The big blue Atlantic is a constant presence in our
lives aboard Tashy. If we are not looking at the sails, or the compass, we are
gazing out over the waves and in particular at the clouds, floating by on a big
blue sky. Clouds hold special interest at the moment as we have struggled over
the last two days with very light winds. Whilst this has been great for sunning
ourselves, drying laundry and giving us an easy ride on the lightest of ocean
swells, it has played havoc with our boat speed. So our skyward search for
clouds is a lookout for tell-tale signs of fresh wind approaching, or even a
rain squall. Squalls, our feared foe of earlier days have become potential
allies, if we can ride some of the extra breeze they can bring. Alas, no help
has been forthcoming.
Clouds also offer a useful reference point on the
horizon when steering in daylight; pick a shaped cloud laying on our course,
then watch the bow move across the horizon against it. You can check a wandering
course much more quickly than just solely looking at the compass. Staring at
clouds then leads to spotting shapes formed by these transient pillows of
moisture. We’ve had lions, dog’s heads, meerkats, reclining giants, panda faces
and even a Harry Potter sorting hat shape. I am sure a shrink could make some
interesting deductions from our shape spotting!
Chris had an excellent view of the big blue surrounding
us, when he took advantage of the calm conditions to climb up the mast this
morning. Some tangled lines on our lazy-jacks need sorting, and it was an
opportunity to check for chafe. Job done and there was time to take some video
of the view on our trusty GoPro camera. Wow that mast looks high when seen from
the top!
And now the Green
As well as supporting our hull, the big blue is helping
to provide our energy to power Tashy’s systems – our Raymarine chartplotter and
Navionics charts; the radar useful for spotting squalls at night; cabin lights;
our Schenker watermaker; and our fridge and freezer, plus and array of laptops
and tablets that need charging from time-to-time. So we have lots of consumers
taking power out of our system, and therefore need to balance this with power
generation. On Tashy we are aiming for a green crossing, meeting our consumption
with energy from renewable sources. Tashy does have a diesel engine that can
provide charge, but it is nicer if we don’t have to use it. Hopefully we won’t
need to switch our engine on again until we arrive in Saint Lucia.
Our green power comes from the big blue sky and ocean
via a Rutland wind turbine, especially useful in the windy early stages; an
array of solar panels that quietly soak up the sun’s energy and convert it to
electricity. And then, hanging neatly off our transom is the Watt&Sea
hydro-generator. A small impellor sits in our wake where drag is minimal, and as
Tashy sails through the water, it spins turning a generator. As long as we are
moving, we get power. Between them, our three green generation systems have
provided all the power we need.
This morning’s sail change was also blue – our big blue
spinnaker heralded a change to reaching, in place of Big Bertha’s
running.
Another milestone of the voyage is about to be reached
the official half-way point of our journey. And to celebrate we will be having a
special dinner this evening, complete with alcohol-free “mocktails” as a
sundowner.
Greetings to all our friends and families following our
progress. This is the crew of Taistealai signing off for another day.
Chris, Helen, Will and Jem at 20 38N 037 40W with 1378nm
to run.