Monday 12 August 2024

Azores Inbound Day 3

Hi everyone,
At 1200 today we were at 40 08N 036 23W steering 120M, broad reaching under double-reefed main and triple-furled yankee at 5.5 knots. It was sunny (still) with a handful of small cumulus clouds. The wind was 15G20 from the W. Our noon to noon run by the log was 124nm. 245nm at 110M to Flores - about a Freo to Geraldton.

Yesterday afternoon was champagne sailing. Seas of only 1m with a broad reach in 10G15 winds. Bright sunny sky. Occasional ships passing by.

In the evening the WSW wind increased a little and veered W. The seas gradually built and by dawn were up to 2m. We went through assorted areas of Gulf Stream current eddies which made the seas vary between nice, regular sinusoids to ugly, irregular, breaking waves. The latter weren't too bad but the correlation between SoG/boatspeed and sea state was perfectly clear.

Overnight we enjoyed the very bright half moon followed by a bright starry sky with occaional meteor sightings. We heard quite a few birds around us and saw a few, but none joined us for a ride.

So far so good with 'riding the High' to Flores. We'll have to gybe N for 10-12 hours at some point to reach the lay line for our destination. That should keep us clear of the lighter winds to the S. Will probably do so this afternoon.

Trust all's well where you are.

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