Distance Made
Good? For Cleone, every mile along the Great Circle Route is a full mile closer
to Rodney Bay. And why don't we miss the Internet?
Multihullers and
Racing Types, particularly the multihullers and those who own yachts with
swept-back spreaders, love to talk about VMG and DMG. Of course, we cruising
folk understand (at least in theory ) exactly what these terms mean. For
instance, as Molesworth would say, as any fule no, you cannot sail directly
into the wind. So, when sailing towards a target that is up-wind of where you
are now, the tack that gives you the better Velocity Made Good(VMG) takes you
towards your target more quickly, no, less slowly, than the opposite tack. But
even on the tack with the better VMG, each mile travelled will only take you a
fraction of a mile closer to your destination. Of the total distance travelled
during that hour (distance gone in one hour is speed (mph) times one), it is the
VMG times one that counts, and the VMG times one that will tell you how much
nearer you have actually got towards your target. Now here's the bad news for
the multi-huller-and-swept-back-spreader types. Not only can't they sail
directly into the wind, but also they can't sail directly downwind either!
They'll tell you that this doesn't matter a jot (not the way they normally put
it ), because they can sail so much faster than cruising types and therefore
get there quicker. All of you can make up your own minds about this, but we know
that extra miles equals extra work, extra wear-and-tear on the crew as well as
on the yacht, and therefore extra energy expenditure overall. So now hear this.
Put simply, multi-hulls and swept-back spreaders are bad for the environment.
Cleone has only one hull and her spreaders are plumb, and not swept
back.
Having no
internet connection and the ability only to send and receive skimpy emails with
no photos, we are living in a news and media vacuum. We are ignorant of what's
going on with the Donald's new cabinet selections. We don't know whether
Starmer's (Sir Kier to you) first budget is going to trim our pensions to the
bone, double our income tax, force us to shop in Aldi and Lidl instead of
M&S and Waitrose, and shave hundreds (tens, surely? ) of thousands off
the value of our houses. Oh, and leave all the private schools full of nothing
but Chinese and Russian students. Quite frankly, though, none of us miss any of
the above. We are just concentrating on enjoying the wind and sea, good
companionship, and making sure all is well with Cleone (it was until the
generator refused to re-start). We are sailing with the wind directly behind us,
as fast as is prudent and we plan to stick to the Rumb Line Route until we get
there. So far it has been tough, as you know, but we are grinning and bearing it
well.
Of course, we
miss all of you at home. We regret being absent from the gatherings of
families and friends and attending the Christmas parties and celebrations. And
in some ways, particularly when we get tossed around whilst trying to get to
sleep in Cleone's overheated and stuffy cabins, we miss the snow, rain and
wintery storms.
With very best
wishes and love to you all,
James,
Francesca, Louisa and Kaya
Yacht
Cleone
At
sea
Position at
1200UTC on 01 Dec 2024:
N22deg10min
W27deg52min