Voyageur - Leg 2 - Log 2 Words of Wisdom

For two days now we have enjoyed near perfect sailing conditions but for the wind angle, forward of the beam, and for those two days we have had at least a knot of current against us. It is hard. All those hard earned miles covered through the water and lost over the ground.

At dawn today just before the sun came up David took this most amazing picture of a cloud formation. At first he saw the fluke of a whale but then it gradually changed shape, and metamorphosed into a dinosaur marching across the sky. I said he must send it in to enter ARC Europe’s photographic competition but it will be the first and last for it will take an absolute age to send via the SAT phone.

Weather is at the forefront of everyone’s minds at the moment and the main topic of conversation on the daily SSB net. Half the fleet have headed up north whilst the remainder including us have opted for a more southerly course. Each individual skipper has his own agenda and it depends whether you are looking at it from a racing standpoint or a ‘staying out of trouble’, as we are.

All we want to do is get from point A to point B in safety without getting too beaten up in the process. We thought it time we tuned into Herb’s Southbound 11 SSB net. Herb is a legendary character. For many years now he has conducted a personalised weather routeing service for yachtsmen crossing the Atlantic from his home deep in the heart of Toronto. It makes fascinating listening. Between 19.30 and 20.00 UTC yachts leave their calling card and at 20.00 the formal proceedings begin. He is a wizard, like a fortune teller telling you your destiny he advises which path to follow. We heard Asteroid and Luna check in. We are not too far away from Asteroid so his sound wisdom and advice could be relevant to us. He confirmed that we should not go above 35 degrees north. It is all such a balancing act, trying to stay with the wind but at the same time staying away from the very strong winds. At the end of the day all you can really do is make your choice and hope for the best.