Bolero - Day 12

Day 12

Gwyn and Ian stood the first night watch and enjoyed fast sailing on a smooth moonlit sea with a full main and small reef in the Genoa.

Nick and Maz took over at 22:00hrs. As Bolero’s radar is not operational, Falcon and North Star had said that they would radio of they saw squalls close to us. Both boats radioed us to alert us to squalls nearby. It is so reassuring to know that the fleet is looking out for one another. We will all enjoy a beer and rum punch together in Grenada!

The Genoa was reefed and we waited to see if the squall on the horizon would pass over us. It did, and then found ourselves in a chain of squalls that lasted the rest of the night. Some had heavy rain, some with winds up to 31 knots. Gwyn and Ian also had the added complication of a cargo ship passing very close to our stern. They radioed the vessel who confirmed they had seen us. Falcon radioed the ship a little later to confirm that they had also been seen and that the ship would pass astern of them.

As dawn broke, the squalls eased and the clouds faded. A breakfast of muesli and yoghurt in the cockpit was enjoyed by us all and marked the end of a challenging night. The 5 metre swell continued throughout the morning and the winds gradually eased from 24 to 18 knots.

Drum roll distance to the waypoint at 10:00hrs Atlantic Adventures mid Atlantic time was 354.5miles, amazing 182.5 miles nearer to our destination in 24 hours.

The swell reduced further and Bolero glided along in 13 knots of wind and a long 3 metre swell during the afternoon. The sea state changes quite quickly, the length and height of the waves changing to reflect sea conditions many, possibly thousands of miles away. The only constant now is the azure blue sea.

We opened the deck hatches and allowed the breeze to air the boat down below. The air is very humid now.

We caught up on our sleep during the afternoon and enjoyed a home bottled meal of Paprika Chicken with mashed potatoes…….. it doesn’t seem to matter how hot and humid the temperature, a ‘proper’ meal always goes down well. Thank goodness for the fans that we fitted in Las Palmas. The bottled foods really make life on board easier, the onions and garlic are used as a base for any meal cooked from scratch and cut down preparation time, and heat in the cabin substantially.

We haven’t seen much wildlife today. We only had 2 flying fish on deck. The sargassum weed that had streamed past us earlier in the passage is no longer forming ribbons in the sea. It is days and days since we saw on dolphin. We have had lots of soundings in the depth sounder, 13-15 metres, so whales must be passing under us as we travel west.

The Genoa was eased from the spinnaker pole and gybed so we could sail a reach overnight rather than down wind.

Night watches began at 19:00

Fair winds
Nick, Maz,
Ian and Gwyn