Final approach to Sao Miguel
Quivira2
Sat 8 Jun 2019 15:49
A very pleasant day today throughout which we have beam-reached towards Ihla de Sao Miguel at 7-8 knots with sunshine and sparkling white caps. Picking up the fresh NW wind last night was an experience not to be missed. Until it happened it was simply a matter of arrows on a forecast chart suggesting the the wind would dramatically change direction between midnight and 0300 - no indication how long the change would take to happen, and whether there would be a period of fluctuations, or calm, in between.
I relieved Mike at 0300 and was sailing Quivira close-hauled on port tack heading approximately west in a fresh wind (yes - back in foul-weather gear) . Suddenly the wind started heading. Without any noticeable change in wind strength our close-hauled course simply changed smoothly from west to north in a minute. It was like bearing away around a race mark. So after tacking and setting course for Sao Miguel we were now reaching on starboard just like the forecast suggested. Another night of reefing in quick response to squalls coming out the darkness. Mike and Trish have set up Quivira well for single-handed reefing.
Yesterday's home-made mashed potato with the sausage casserole was delicious. Tonight's dinner is one of my favourites - corned beef hash.
Probably no blog post tomorrow because we'll be focussed on negotiating light conditions on the final approach to Sao Miguel. So next one after we finish.