Bumpy Ride

12 Feb 1850 02 30N  25W

Not much opportunity for writing today. The morning standby watch was spent on deck helping the onwatch team work the boat through a large doldrums cloud. We made about 20 miles progress in 4 hours.

So we were making 1 knot when we officially began our watch, but had the great satisfaction of weaving our way through the slow moving clouds and finding the NE Tradewinds. So by the end of the 4 hour watch we were making 18 knots, and we felt free of the doldrums..

The next off watch was incredibly hot and it was  impossible to sleep as the upwind speed crept up to 20, then 25 knots in good sized tradewind waves - it was like trying to sleep in a vigorously shaken sauna..

No big change in the next several days as we travel against the tradewinds. We are constantly monitoring our speed to try to provide the boat an easy ride. We are on delivery after all and not racing. We have changed down to a double reefed main and ORC headsail (which is a large storm jib)..The True windspeed is 23 knots, our boatspeed is 23 knots and the apparent windspeed is 40 knots!

This is Brian, braced in the galley, signing off..

Brian