
Tue 14 Dec 2010 16:30
Fickle winds
The fish didn't bite yesterday evening so we had an
excellent pasta instead. Supper was a rushed affair, just as the pasta was 'al
dente' the wind picked up to a steady 25 knots and we needed to reduce
sail before things got out of hand. We sailed all night in a brisk breeze with
just a headsail and made good speed towards Ihla do Sal. The wind calmed
down at daybreak and Nirit announced, "Get the engine going for an
hour so we'll have hot water for showers, then after breakfast we'll fly the
spinnaker." And so we did.
Everything went well until around midday when the wind
suddenly died altogether. My spirits deflated together with the collapsing
spinnaker. It's now 1600 as I write this and the sea is a flat calm. Just as I
was getting used to the idea of being an Atlantic sailor, surfing down long
swells in dependable wind under regular lines of cumulus clouds, this feels
depressingly like the Med. In fact, it feels just like a mid-summer day
somewhere between Cyprus and the south coast of Turkey with too
much sun, not enough breeze and nothing in the forecast either.
The fishing line is out again and we're busy with
various bits of make-and-mend.
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