Saturday, 29th January 2011Another beautiful starry night, but its hot and humid.
00.00hrs Distance traveled...................................1,475 miles
Distance to Destination............................485 miles
The wind was very light when we left St. Helena. It increased as we went west, and now it is decreasing (as predicted) again as we approach Brazil.
These are the distances in nautical miles, that we traveled in each 24 hour period since leaving St. Helena. They reflect the wind strengths as the days go by.
Day 1.........................................................165 miles
Day 2.........................................................188 miles
Day 3.........................................................191 miles
Day 4.........................................................180 miles
Day 5.........................................................170 miles
Day 6.........................................................204 miles
Day 7 ........................................................200 miles
Day 8 ........................................................168 miles
Day 9.........................................................157 miles
Looking back on yesterday, we really had an awful afternoon, relatively speaking. But today is better, not much in terms of wind, but what is there is much more stable 10/12 knots pushing us along at a speed of 5/6 knots.
09.00hrs Radio Call. Today's net controller was Tucanon but we could only get positions by relays with the different boats. We did ok on the fleet over the last 24 hrs,
Around midday, and early afternoon, the sun was really hot, the clear blue skies reflecting in the seas below painted a pretty picture but at times, the wind went so low, that we gave serious consideration to raving up the Iron Mainsail (engine) and motoring the rest of the way. But, but , but , every time we did, the wind began to increase again, and off we would go on our merry, merry way... sailing blissfully along.
They say, the 2 most enjoyable days of any trip are :- the day you leave port, and the other is when you arrive in Port. Mind you, we have always, well nearly always enjoyed the days inbetween as well. Of course, we love to read the emails we get from home, from Crosser in particular, and our other friends and relations scattered around the globe. Its all like part of the class each day.
The fishing has been dismal, skipper changed the lure again, to what he thought would catch a monster, but it was a monster disappointment. There must be no fish in the sea around here, except for that maggot infested thing we caught a few days ago, so dinner tonight will definitely NOT be fresh fish.
The late afternoon saw the wind shift slightly more easterly, so we had to alter course more to the north, not exactly what we wanted, but at least we are moving along nicely under sail.
Emily, cooked a meat ball dish, very Italian, and again it was very tasty, while Aileen made more bread and cake. Skipper and Sham had two lovely Sundowners each, Rum and tonics (we have no cokes on board) bleedin lovely stuff!
Skipper related the story of the Cook Islands, "Fats", the Tiernies and the Quirkes to Sham and Emily. It turned out that Sham went to college with Colm Quirke, Rory's father. Rory being married to John Tierney's daughter Erin and they all live in the Cook Islands... (a wonderful place). We keep saying how small the world is!
Well, that's about it for today.
Signed :- Stephen Hyde ( Skipper )