Beautiful sunrise today, after last nights firework for Finland's 101 birthday today - so: hyvää itsenäisyyspäivää, Suomi! Happy independence day, Finland! At nightwatch Niko was researching this tropical sky with billions of stars and saw lots of starflights, I noticed only one at my watch, so maybe the firework of stars was scheduled to Niko's watch because it is his nameday today too.
Our slow and safe sailing will come to the end soon, by tomorrow evening we will be at Rodney Bay, Saint Lucia. This has not been an easy tradewind sailing, mostly we have sailed with confusing seas and variable winds or with big waves and swells avec light winds. Nightly squalls didn't bother us, at every sunset we have checked the sails so that they can take any squall. That means we as a family with one extra crew member have not hurried up with speed but maximised the safety.
The highlights of both legs have been fishing and seeing whales and dolphins. From a whale on side within two meters to a school of killer whales we have admired these great animals. We also saw a turtle. We got the European storm petrel to enjoy our hospitality for three nights until it had got strength to leave.
One more 24 hours, so not to put the final word yet, but our boat Lunni has done marvellous job, everything works, preparations well made, lots of spare parts not yet needed. We have used five sails, all of them in good condition. Used some gorilla tape for sheets to avoid chafe. At leg 2 nothing to repair so far, at leg 1 the list is very short but includes almost an emergency situation.
At leg1, on a main sail we noticed one batten almost off after the first squall and fix it, a small thing to avoid bigger lost and also replaced one rider. But then later on Day 5 or 6 with no wind we needed to motor. One night we noticed a smell in the pilothouse, next day when trying to start the engine, it didn't start at all. Engine battery has somehow boiled - that was the reason of the smell. Luckily we have many house batteries and took one of those to be a new start battery so the problem was solved. But while changing these batteries and while floorboards were open, something did hit the transmission cable and the gear didn't go to the reverse anymore. Or even worse, while trying to break with the reverse, it actually was accelerating to forward. Of course we didn't notice it on the ocean, but while entering to Mindelo at dark. We were lucky to have room to make some circles to take off the speed, and skipper realised soon enough that breaking will only increase the speed. At the dock, in the middle of the night we fixed the problem. So, because one battery problem we had a bigger problem with a risk of collision, as we say in Finland, it was a snowball affection.
And today, our last night on the ocean, we will celebrate our good crew, done over 3000 nautical miles, almost at the end of the big crossing, today safe and healthy, waiting to finally see land soon and meet fellow sailors.
Satu
S/y Lunni
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