Gwendoline - 14th and 15th day at sea

S/Y Gwendoline M - Atlanterhavskryds
05. December. 11.10 UTC.
On bord Lene, Bente, Annette, Maiken, Oliver, Orla og Kim
Position: 14.43.00N 30.42.25W

Life on board is quickly setteling in the old rutines, now tree days after we left our unplanned stopover on the Cap Verde island of Sao Vincente.

Friday dec. 2nd.
We left, as previously written, rather late, and we were caught by the wind acceleration zone between the islands. All that adrenaline released in our bodies from handling this unforseen "crisis" had the positive side effect that no one became seasick this time.

Before departure, Lene had made a big portion of pasta salat with tuna which we all enjoyed very much for dinner.

The first 24 hours we sailed with an average speed of 7 knots - LOVELY - after all the days doing only 2-4 knots.

Saturday dec. 3rd.
We continued on route towards the point 14N 29W, in order to get down to the tradewind belt. We had fine wind from 30 degrees north at 10-12 m/s, and most of the time we were steady at 7 knots.

During the day, Oliver once again hooked a fish - and we all worked intensively to reduce sails as fast as possible, as it is very difficult - inf not impossible to reel in a fish at 7 knots speed. Unfortunately the dorado (mahi mahi) slpiied the hook just a few meters from the boat - so instead of freshly caught fish for dinner we had a portatoe/eeg casserole with bacon for dinner.

Sunday dec. 4th.
We really feel the fact that we are close to equator. The water temp for the past two days have been steady at 26-27 degrees centigrade - and at night the air temp is above 24 degrees centigrade. So Orla and I are spending the nights outside in the cockpit dressed only in shorts and t-shirt.
The heat is of course even more noticeable below deck - where everybody on board are struggling to sleep. So yesterday we decided to ventilate the boat by opening the two big skylights - one in the for cabin and one in the saloon - aft. We also established wind catchers - so we got a very good ventilation going one below deck - drying out all the moisture from seven sweating bodies.

At 13.00 we reached our waypoint 14N 29W - and we changed sails to a starboard tack - course 270 degrees directly towards St. Lucia.

Lene also planned to bake buns for us - and it turned out to be a huge problem doing this when sailing with a butterfly rig. As we do not have the main up - there is no sideways stability in the boat when large swells come rolling in from behind and tilt it. We are aware of this fact, and usually it is not a problem. Lene places the "dough blending machine" sideways to the sail direction, so when we tilt, it usually does not effect the machine. This time it did. Lene had just poured the dry yeast into the mixing bowl, when we tilted so much, so the machine tipped over - spilling the dry yeast all over the kitchen floor.

Out with the hoover and clean everything - and then we had to be tree persons to make the dough for the buns. The dough were set to rise between the large fire extinguisher and the big freezer.

For afternoon treat, Bente made an old fashion apple cake, which we all enjoyed in the cockpit. It was made extra delisious with whipped cream on top.

For supper we had Danish meat balls with pasta and fried leeks. After dinner - Oliver and I closed our ventilation system by shutting the two skylights.

Monday dec. 5th.
During the night the wind has changed to a more easterly direction. This has forced us to take a more northerly route, and in a short while - we will change the sails to our butterfly rig once again - so we can sail a broad reach.

Over and Out from
S/Y Gwendoline M
Atlanten