Cleone - Leg 12 Day 9 - More Progress, Less Wind!

You can have it every which-way when your sailing.

 

It was a much better 24 hours in terms of progress, we will have made maybe 120 miles in the last twenty four hours.  Yesterday morning the seas were grey and lumpy, but we were sailing, and starting to make progress.  The seas were huge, and we wondered why.  Not long after this thought crossed our minds, the AIS beeped - there was a ship within eight miles of us.  Soon the Skipper was talking to the MV Crescendo, and we could just make out the top of her funnel and mast as she passed well in front of us.  Making idle conversation (as he does) the skipper asked for a weather forecast.  It was clear even reading through the thick lines of the officer of the watch (who was anxious to be helpful, but for whom English was clearly not his first language) that there were some big winds down to the South of us, and a faint Australian weather forecast heard on the SSB last night confirmed that - winds of over 40 knots were being confidently forecast.  But for us, throughout the day the wind, as foretold by Bruce, gradually eased and backed, and the seas grew calmer and we made better and better progress (much to Elizabeth's chagrin.  She reckons that it's only rough when she's duty cook.  But the Skipper knows differently.  It's only really rough when he's duty cook - Ed).  However, the weather took it too far, and by the middle of the night we were making only four or five knots.

 

Cometh daylight, cometh forth the Skipper.  In a trice (actually rather more, he's not that nimble about the boat - Ed), the two reefs were out of the Mainsail, and the Mizzen Staysail was hoisted, and soon six knots was showing on the log.  But he wasn't satisfied with that, and Elizabeth was roused from her bunk to get the spinnaker hoisted.  Wisely the Skipper left the deck at that point, claiming that he had bread to bake.  Whatever, back he went on deck to see the spinnaker all rigged, so there was nothing left but to hoist it - and there we were with four sails set.  All went well, but then came the difficulties.  They say that one of the differences between ocean sailing and coastal sailing is that out in the ocean the wind blows steadily and true.  Believe me, this is not the case.  One moment the sheets and guys were taut and there was seven knots on the clock, the next the sails were flapping and the blocks and booms banging about and there was nothing on the clock but the makers name (Brooks and Gatehouse, if you're curious).  Had Bruce let us down?  Back to the computer, and it was a definte no.  "A typical southeast trade wind regime is expected with winds initially SSE around 13/18 knots but gradually tending around to the SE and softening back to 10/15 knots. Some minor pulsing of the trade winds is likely."  We have to let him off; frustrating it may be, but this describes the conditions perfectly.  And if anyone can let me know why pulsing (wind verying every few minutes in speed and direction) occurs, right out here in the middle of the ocean, I'd be grateful to hear from you.

 

Both crew are at their favourite occupations.  You've guessed; Will's asleep and Elizabeth is coaxing Cleone to her best performance.  We will miss the welcoming party in Yorkey's Knob, and possibly the Prize-Giving too, but with the Spinnaker and full Mainsail forrard, and Mizzen Staysail and Mizzen aft, it won't be for the want of trying!