At noon today we are at 16 34N 038 50W sailing at 5 knots on a broad reach under double-reefed main and double-furled yankee. The wind is ESE 13G18. The seas are 2m with a long 2m N swell. The air temperature is 24C, water 26C and above are passing lines of rainclouds. Our noon to noon daily run was 118nm. We have 1318nm to go. We're well past the half-way mark.
Sunset Yesterday
Yesterday afternoon we continued sailing WNW, varying the size of the yankee to suit the conditions. The sea state varied during the afternoon, sometimes becoming quite confused but at others more regular.
Yesterday afternoon also saw us reach the 1400nm to go 'milestone'. We'd probably reached the 50% time at ssa mark the day prior, but only time will tell. We put the 'milestone' in the bank so as to share a small drink on Xmas Eve - later today!
The SSB sked in the evening included Lady of Lorien and a newcomer Emma. We believe Cerulean and Ruffian are preparing to leave the Gambier so hopefully they'll join in this evening.
During the evening rainclouds approached and the wind became less reliable near them. We gybed at midnight onto a SW course. After a couple of hours of intermittent rain the wind settled and our course steadied. We had a few light rain showers around dawn and it looks like another line of rain clouds is approaching now.
The WindPilot and the SailingGen continue to be the stars of the passage. Even with our 'cut down' air vane the WindPilot steers well down to 8 knots apparent wind. The SailingGen is keeping our house batteries above 90% night and day. That reduces aging of our 10 year old Lifeline AGM batteries, saves engine wear and diesel, and helps fridge and SSB performance.
Today marks two weeks on passage so we checked our water levels again. We have used another 30 litres from the main tanks, and less than 20 litres from the forward bladder. We have 60 litres in the main tanks plus four 20 litre jerries remaining.
To celebrate Christmas Eve today we're relaxing the watch system so we can spend more time together. For morning break we had coffee and a piece of Nic's Christmas Eve gingerbread cake. Twas superb. And for lunch we're having a fry-up. Marvellous!
Have a Merry Christmas everyone!
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