Our decision to head further offshore at yesterday’s start is paying dividends. We took the offshore route to find stronger and more consistent wind at the expense of greater distance. Kaizen is 26 tonnes fully loaded and needs 15+ knots to sail comfortably. The wind came and we were far enough south by sunset to turn dead downwind and pole out our two headsails. With the sails trimmed and chafe points hopefully eliminated, we expect to remain in this configuration for the days to come. We benefited additionally by being at the offshore edge of the ARC fleet making last nights watch-keeping more relaxing. Being double-handed with small children means a comfortable nights sleep is even more important.
In our first 24 hours we have covered 160nm with 2542nm remaining.
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