I was going to call this posting ‘Where is the wind?’ but some wind found
us. We went south and have been in very light winds for the last 3 days with
cruising chute up and down and making very slow progress.
The squall came during the day with all on deck so we took down the
cruising chute, 2 reefs in the main and found our oilskins. It was quite an evil
looking cloud with a water spout and we could not sail round it.
I had wondered before if I would be able to recognise a squall on radar so
we could spot them at night. There is no problems. They look like angry large
red spots on the screen heading straight for us.
As the wind picked up the rain came in torrents making the sea very flat.
When we were in the middle of it the wind decreased and eventually the squall
passed.
We have had quite a lot of rain on and off over the past 3 days and almost
full cloud cover. So no need yet to worry about excess sunshine. Not at all what
I was expecting. We are sailing north to find some wind and hopefully some
sunshine too.
Fishing: We managed to catch a fish at last, a yellow tail snapper which we
had for lunch. Had a few which got away as we were not able to reel then in. We
continue to fish hopefully trying out different sparkly lures of improbable
colours. They look very blingy.
I was doing the last overnight watch on Friday 25th. The light and clouds
were very atmospheric and almost spooky. There was cloud all round the horizon
with some clear sky directly overhead. S/Y Oyster Blue was showing on AIS west
and slightly south about 4 miles away, her lights just visible in the gloaming.
She passed in front heading further north and then off our screen. It is
comforting to see evidence of other boats. The moon rose, just a tiny crescent
at around 5.30, but shining brightly.
We are having a debate about changing the clocks. We are still using UTC
giving lighter evenings. I think we will have to change soon or our longer day
watches will be in the dark! Hugo’s superduper watch is telling us we should be
2 hours behind.
Life is very contained and calm on board as there is nothing for us to do
except sail, eat, chat and read. With the light winds this is very relaxing but
we do need a bit more wind or we will never make it.
Val