Gwendoline - 2. day at sea

S/Y Gwendoline M - Crossing the Atlantic ocean
22. november. 11.15 UTC.
On bord Lene, Bente, Annette, Maiken, Oliver, Orla og Kim

It is now 11.15 UTC, and vi are finally on our way again. Yesterday the wind became very unstable. Several times during the afternoon we had to "sock" the geneker, as the wind totally died. Around 19.00 UTC the geneker was taken down for the night, and we were drifting in the Canarie Current with about 1,4 knots speed, but more of that later.

Yesterday morning, while just drifting along, we had a very exclusive visit by a dolphin mother and her daughter. We watched in ore, as she breast fed her little child. What an amazing sight. We tried to photograph this very special moment, and we think that we got some good pictures and also some video of the encounter.

The dolphins stayed with us for almost half an hour, just playing abound the boat. It never gets boring watching these amazing animals.

The the generator and watermaker was started at 08.00, and after 1,5 hours the bilge water alarm went off. It turned out that the water feed line for the watermaker was leaking water. After two hours of work in the warm engine room, the problem was fixed. The watermaker has been running steadily since 08.00 this morning, and is producing fine sweet water for us.

While I was working in the engine room, I noticed that the diesel feed line to the generator had a microscopic hole, so this was also fixed at the same time.

We had pizza for lunch. Lene had bought and baked two pizzas for each person on board, the day before Rally Start, så we'd have easy lunch for Rally Start day and yesterday as well. Lene did not finish her second pizza, so that is up for graps today.

For dinner we had an egg omelet, with a cabbage salad and garlic bread on the side.

Around 21.00 UTC, long after sundown and in pitch darkness, Bente, who was on watch duty, wanted to read her book in the cockpit. She turned on her rather strong headlamp, and soon after she was hit by a bird flying into her. She got so scared, she screamed and almost fell overboard. Luckily she had her security line on, so she stayed on board.

At midnight Orla and I took over the watch duty. It was still a pitch dark night, with the moon hiding behind thick clouds and no stars to be seen. At 02.45 the wind came back, and we took out the large genoa. Then we wanted to set the mail, but the "pull-back" line broke.

Oliver fixed the line this morning, so now we will set the mailsail as well, gaining probably 1-1,5 knots in speed.

Right now my mouth is watering, because Len has baked chocolate muffins for all of us.

Its good to be a long distance sailor.

Over and out from
S/Y Gwendoline M
Atlanten