Sunday 4th July
Vaquero
Sun 4 Jul 2010 12:50
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Position on Sundau 4th July at 1200UTC is 39
21.2N 28 15.0W
I am becalmed 18 miles NW of Graciosa, the
northernmost of the Azorean islands, its hazy silhouette in the distance
behind. And have been since dawn after a beautiful sail overnight under a
half moon with the gentlest of breezes. This has now died away and we
appear to be drifting very slowly NE with a slight current. I hauled in
the water generator line first thing and was just musing that a swim might be a
good idea when a large shark swam slowly by! Perhaps not. Since then
we have been accompanied by a shoal of small fish and there have been sounds of
splashing from bigger fish close by. The occasional Portuguese Man-o-War
sails gently by powered by their little inflatable sails and there are Corys
Shearwaters and Terns flying around. Overnight we were surrounded by
fishing boats and one came quite close by a while ago. Not sure what they
are catching, but the sea seems to be full of fish around here.
Meanwhile today is looking like being a
scorcher. As the boat is not rigged for tropical weather I don't even have
an awning to shelter under, so life aboard is rather hot. I had to motor
quite a bit yesterday to get clear of the islands but I don't want to use up any
more fuel at this stage of the trip. So I shall just have to be
patient. One thing's for sure at sea, the weather always changes!
But hopefully sooner that the the last time on the way home from the States
when I was becalmed for four whole days. That comes a close second in the
amusement stakes to being weather bound for the weekend in Ramsgate.
There's more wind at 40N, so not far to go....
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