Amokura - Log Day 2 - a bumpy night!

The swell continued to build as the afternoon progressed. By supper time, which we always have before the start of the night watches, it was becoming difficult to do much down below, so we reheated a bean stew from the freezer. Even then we managed to spill some of it in the cockpit where it clung to the ropes as the boat rolled - yuk!
I took the first watch from 1900-2200 and conditions were fairly lively to say the least with gusts of over 30kts. I couldn't see much of the huge cross-swell in the darkness, just the white capped tops looming behind us but I could hear waves roaring up on our starboard quarter, and feel the boat lurch sideways then accelerate off down the face of the wave, greatest speed logged 13.8 kts!  It never ceases to amaze me how Amokura rides the waves, down one side and up the next, she is behaving beautifully. Some water had come on board during the day, with both Mark and myself receiving a soaking. Vicky and I had just had a conversation about this at about 2100 and decided we didn't need to put a board in the companion way, when a massive wave caught Amokura, and a deluge of water rained into the cockpit and down the hatch, drenching me where I was sitting at the chart table. Lots of four letter words and mopping up commenced, the men were still slumbering through all this.
Mark and I rigged up the Lee cloth in our berth in an effort to wedge ourselves more effectively against the rolling, with limited success. It's also really hot in the cabin with all the windows closed, but way better than having a wet bunk! Sleep can be elusive but we have another 2 weeks at least to get used to this.

Heard another yacht on the radio discussing the loss of their instruments. Our AIS is still proving troublesome; despite the fix in Mindelo, we can only see boats less than 10 miles away, but at least we are not needing to hand steer.

By dawn the wind had eased. We poled out the solent jib to starboard and with our goose-winged rig we have increased our speed significantly and the boat feels more stable. We have some miles to make up to catch the boats ahead though. The swell is more behind us now so more comfortable, skimming along over blue seas with the sun on your skin and a delicious lunch in your tummy, life is feeling good. The Skipper has also got his appetite back, after his bout of seasickness yesterday, so great news all round.

Miles logged in last 24 hrs: 186 nm
Ave speed 7.75 knts
Miles still to run 1832 nm

Signing off...
Liz Brigstocke

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