Not the nine o’clock net?
Only fifteen out of twenty five yachts tuned into the
SSB net today to give a position. We actually want people to know of our whereabouts!
A waiting game
All day we have been motoring. There is absolutely no
wind. I have even seen 1.1kts on the digital display. It was so hot too, the
Atlantic never looked more inviting for a dip. We had cold showers instead and
felt much the better for it. At least there are no mosquitoes out here. The
motoring allows us to open up the windscreen for more air into the cockpit and
of course the wind forward of the beam also helps to catch what little breeze
there is, keeping us cooler. Like in the Pacific we are oh so grateful for our
all round cockpit screens. For lunch we had an omelette accompanied by salad,
for supper, a mushroom and pea risotto. The less time I have to spend down below
at the cooker the better. We spent the day cat napping and reading, and waiting,
waiting, waiting for that 11 to 17knots of wind that the forecast had predicted
but it never came. We saw nothing all day save a dilapidated looking fishing
boat motoring lazily by. We struggled to reach our daily target of 140nm not
quite making it. We would really like to be in Bermuda by Friday allowing us a
little more time to see the island and to turn around the laundry. Last night we
has a loose arrangement that if our boat speed dropped below four knots of true
wind we would start to motor. Now I think we would happily settle for less. On
the plus side burning off so much fuel will lighten the load, although the cost
of refuelling in Bermuda is quite high.
We have never seen the Atlantic so calm and as I write
this under a bright moon on its ascent, the ocean around me has never looked
more at peace, or more beautiful, an ocean of liquid oil with nothing to break
the surface. We have agreed that if we see 8knots true wind we will try and
sail. Looking out over an empty horizon there is not another light to be seen,
the radar a blank space for twenty four nm around, but I did notice last night
that although we had a visual sighting on a few of the rally yachts they were
either not showing up at all or giving out a very poor signal. We are firm
believers in our See Me active radar enhancer to make us a bigger target. David
and Stephen of A Lady have set up a radio rendezvous at midday on SSB every day
to have a chit chat just as on WARC. Like us they are also motor sailing and now
50 nm ahead. David gave me an extra hour’s sleep during his first watch. I had
not been feeling well, a combination of tiredness and the heat and this time I
did sleep, savouring the cool of night. All night we were teased and tantalized,
each of us having a tiny squall on our watch to raise our hopes only for it to
fall away again. Dawn brought a few scattered clouds in a clear blue sky. Looks
like we will be waiting a little longer.....
Susan
Mackay