Sailing on Tashi is at times like taking part in one of
the more cerebral TV quiz shows. We are constantly talking angles, numbers and
calculations. Not that your beloved crew of Tashy are especially quick or
clever, indeed sometimes fingers and thumbs are brought into the reckoning. So
why all the mathematics? We shall explain.
Angles come into play frequently. Sheeting angles on the
lines controlling our sails; get the angle right and the sail will work more
efficiently allowing us to sail at our best gybe angle. As we are sailing down
wind, boat speed is affected by our angle to the wind. Dead down wind, with the
breeze directly behind us is the slowest point of sail, but may offer the shortest distance. We can improve our boat speed
by sailing at a closer angle to the wind. However this extra speed comes at a
cost of extra miles to sail. So, there we are again, calculating the
cost/benefit to us in speed and distance of a change in course. Sometimes it is
the wind that dictates our course, so it will be another calculation of how long
to remain on one gybe before resetting our sails to alter course on the opposite
gybe. The purpose of all these calculations and adjustments is to give us our
best speed and course for Saint Lucia to get us there in the fastest possible
time. After each watch we are checking our recent runs, observing as the
Raymarine chartplotter counts down our DTF – the distance to the finish.
It is not just sailing Tashy that involves some maths;
daily management of the boat and systems is also about monitoring and
calculating. How much power have we used? What ampere hours are we getting from
our generators? Is the watermaker giving us sufficient water to match our
consumption? Have we enough milk for breakfast for the remaining days? It is
perhaps no surprise that none of the crew has even picked up a book on this
trip; our off watch hours are easily filled with sleeping, eating, and
calculating!
Our big winds of yesterday stayed around overnight to
party, and brought their friends rocky and rolly with them. It was a dark night
that made sliding down the large swells interesting, as the occasional errant
wave dumped into the cockpit. Two reefs in our mainsail and a reefed in jib made
our passage slightly more comfortable without taking anything from our boat
speed.
This morning is still a contest for the crew to stay
vertical as Tashy rolls on the Atlantic swells. Will was writing a message using
the YB Connect phone app, when the screen on his phone switched from vertical to
horizontal, induced by a heavy roll. YB Connect has proved very useful for the
crew to keep in contact with loved-ones at home whilst keeping the boat’s
satphone free for important navigational and rally emails. The app can be used
on a smartpone or tablet and sends short messages via the Iridium satellite
tracker provided by the ARC for monitoring our position. The YB Tracker sends
Tashy’s position out every 4 hours, displayed to the world as a dot on the rally
fleet viewer on the ARC website. Clever stuff!
This is the crew of Taistealai signing off for another
day of applied mathematics at 17 19N 49 22W with 694nm to run (a Fastnet and a
trip to Weymouth).
Chris, Helen, Will, Jem (and the
penguin)