Chula - Chula Log 07 - The last 1000

When our waypoint count down reached the last thousand NM there was a definite shift in atmosphere, the log book had a dedicated entry for the moment. Since then we've been trying to quantify the remaining distance by comparing it to previous passages, after all a passage of this scale is pretty hard to get your head around before you experience it for real. 800nm the distance from Las Palmas to Cape Verde (8 days) 600nm our Biscay crossing (West Wales to A Coruna - 5 days) 300nm Vigo, Galica to Cascais, Portugal and next will be 120nm West Wales to Scilly, 80nm Cardiff to Pembroke. The last thousand has had a distinctly different feel to it, the trade winds have established resulting in fewer sail changes and just the occasional gybe to keep on track. We have experimented with various sail configurations, Chula is not particularly well set up for downwind sailing and neither Joe or I have done much of this. In lighter winds (17knots and under) our cruising chute is excellent. We can sail our biggest angle to the wind plus the chute can absorb and lift Chula out of the swells. In heavier winds 22knots and above she sits quite nicely with 3 reefs in the main, 2 in the mizzen and staysail, allowing us to furl and unfurl the jib to suit the current conditions. However between 17 and 22 knots we suffer, we don't want to shake out the reefs in the main or mizzen because we have to round into wind slightly plus it's much harder to react to local conditions quickly (especially squalls). As we are nearing the end of the passage we are getting more confident in flying the chute in stronger winds with the boat speed reaching 9 to 10 knots but it puts huge forces on the deck hardware and can be dangerous to snuff in those conditions. We had a sustained front pass over us this morning, 30 - 34knots for an hour or so and we left up our reefed main, mizzen and staysail and Chula was in her element. It's too early to be thinking about what we've learnt from having this ambition and sailing across the Atlantic. At the moment we're all looking forward to seeing land again, having a long freshwater shower, a cold beer / ice cream and food we've not had to cook in our swaying galley! We've probably got another 3 nights before we can do any of these though. I've enjoyed night watches, the peace, the stars, watching the phosphorescence, seeing the whites of breaking waves, listening to podcasts and music. But I've also hated night watches, trying to stay awake and alert enough to react and make sound decisions whilst struggling to sleep in off watch time because of the jib slapping and the huge rollers which come through from time to time and set the boat rocking wildly from side to side. Lack of sleep is probably the hardest part and it can impact crew morale considerably, especially if the seas are also awkward resulting in unpleasant motion on the boat. The best morale boosters have been the short texts which come through the sat phone from family - thank you :-) The sea is a difficult one to describe, I'm always in awe of the shear power underlying the immense rolling waves. The seas often look like huge writhing almost living being, it can pick us up with ease and we sit on a crest for a moment before surfing down the back, if we're lucky we surf straight down, if not it's a short of side ways corkscrew motion. It can jolt us suddenly or calmly send us rocking. Lowie and Rowan have been brilliant, watching movies has become a little less interesting recently so they've been in the cockpit more, playing games with us (Lowie's pretty good at Sudoku!) or playing with their toys - they were making a story for stop frame animation with Rowans SuperZings :-) It's been a long time for them, we've gone passed the '14 day sail' we had prepared them for but this doesn't seem to be a problem and their spirits are high. Super hero tattoos have helped, plus plenty of food, especially crisps for Rowan! We've covered lots of miles today and had the pleasure of sailing with Big Bubble within VHF range, fingers crossed this will continue for our last few days and we can join our fellow ARC crews soon in Grenada! 4th Dec - Jo