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Olympia's Tigress - Olympia's Tigress - blog 3: There's a Great 'Right angle" Route..... Of course there is...



Rhum lines, wind holes and great circles... a novice sailor like me could be right in thinking we were in an episode of Dr Who. And yet, I'm swiftly learning the significance of these terms. Namely of this so-named large wind hole lying directly between the Canaries and St Lucia - essentially the entirety of the mid-Atlantic. Marvellous. Our options, it transpired, were to 1) stay north, or 2) go overtly south for seasonal winds. After a four day passage in big seas and driving rain (note to self - my waterproofs are indeed NOT waterproof), Olympia's Tigress decided to go with option 2. To stay north would risk us becoming becalmed in the mid-Atlantic, less than ideal, from a fresh water standpoint, but also making us all the more vulnerable of meeting a building depression. And so the boat was forced to passage directly due south... and thereby coining the aptly-named 'Great Right Angle Route.'

We are now happily in the Trade Winds...the nights are beautiful, balmy and star-lit, zipping along underneath a twinkling canopy. The days are sunny and sociable, with varying degrees of personal SPF usage and resulting comparison of tan (burn)-lines. It turns out Conor's abs cast a shadow during his off-watch tanning session and he now has a tiger striped tummy.

Kat Suchet - On board blogger

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