Antigua Inbound Day 19

Hi everyone,
At noon today we were at 15 54N 058 44W steering 280M, sailing under 1 reef and full yankee at 4.5 knots.  The wind was 11G14 from the ENE.  Our noon to noon run by the log was 111nm.  190nm to Antigua.  A little less than a Geraldton race.

Dawn Brew

Champagne sailing conditions have returned.  Winds are a little light but that suits our need to slow down a little to avoid arriving on Monday night.  We aim to arrive on Tuesday morning.  In the mean time we're enjoying sunny skies during the day and stary skies at night.  Zen Again's just cantering along steadily.

This morning we dunked the waterproof camera for the final time on this trip.  Gooseneck barnacles are increasing steadily.  Very similar ot our previous E-W crossing in 2022/2023.

Gooseneck Barnacles Increasing

Trust all's well where you are.

Antigua Inbound Day 18

Hi everyone,
At noon today we were at 15 11N 056 59W steering 320M, sailing under 1 reef and no furls at 5 knots.  The wind was 12G15 from the E.  Our noon to noon run by the log was 123nm.  300nm to Antigua.  Half a Sydney Hobart.

Dawn Today

Yesterday afternoon we continued under deep-reefed main and storm staysail until mid-evening.  By then the wind was easing and the sea state improving.  We swapped back to the yankee with 2 furls.  Overnight the clouds cleared to reveal a beautiful starscape.  In the early evening to the E we saw a spectacular full moon with Venus nearby.

One amusing event yesterday afternoon was Nic's life-jacket auto-inflating.  Gave her a surprise!  Probably due to the heavy shower she went through yesterday.  Replacement water-sensing cartridges added to the shopping list but we have plenty of spare gas cylinders.

Inflated!

Today the wind has gradually eased and veered into the ESE.  By noon we were under full yankee with a single reef in the main.  The wind is supposed to back into the ENE which will bring us back onto course for Antigua.

Trust all's well where you are!

Antigua Inbound Day 17

Hi everyone,
At noon today we were at 14 11N 055 05W steering 300M, sailing under 2 reefs and storm staysail at 5.5 knots.  The wind was 18G23 from the ENE.  Our noon to noon run by the log was 124nm.  420nm to Antigua.

Yesterday Afternoon

Yesterday afternoon the winds were settled at 20g25 with regular rain showers.  We changed down to the staysail and its been driving us along - with the trisail-sized double-reefed main - since then.  The rain showers continued well into the evening, graudally decreasing.  In the small hours of the morning we got to see a few stars in breaks in the clouds.

This morning we dodged a few rain showers.  By late morning there were very few coming through.  The sea state is the thing which makes these conditions unpleasant.  There's wind waves from the NE and longer swell from the N.  When you end up at an intersection of the two (crest or trough) it's seawater shower time!  The WindPilot is handling it very, very well.  We just have to hang on.

Weather Improving this Morning

The outlook is for winds to ease to 15g20 tomorrow.  The swell is increasing but hopefully with less wind wave action the ride will improve a little.  Despite the bumpy conditions Zen Again is making good progress even under much reduced sail.

Yesterday was shower day.  Nic got hers for free when a particularly heavy rain shower caught her out in the cockpit.  She stripped off and had a really good wash.  Mine was deferred to today when I did the seawater in a bucket thing.  The water's 29C so not chilly at all.

Trust all's well where you are.