Lat: 48 20.14′ S
Long: 45 12.34′ W
Inst Speed: 16.2
Wind Dir: 278
Wind Speed: 21.5000
Distance last 24hr: 359.26
Distance to finish: 7986.6
Email from the boat to shore:
From: OmanTri
To: update
Subject: Friday morning
Date: 20/02/2009 01:40:51
Well it’s a different night outside to last night, from a sky full of stars
last night to a dense damp fog all around us, the fog makes everything wet,
and the wind across the deck makes anything wet, cold, so it feels damp and
cold, and only the best hot choc can keep it from seaping through the layers
and chillng the bones.
The wind is back with us at 20 kts, from the NW and we are going along well,
250nm NE of the Falkland Islands. It’s bumby to type and be in the bunk, and
the chart table requires being wedged between the seat, the foot rest, and
the foam covered cabin roof above. With every now and again a creak and
groan from the deck next to the chart table from easing sheets.
The light airs that we predicted yesterday arrived at dawn, and for a few
mins there was zero wind, and we had an uncomfortable confused but oily sea
that gave a wobble to the boat that made it hard to stand without holding
something – unusual when the boat is practically stopped…during one such
wobble I was tending to George, when it caused me to sit down ( not unusual
and sitting position is most secure! ) rather than sitting as i ususally do
on the aft edge of the generator cover , i landed on the corner where the
throttle control cleat is – i didn’t notice it much at the time but a little
later i could feel it right on the bottom of my spine…. it’s not painful,
i just know it’s there and I can imagine a small bruise, now 14 hours later
I can feel it but only occassionally… thankfully – it could have been
worse, just goes to show that it’s the mundane things that cause the
accidents as well as the dangerous stuff.
So in the light airs we made the change to the Code Zero, and got going
again – not for nothing is this sail nicknamed the windseeker – we managed a
respectable 6 kts of boatspeed, in the very light airs, before the wind
filled in properly. and we’ve had it from all directions – SE,NE,SW,NW, and
each time we have reacted with a course and sail change to accomodate our
need to keep pushing NE. For quite some time we were heading N on Stbd
tack towards the new wind, and an hour after Loik and I were discussing when
the shift would come, and what we’d do, the shift arrived sails changed
again, ( and a tack to port) and we are charging along in the direction we
want to go… can’t be bad!
The outlook is still quite unpredictable with positions of the major weather
systems changing with every model update ( every 6 hours for one, every 12
hours for the other). So we just need to make progress to the NE when we
can, and when we can’t we are trying to choose between N and E, north being
prefered at the moment as it takes us away from the risk of ice, and we are
getting there – we have broken North of 50S so are definately going in the
right direction.
It’s 700nm since rounding Cape Horn, and life has settled into the South
Atlantic routine, which is much the same as the pacific one, and indian
ocean one before it. We have a couple of days now of just sailing the boat
before the idle chatter develops again about when we’ll be south of Good
Hope…. and that will occupie 90% of brain activity up to the point that
it’s fairly obvious!! But it’s great to be well into the atlantic leg even
if the usual weather systems are not quite in their correct place at the
moment.