LAT|32|12.73|N
LON|19|51.64|W
VIA Telnet:
Summary
Day 3 of many Canary Islands to Santa Maria, Azores
Total miles sailed: (Mon-Tue) 12 noon-12 noon 109nm (390nm to go – almost halfway)
Current position:
Approx 130nm west of Madeira Island , heading 321deg, speed: 3 knots. Sea state: 2m
Passage notes:
Day three. Another night of squalls, the strongest we’ve had so far arrived at 2:30am. Pitch black, blowing F7, gusting F8. We ran away until it eased and then got ourselves back on track after about 10 minutes, although it felt like an hour. It certainly gets the pulse racing, especially in darkness.
We knew from the forecast that today would be a challenging day with higher seas predicted and occasional F6 winds. The issue is, that in-between the squalls the wind drops away leaving our SOG hovering around 3kts.
So, we play the hokey-cokey with the genny: in, out, in, out.
The sky is still mostly grey, although today there have been a few more very welcome glimpses of blue sky and sun. It acts like a soothing balm for our fed-up-with-squalls souls.
Dinner:
Chicken curry from the freezer. We’ve pre-prepared 9 meals, but hopefully we’ll have arrived at Santa Maria before we use them all.
Things that Broke:
Nothing, thankfully. Just a lot of dampness in the cockpit from the wave sprays, when a rare one splashes over the spray hood.
Wildlife spotted:
A handful of shearwaters again and a smaller, darker bird that also skims the water.
Having retreated to the dinghy again for an overnight nap, Pat the Pidge departed this morning. I’m guessing it’s from Madeira, I hope it makes it home.
