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The World Cruise of Veleda IV |
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Day 6 - Bermuda to the Azores June 7,1999 It is slow going. There has been no wind to speak of for 36 hours. Even though no wind, there are still the big long Atlantic swells that rock the boat most uncomfortably. Rather than just sitting with no wind, we have had the engine on for over 30 hours to keep some headway so we don't flog about too badly. Even then, a large swell will overtake us every few minutes and cause heavy shaking and flapping of the sails. We were able to sail at 2.5 knots for a few hours last night, but then the wind died again totally. We took down all sails and just motored at an idle speed to keep some way on to reduce the flogging. However we were at the point of being concerned for our fuel consumption, as we are only 1/3 the way across and have used up over half our fuel. That is why we are at idle speed, on the assumption it will give us longer motoring time to keep way on the boat until wind picks up, rather than being at faster cruising revs. I have already put in one of our three jerry cans of diesel and have decided that our last jerry can will not be put in until we are 200 miles from the Azores. I have heard there is often an Azores high that is associated with minimal winds, and do not want to get stuck 20 miles from Flores with no wind and no fuel. At noon hour I decided to see what it was like to shut off the engine and just roll with the swells. At idle speeds of 2.0 knots we were rolling a fair bit anyway. We flogged around for a half hour and noticed a set to the south, probably an eddy off the Gulf Stream. We have been advised by Herb not to go above 36 N as there is a trough at 37 N. South of it the winds will be South West, whereas north of it winds will be North East, the direction we are sailing, and thus would have the wind on our nose. We put up our spinnaker and decided to go in whatever direction it would stay full with the light zephyrs of wind that were whispering around us. It filled with its seductive silky dance drifting forward frequently to embrace our forestay. However, it moved us along at 2.2 knots, giving us some steerage way, albeit on a course of 130 magnetic when we wanted to go 080 magnetic. We were still being set south by the eddy current. We could see this by our ship's magnetic compass which said we were doing a course of 100 magnetic, but our GPS said our actual track was 130 magnetic. (We have our GPS calibrated to magnetic headings. Out here the variation is about 18 degrees west.) However in an hour, the wind became more constant, and moved us along at 3.0 knots, then veered North West causing us to jibe the spinnaker from port to starboard. The wind has been constant but light for the last two hours now, moving us along at 4.0 knots under spinnaker only. Incidentally, we are now going to call the spinnaker BIG BLUE as it has dark and light blue panels. We give nicknames to many of our devices, e.g. GENNY for the Genoa, OTTO for our autopilot, My TOY for the whisker pole, SPRITE for our dinghy, and now BIG BLUE. I haven't a name for my collapsible bike yet. We met many boaters in St. George's who are crossing to the Azores at the same time. Several with Single Side Band (SSB) radios have set up a net to communicate at 0700 each day to report progress and discuss the weather recommendations from Herb. We do not have an SSB, but have a short wave receiver on which we can pick up their conversations. The 8 or 10 boats are spread out over a 200 square mile area now and the ranges increase each day, depending on the boats' courses and speeds. We are doing O.K. so far, being the third or fourth boat furthest along our track. We are the smallest of them, but there are several 35 and 38 footers and Blue Highway I guess is the largest at 44 feet. We were together a couple of times in St. George's at two Pot Luck barbeques. On the water we have been in contact via VHF with Blue Highway, but can no longer reach her as she is about 60 miles ahead of us. However we have had a few good conversations with Meavig with Brian and Jo from Scotland, and River Dancer with John and Gillian and their two daughters Amber and Holly Ann. Brian has charts and information to share with us about the west coast of Scotland when we get to Flores. John and Gillian have delightful English accents and their daughters are precious 9 to 12 year olds, but very articulate and mature. We are looking forward to seeing these friends again in the Azores. My frame of reference for sailing times included 100 nautical miles a day as being O.K. However, we have not been doing that this trip so far. Right now is day 5.5 and we have done only 511 nautical miles. We still have 1300 miles to go. We have settled into a sea routine and I at least am enjoying it. Judy has been better these last few hours as BIG BLUE stabilizes the boat when setting properly. We have done a lot of reading. I have done some metal polishing and hull cleaning. Judy has done some rope work. I started learning the recorder which I have not touched for three years since I got it. I still do all the cooking and cleaning up below decks. After we have used up our frozen foods, we will turn the refrigerator on only a few hours each day to keep it cool in order to save energy. The refrigerator and the autopilot use up considerable energy, and sometimes we have to start up the engine just to charge the batteries, as we have not had enough wind to drive our wind generator. We were in sight of River Dancer yesterday for most of the day and evening, but have not seen any of the other boats since the first day out. We have seen only two ships so far. One of the boats reported seeing a sperm whale, but we have not seen any sea life such as dolphins or even flying fish yet. However several shearwaters and petrels have been flying around and Portuguese Man O Wars have been drifting by like purple tinged "baggies". Other than these few things, we have seen nothing other than endless ocean. I love watching the Shearwaters glide only inches above the waves. At night there is considerable phosphorescence. In addition to the sparks of light occasionally sheets of illumination would sparkle like a reflection from a full moon. However these phenomena have been seen before moonrise. It reminded me of some interesting luminescence we saw at the Darbys in the Exumas. One evening when the tide was ebbing we saw little wisps of luminescence that would light up like a glow worm, then the gold light would spread like a mist in the water for a few seconds then disappear. When we shone a light at these illuminations, we could see nothing. It was the strangest type of luminous displays we have seen. Of course the night sky is beautiful. The moon does not rise now until about 0200, and so we have clear starry nights not subdued by the moon light. Venus is so bright it casts a strong reflection off the water, as do several others. Last night was the first night I have seen lightning so far this trip. On the way over to Bermuda from Fort Lauderdale we saw lightning every night. All is well now that we have a bit of wind, but it has not been above 10 knots the entire trip so far. I'll close for now, and let Judy proof read it for me. Next Log |
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