Captain's log: supplemental
A year afloat: to the Caribbean and back
Sam and Alex Fortescue
Wed 10 Aug 2011 18:49
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41:56.99N
024:44.99W
Let me lay suspicious minds to rest by saying we've
had a good 24 hours on Summer Song. In the light of recent comments about
reporting setbacks, it wouldn't do for people to assume we were covering
anything up. No no; not us.
This morning's post was terse because it came after
an all-too-brief passage of sleep, punctuated with fearsome rocking. The boat
was pitching about in a pincer movement by two opposing swells that were rolling
in from different quarters. Every now and then there'd be an almighty slapping
noise as a wave caught her square amidships, or a crazy pendulum motion set off
as she tumbled off the pinacle of a combined wave.
This all came to a halt when we unfurled the trusty
spinakoo at 10am. We immediately went from rolling around at 2.5 knots, heading
for Portugal to swooping along at 5 knots, heading just east of north - a ruse
which allows us to skirt around the windless high pressure between us and the
mainland. As a result, we've had a cracking afternoon basking in the sun, taking
it in turns to hand steer.
In fact, this is the only disadvantage of the
spinnaker. It is more sensitive than the other sails to a wobbly course, and
begs to be spared the hydrovane, which tends to weave through about 30 degrees.
We'll fly the chute as late as we can - certainly through the bright moonlit
expanse of my 10pm to 1am watch and maybe further.
We've just sped across the 350-mile quarter passage
mark. And today also marks another significant date. It is our 366th day of
continuous loafing on Summer Song. On this date last year, we were lowered in to
the water at Totnes on a misty morning at 08.20, before winding our way down the
river to Dartmouth, where we discovered a seawater leak. Funny how these things
seem to move in cycles. As I recall, the following day we said a damp 'goodbye'
to the Gaffer and shoved off for a very pleasant Channel crossing. I hope this
will be reflected in the coming days' sailing!
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