No mile munching today. Although we started the night by making good headway, an unexpected local weather system saw us much closer to the edge of the storm than we’d like to be.
We turned south to escape the adverse conditions but the low pressure system and 45 mph headwinds had other ideas. The crew spent 8 brutal hours crashing through the weather. The climate was remarkable. Being on the edge of a mid-Atlantic storm system in a small boat is not for the faint-hearted. Sitting in the cockpit, rain lashing, wind howling and the sea tumbling and confused. Looking out to the horizon miles away over the rolling watery mountains one could see nature’s finest firework display. Sheets and bolts of lightning that illuminate the whole sky casting strange shadows in the gloom. Thunderclaps that start with an Earth-splitting crack and rumble on and on like some malevolent mythical creature that’s been unwelcomely roused from slumber. As your thoughts wander it’s easy to imagine why ancient mariners might have thought the world ended over a horizon - I didn’t want to be anywhere nearer to this storm than we already were. And you’re five days away from home. You can’t stop the ride to get off, or refuge in a nearby shelter until it blows over. Then you realise why people love their boats. NoStress is our shelter, she carried us through the challenging conditions with aplomb, protected us and saw us safely through to the next part of our journey. Thank you NoStress, we owe you!
By early afternoon the worst of the weather had abated. We’d ran south with our tail between our legs but now we could tack west again and get back on track. The team spent the rest of the day doing minor tasks, recovering from the tough night we’d had and reviewing weather information to see if we missed anything in previous reports, and how the recent changes might affect our strategy moving forward.
After green chicken curry and getting ready for night shifts a call is taken to tack south again. The foreboding clouds to our north might be responsible for some of the wind we’re chasing but nobody’s ready for a repeat of yesterday’s thrills.
So the crew signs off, tired but happy and hoping for a smooth night’s sailing with fair winds and weather.
Thinking of you all.
Alex & the NoStress crew.
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