Vagaris - Rainy with some downwind sailing at last

We've just had a slightly better day, and persevered with the Parasailor through persistent mini-squalls, Conveniently, our chartplotter gives us a wind shift alarm, which is really good for a few minutes warning. We're finding we have to turn up to about 140, tighten the windward guy and sheet, snuff the Parasailor and drop it all within the 4 or 5 minutes warning the shift gives us. We're getting used to it, but now I need us to start estimating the strength of the "squalls" and toughing some out without dropping everything as we lose a lot of time not running the Parasailor in between squall clouds. We tended to spend a lot of time waiting for the wind to drop to a mutually acceptable level.

I don't think we've actually experienced proper squalls yet either, just a succession of mini rain showers passing overhead. Today they took the gradient 12kt wind up to about 20 then down again. We are able to handle that strength, but the uncertainty of what it will end up at is causing us to be very cautious.

Since we don't have a pole (duh, too much listening to Parasailor spiel about it being the perfect downwind solution... Yes, but not when you can't use it in strong winds...) we're sailing under reefed main and non-flappy staysail at night to make some progress, but it is slowing us down a lot. We're just about maintaining 150 miles a day though.

Yes, it's touching seeing the diverts and retirements. We're all a bit committed now though out here. We're a bloody long way from anywhere in our own little microcosm worlds.

Unfortunately I've not turned up for SSB school for the last couple of days as we've been doing sailing stuff (dropping sails hurriedly or faffing with something or other) so I might be thrown out or the SSB club.

If we get clearer days tomorrow and can set the Parasailor for more than 10 mins between squalls I'll try again. Some days reception is clear and good and others it has been like radio white-noise torture.

Adrian
SY Vagaris