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NoStress - Log Day 11 - False Alarm



Pandora’s box is the alarm in question - she was reached for, but thankfully wasn’t needed. Disappointed not to be doing regular maintenance Jake was happy to go up the mast and make some minor tweaks to the gear. After a quick rig check we dropped the main and are now running with a double head-sail set with the wind right behind us. We’re on a heading of about 235 as we try to sniff out the stronger breezes that are supposed to be a little further South.

We’re now less than 2,000 miles from our destination. Unsurprisingly this news didn’t bring the cheers from the crew one might have originally expected. Maybe if it had been on day 5 or 6, but after 11 days of sailing it can’t help but trigger the mathematician in people’s psyche. At that rate we’d just about make St. Lucia in time for New Year! We’ve logged over 1,000 miles on the trip so far, but we had to retrace our steps more than we’d have liked (private joke for the team of Playing Around: “You’ve got to go up to come down”). The simple maths is:
- The ARC finish line shuts in 15 days.
- We have 2,000 miles to do.
- 2,000/15 = 133 miles per day.
- 133/24 = 5.5 knots (nautical mph)
So, we need to be cruising at 6 knots or more 24/7 for the next two weeks - assuming we took the shortest route - which we can’t, but we might get close. It’ll be tight. All the crew are hoping for firm and steady trade winds so we can soak up the miles on this main part of the journey.

Away from the charts and the plotting table and life continues as normal for an Atlantic crossing. We saw our first flying fish. The sun has been uninterrupted by clouds for the whole day and Jake beat the skipper twice at chess (not sure how wise that was). Dinner was spaghetti bolognese with freshly grated Parmesan, and as a special treat, Fanta - don’t laugh it’s in limited supply - and remember, there’s no beer on board!

The team are settled in for the night watch routine again - I’m sure there’ll be dreams of downwind cruising at 11 knots and early arrivals in the Caribbean onboard tonight.

Wishing you all well, and thanks again for reading,

Alex & the NoStress Crew



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