Hi everyone,
We are currently at position 14 39S 87 37E sailing at 6 knots on a course of 265M. The wind is 20-25 knots from the SE with a 3m sea and low SSW swell. We are sailing under "tripple reefed" (ie third furling mark) yankee and double-reefed main. The sky is 7/8ths overcast. Our day's run to 0900 was 151nm and we have 1420nm to run.
Yesterday the wind stayed under 20 knots for most of the day. Gradually cloud built up with more wind under each cloud. Eventually we had a few showers of rain in the late afternoon and the wind built to 25-28 knots. We gradually furled the yankee as the wind increased.
Overnight the wind persisted over 25 knots and the seas built to the point we were starting to be side-swiped by breaking waves. Nothing dramatic but the first time we've had green water aboard this trip. We put the storm boards in the companionway and stayed below for most of the night - just popping our heads out to check on things once in a while. Even with the reduced sail we were sitting on 7 knots for extended periods which certainly helped our day's run.
This morning the winds have abated somewhat and the seas have certainly settled down. We are still well reefed down since we're still doing over 6 knots average. Definitely in cruising mode on this passage - taking care of the boat so she'll take care of us.
Vulcan Spirit is now 80nm WSW of us. We speak with them each morning on the HF (using DSC Watch to exchange positions and then go to a voice frequency). They were doing 8-9 knots all night so scooted a further 20nm away from us in 12 hours. We expect to take 2-3 days longer than them on this passage.
Trust all's well where you are!
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