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Voyageur - Log day 234 - Slow boat to Salvador



1 February 2011

We have never experienced so many windless days on the ocean. At best it is 10 to 12knots. We can sail with this at five to six knots but mostly it has been 7 to 10 knots our speed between four and five knots. John on Tzigane summed it up when he said "it's not sailing, it is sitting on a boat in the sunshine"! After the Indian Ocean and around the 'Cape' it feels interminably slow. We have had just one squall, the wind reaching twenty knots. After so many quiet days I found I was quite unused to the accelerated speed and noticed my knuckles turning white as I gripped the edge of the seat! It was exciting and scary at the same time. We are now on day five of flying the ballooner. We should have flown it much sooner than we did. It is such a lovely relaxed way of sailing. The wind has at last swung around to east southeast, just what we have been waiting for so we could close the gap towards our rhumb line, having drifted 40nm to the north of it. Only 500nm to go!

It has become incredibly hot. We have broken one of our ten commandments of the ship and have ice cold beers with our lunch. In the afternoon once the sun has come forward of the beam we go up on the foredeck with our cushions and lie there taking respite from the sun's powerful rays under the shade of the 'twins'. It is so pleasant lying there watching the sails billowing out as Voyageur rolls to the gentle ocean swells. At night we have discarded our fleeces for t shirts, a sheet has replaced the duvet, our fans running at the galley and chart table. We have broken another one of our ten commandments, 'thou shalt not open any hatches while at sea'!

The two lead boats Wild Tigris and A Lady have now arrived in Salvador. The next group who left a day earlier than us, should arrive within the next couple of days. Then it will be our turn hopefully by the end of the week. The boats ahead of us have had the benefit of an extra day's better wind but we had the benefit of an extra day on St. Helena. You pays your money and you takes your choice. There was no way I was going to forfeit any of my seventy two hours for anything. It was too good an opportunity.

I have just realised that the position of the Southern Cross on the Brazilian courtesy flag is exactly as it appears in the night sky. How obvious but I am hoping someone is going to tell me what constellations the other two represent.

Tzigane soldiers on. It really must be a test of endurance for them but they keep their spirits up playing backgammon and rummycup and cooking tasty meals. With these nonexistent winds they are having to motor rather more than they would like but if it really came to it we could always arrange a mid ocean rendezvous to donate some more diesel. After David the autopilot is the next most important member of the crew allowing either of us to sail Voyageur on our own if we had to. People are of the opinion that being two handed is hard but really we do not find that to be the case. The Amel must be one of the easiest boats in the world to sail. It is in bad weather that the going gets tough.....

Susan Mackay


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