Out of the Trades

We are finally out of the worst of the pounding of the trade winds, we still have 15-25 knots of wind, but the direction has shifted from Northeast to East approximately, and the seas have followed, so as we head North, we are not going so much into the waves.

There is still a tremendous amount of spray coming over the boat, and sitting at the chart table at night it seems that every few minutes there is the ‘donk’ of a flying fish ricocheting off the coach roof. Sometimes they are deflected over the boat and back into the water to leeward, sometimes they end up somewhere on deck or in the cockpit. Sometimes, if I hear them, I can get to them and toss them back in, but sometimes not, if they are forward, by the time I would get my foul weather gear on they would have expired anyway, so, sorry…

Also finally, we have seen the moon in the last couple of days, the gray, gray, gray of this whole trip has finally eased up, at least for a day or so. I still haven’t seen the north star, but perhaps tonight, because right now it is blue sky clear above.

So sad to hear of Conrad Colman’s dismasting last night. He has sailed an amazing race, with so many things breaking, and him repairing essentially all of them, an incredible mariner. I’m hoping that he will be able to rig a jury rig and sail into the finish, even if it takes awhile. He’s not that far away, and he could do it I have full faith. What a culmination that would be.

He will now be still in the leftover sea of that gale, and without a mast, the motion inside the boat must be awful. It was found after the Fastnet Race 1979 disaster, that the presence of the mast, and the inertia that it presented, made the boats much more stable than if they were dismasted. So I hope that he is ok inside there.

Position
22° 50’N x 37° 56’W
Course
346° True
Speed
12 knots
Log
26,684nm
True Wind Speed
16 knots
True Wind Direction
67°
Air Temperature
79° F / 26.1°C
Sea Temperature
77° F / 25°C
Sails (click for diagram)
Mainsail (2 reefs), Solent