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Starblazer - Starblazer 3 December Are we there yet?



The question refers to the elusive trade winds, not St Lucia which is still nearly 2,000 miles away. We had been heading SW or thereabouts since we left Las Palmas, initially to follow the tried and tested route to find the trades. When it became possible we put in a bit more southing towards the end of the week, to avoid strong winds forecast for the northern area and, hopefully ,to find the trades. Now we have turned right! We had a very
boring motor for about 27 hours then, just as we finished dinner, the wind increased to about 10 knots from the NE. Engine off, genoa out, we altered course for St Lucia.

On Saturday John set the Hydrovane up to steer us by windpower, we had only tried it successfully once before. Just like last time, it coped with the fairly weak winds before we ran out of wind! Once we had set the sails John
then connected the Hydrovane, which took over steering duties from the autopilot. The autopilot does a wonderful job and we were using it in a mode known as vane steering. This means it alters course to keep the wind coming from the same direction, just like wind steering gear, like the Hydrovane, do. The big difference is that the autopilot is very hungry, gobbling electricity, whereas the Hydrovane is totally undemanding. Both systems occasionally need help when a strong gust causes the boat to head to wind but both are reliable. We have named this third crew member Horace The Hydrovane, to be called Q. It’s a family thing, John had an uncle named Horace Cumbers who was known to all as Q. Also Q in James Bond did clever things.

Back to the initial question, I think the answer is a cautious ‘Yes’. Overnight the wind peaked at 13 knots but has now reduced to 8.5, meaning our speed has dropped to 4.5 knots butt here is a helpful current adding over half a knot to our speed on a direct course to St Lucia.

For dinner we had cold roast lamb with new potatoes and cauliflower with cheese sauce, delicious.

Joyce



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