Firefly - Life on Port Tack

Four days have passed since we left the Galapagos and we are still on Port tack; in fact we expect to be on this tack for most if not all of the way. Firefly has a number of advantages for prolonged periods heeled to port. When heavily laden with water, fuel and food the location of the weight tends to induce a port list (apparently this happens on the Discovery 55 so Firefly is in good company). So in this instance Firefly is stiffer and heels over less when sailing on port.

Firefly also has the capability to shift water between the 2 large tanks which are located wide on port and starboard (almost 400 litres each). We are using our watermaker to maintain the port tank full and the starboard one near to empty adding more power. The heads and the shower both work better on port with useful bulkheads where you can wedge yourself during ablutions! The main disadvantage is that the galley is 'up hill' on the port side, making preparing all meals a challenge. Pots, implements, food and liquids tend to fall away from you (and towards the navigator). Its better on Starboard tack when they come back to you and can be wedged against the cupboards.

Despite this challenge we have coped well with a range of meals prepared from fresh ingredients from Santa Cruz market - thank you Barney for your expert advice and negotiating skills, delights include a chicken casserole (David) Chilli (Peter) and a Chicken Curry (Paul). Without a freezer we are running low on fresh meat so from now on it will be up to our fishing skills. Whatever happens we will not starve as we have tins and dry goods to feed us the whole way around the planet.

The latest radio net positions put us South of many in the fleet as we continue to push South West to the trade winds and avoid the flat wind patches that the forecasts show on either side of us - so far so good and we are currently enjoying 13 knots of wind from the South East.

Peter finally dusted off the sextant today and took a morning and noon sight; taking these at the equator has added challenges with the Sextant Altitude at nearly 90 degrees as here the sun is practically overhead.

Happy Anniversary to David and Liz who were married 43 years ago today (we are not sure what this mineral is) and we were pleased that the satellite phone came in handy.

Paul, David and Peter