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Lexington - 5/16/17. 15º. 06". south. 155º. 52" west



We are sailing along today in light air (6-7 knots) only doing about 3-4 knots. It is hard to keep from turning on the engine to make better speed but I am often reminded that good sailors do well in light winds. On the big leg from Galapagos to Marquesas one boat did not motor at all. We motored for 5 days at low rpms and only about 4-5 knots. They arrived 8 hours after we did. They have a very nice fast boat with three good sailors and they were about to go crazy for the first few days of very light air. They tried any and everything to make progress as if they did not have an engine. I was asked to explain a parasail. It is a type of down wind sail. It is usually colored and balloons out in front of the boat like a spinnaker. It has a halyard to raise it and two lines on each bottom corner. The big difference is that there is a vent section towards the top which is the innovative feature. I think it opens up in heavier wind to ease the power. Also maybe in gusts to ease the power. You do not use a pole which makes it easier. I have never used one but often people would leave one up thru the night where they would be reluctant to leave a spinnaker up at night. One of our boats is a large heavy catamaran. It needs a lot of power. He says his boat sails like a duck in winds less than 20 knots. With his large parasail up he can do 12-20+ knots when the wind is above 20 knots. He also has professional crew!!! Another one of our boats had a parasail but ordered a larger one out of heavier cloth so he could try to keep up with the first boat I mentioned. Someone asked about changes in our diet. There is not much change. The biggest change is that stuff like lettuce has a very short shelf life. At one point I bought a bunch of mangoes. We hung them in a small hammock under the Bimini. I ate one or two mangoes each morning for breakfast. No one else did, mostly because I was so messy peeling and eating mangoes with my hands. I still have a whipped cream maker for my chocolate coffee each morning. Karen makes great banana bread that I put two microwaved soft boiled eggs over. So.......we are not doing bad on food!! That is enough for now. May fair winds fill your sails with your own whipped cream maker!! Bob

 



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