Position report N18:33.38 W62:31.64
PASSEPARTOUT
Christopher & Nirit Slaney
Tue 24 Apr 2012 21:49
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Finally at sea! For the record, we left Simpson's Bay
Lagoon via the bridge on the Dutch side at 0900 local. The last person we saw in
the Caribbean was Phil Tenney who came alongside in his dinghy to wish us 'Fair
winds' just moments before I swung the wheel and headed for the open sea.
The last people we spoke to were Kevin & Jean Nulty on board 'Amokura'
when they answered a call on VHF just before we slipped out of range. I wonder
who will be the first person we meet in the Azores? Hopefully a
barman.
The forecast is favourable for the next three days, then
from Friday 27th through the following Monday we expect strong winds and higher
seas, all from the wrong quarter and likely to push us more towards
Bermuda. For the second time we are using the services
of a professional weather forecaster to provide routing advice. As soon as I've
hit 'send' on this blog post I'll be checking to see what weather advice
has come in from Chris Parker at Caribbean Weather Center.
Today we've successfully steered a course for Horta, Faial and averaged
close to seven knots. Everyone is settling down for what should be a twenty day
voyage. I kept watches short for the first day to help us all get into some kind
of routine, tonight we see who is able to sleep down below. Dinner has been set
for 2030 local and the menu includes okra in a tomato and garlic sauce over
rice. Tomorrow at daybreak we start fishing.
A couple of hours after setting sail I had a welcome intervention
from the world beyond Passepartout; my colleague Tomislav Skaro called to
discuss planning for the UEFA 2012 tournament. Something to look forward to
post-Horta!
If anyone reading this is a user of Inmarsat's
broadband service please get in touch, I'm putting together a group of
consumers who are unhappy at the new pricing policy we've all been hit with
after agreeing to a 'pay as you go' service which now saddles us with
a compulsory pre-paid subscription.
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