We have to conserve on things
Position: 58,1.31N , 2,21.22W
Speed: 9 knots, Course: 141 deg.
We are hanging in there despite how absurd this leg has gotten. We have been parked up at least once every twelve hours in the last two days. Today we had a complete park up after the getting through the cut at the top of Scotland. We were supposed to be on our bike after that, like the front three, but we got another hole to deal with. We will probably have another park up tonight as we are now sailing in a sea breeze local to the coast here and will have to make the transition to the gradient tonight. Reshuffle again with ABN2 and Brunel.
We got separated from Brasil and Ericsson on the way over to Ireland last weekend and never have been able to catch up to them in any of the park ups. ABN1, who was back with us, smoked right on up to them on the only steady breeze afternoon. With this mornings’ park up for us, the front three just poured on another 40 miles as they sailed away in a steady southerly while we slatted with Brunel and ABN2. They are now close to a hundred miles ahead and pretty much out of reach even under these strange circumstances.
The wind has almost never done what the forecast indicated, at least no where we were. It has been a real guessing game to try to figure out what will happen next.
As we have four meals left and 400 miles to go, we have rationed the food to one meal for every hundred miles. At this speed, we don’t eat often. It is slim pickens for us from now until the finish, whenever that will be. We are also low on diesel to run the generator and to make electricity so we have to conserve on things that consume power like the computer screens, keel canting, etc.
Other than that, we are fighting on at every change of wind direction and velocity, stacking and restacking the boat, moving sails from on deck to below, from forward to aft, from port to starboard. Just a lot of work in these variable conditions. It is impressive how the human spirit never gives up.
PC
Pirates of the Caribbean
