Jamie took the next lone shift until 0400 hrs. Wind continued to be strong and several squalls came through, with higher wind at the front followed by rain. We had full mainsail, but reefed on the goosewing jib. Jamie hit a new record of 12.3 knots just at handover time to Callum and me. For us, the objective was to keep the yacht on optimal course without being in danger of hitting gybe point. Wind was around 20-30 knots with the squall gusts up to 35 knots. We hit 12.5 knots, but the ride was very rocky for those trying to get some sleep, and it required constant readjusting of the heading. Alan and Colin emerged about 0630 hrs and directed proceedings to reef the mainsail, which helped the stability of the yacht.
We continued on the same tack for a while, but decided to gybe as we were heading a bit too far north and we hoped to get a smoother route with the waves with us. The ‘A’ Team of Alan, Colin and Jamie sprung to action to managed the furling of the jib, realignment of the JAGS (gybe preventer) and resetting the jib, with spinnaker pole set. But even with the dream team, in these conditions we had a couple of minor uncontrolled gybes before progressing on the new tack. Our route seemed a bit more stable, but not much; probably due to 25 knot winds, confused seas and 4 metre waves!
And it looks like the weather is set to be like this for a few days – time for the rock & roll playlist!!
24 hour progress – 180 nm – cumulative 1006 nm
One week since our start and we’ve just passed the 1000 nm mark (about a third of the way there). But we are now going significantly faster than when we started, highlighted by a new instant speed record of 14.9 knots while surfing a wave. We are heading west south west, aiming to intercept the better weather as soon as possible. Until the wind relents a bit, we continue to cork screw, surfing the waves and rolling from one side to the other. It’s not very conducive with creative pastimes, so time is spent sitting down as much as possible, reading, listening, watching, chatting and snoozing – and still not drinking alcohol (hero status accepted).
Alan decided, sensibly, to depower the mainsail a bit more and put in the third reef. The ‘A’ Team sprung into action. In these rather lumpy conditions, this was not quite as straight forward as it could have been. Consequence was the breakage of two baton boxes, which hold the mainsail batons in position. Some additional repairs to add to the maintenance schedule.
Supper was a hasty last nights left overs. First watch was Colin and Callum’s shift and thankfully was uneventful. We’re all quite happy for a bit of bland for a while!
Clive the cabin boy standing by...