barbers, poles
Rhiann Marie - Round the World
Stewart Graham
Fri 20 Nov 2009 03:06
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We are slopping around at 6.5 knots at 21:47.56N
022:15.75W and I am on the night watch. Well of course I am - I am every night.
I think my watch partner is feeling the strain a little bit so I will try and
make life a little easier for her.
I have been tuning the SSB radio today and have
been listening to BBC world service West African broadcasts. I was concerned
when embarking on this trip that I would miss (apart from Rhiann and family) 1.
the BBC and 2. the Sunday Times, but I have a geeks reference book called WRTH
The Directory of Global Broadcasting. This claims to list every frequency that
TV and Radio stations round the world use to broadcast, at what signal strength
and broadcast times and locations - so no need to miss the BBC as I can
rant at the SSB radio during news and features programmes. For instance I heard
today that Senior Smug / George Bush puppy - aka Tony Blair "is no
longer in the running" for the EU president. I dont understand why because
he has a brilliant record of squandering our billions and is that not what
the EU do? Strange... Poor Tony........
We are still grinding our way down wind and
keeping the discipline despite the temptantion of shooting off to the west. We
are still determined to get down below 20 north by 25 west and nothing we
have seen in the grib files or at sea has told us we should do any
different. Our daily runs as measured by the log (which appears to be
regularly under reading in comparison to the GPS SOG) - have been 186, 176 and
179 miles. We left the pontoon at just after 10 am on Monday and faffed
around (in a very seamanlike way you understand) getting our sails up and
clearing the Las Palmas traffic around the port so we started the clock
ticking at 12 mid-day. We have been determined not to use the engine and despite
the dead down wind light conditions we are slowly creeping down the track having
at this time (0230 Friday 20th) only covered 540 miles VMG to our top secret
strategic waypoint, in the 85.5 hours elapsed. This is 6.3knots VMG so
far, but an average of 7.5 knots over the ground. Our school report for
this performance to date would say "must do better". BUT as this is the first
time we have sailed (and perhaps any Discovery 67) the yacht downwind for any
distance we are trying out all the various sail plans and points of
sail. Genny only, poled out, with barber, with main against the spreaders
with main sheeted in a bit, with assymetric and main, assymetric only,
goosewinged even! So we will find the best combination from our limited sail
wardrobe, by the time we get into the trades.
To date we have been finding the Grib files from
gribus fairly accurate but as long as there is no severe weather in the offing
then we pretty much have to deal with whatever weather we get. The idea of the
Grib's for us is 1. to formulate strategy and 2 to identify in good time any
severe weather - so far so good!
Some of you may have been noticing some spelling
mistakes in my blogs - some of you worryingly, probably have not! This
is due to the queer height of the ket board and the fact that it is moving under
the graceful tinkle of my otherwise sprightly fingertips. (see ket noy key!)
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