A Much Better Night

A much better night than the previous one. We found a slot going northeast on our targeted course, at high speed and easy on the boat. Genoa and full mainsail, then solent and one reef, pulled us along at 12 knots, surging to 14 or 15 knots, and in the middle of the night, we had bioluminescence in the wake, not bright as it can be, but there nonetheless. The sea temperature in today’s daily data may explain it – 78 degrees F. Swimming temperature!

It all came to a screeching halt this morning though, as I knew it would. A high pressure ridge separated our easterly wind from the westerly wind further north. Between the two was – nothing. Yet we somehow had to cross it. When I did a training sail in September, we encountered this near Cape Finisterre, and instead of wasting practice time on no wind, I simply motored across it. But we obviously can’t do that here. So several excruciating hours later, we made it across, and escaped to the north.

We’ve had mostly 5 knots of wind during the day, and now have 7 knots. Our desired course is 030° True, and the wind is 010° True, so we will be upwind for the foreseeable future.

I was on Vendée Live today, and what a pleasure, Alex Thomson was on also, so I got an early chance to give him my direct congratulations on a fantastic race.

Position
37° 45’S x 43° 28’W
Course
341° True
Speed
7.9 knots
Log
22,566nm
True Wind Speed
9 knots
True Wind Direction
9°
Sails (click for diagram)
Mainsail, Genoa
Air temperature
73°F / 22.7°C
Sea temperature
78° F / 25.5°C