Yesterday we
reported a noon to noon run of 150 miles, nearly a record for Cleone. Today it
was 147 miles, and all these miles were along the Rhumb Line. Elsewhere over the
last 24 hours the radio reports were of crews finding the conditions ranged from
trying to very difficult.
Once you find
them, the Trade Winds may blow steadily from the Northeast. And those of you who
have been checking the weather for us will have noticed that the conditions
forecast were typical of Trade Winds this at this time of year. However a
forecast is a forecast, and good forecasters leave themselves room for
manoeuvre. They either use the Beaufort Scale or they bracket their forecast
windspeeds, for instance predicting winds of between 15 and 25 knots. They may
also take it for granted that those who use marine forecasts will expect gusts
of wind considerably higher than forecast, although sometimes, as now, they will
emphasise that squally conditions (with or without rain showers or squalls) may
prevail. These are exactly the sort of conditions that were forecast and
experienced yesterday and today, and we expect them to persist at least until at
least tomorrow evening. The latest forecast says predicted winds might then
ease, and gusts become fewer.
This morning's
chat on the SSB Radio Net reported that all had experienced a difficult and for
many an uncomfortable night. The wind direction has been reasonably consistent,
but the swells are still confused as a result of big weather systems to the
north of us sending us their interfering swells. In these conditions, Cleone is
relatively comfortable. The waves approach us from just to starboard of our
stern. Cleone lifts her buoyant back end, the crest passes under us, a slight
dab of the rudder aligns us on top of the wave and then her bows slide
gracefully down the back of the wave, leaving her poised to receive the next
swell. Lighter boats may find these conditions more difficult to cope with. Many
have a tendency to slide down the front of the waves, accelerating as they do
and possibly burying their noses into the wave in front. We are expecting these
conditions to persist until tomorrow evening; we will let you know how we get
on!
Around the
yacht, eagle-eyed Kaya spotted a loosening cleat used for the furling line. It
was quickly tightened, but left much longer it could have caused us real
problems. Lousia and Francesca (and Kaya Ed) have been steering like veterans
in awkward conditions, and despite these conditions all of us are sleeping well.
The generator remains obstinately lifeless, and last night the Autopilot chose
an awkward time to close itself down. It has now come back to life, thanks,
claims the skipper, to his efforts which involved rebuilding and rewiring some
of the hardware before reprogramming the central computer. In actual fact, he
switched the system off for a couple of hours and then back on again. Hopefully
it will remain active for the rest of our trip. But it looks as if we will have
to rely on the main engine to provide us with power to keep the beers cool in
the fridge.
All are well and
cheerful on board and eating heartily as well as sleeping surprisingly soundly.
With very best
wishes and love to you all,
James,
Francesca, Louisa and Kaya
Yacht
At sea
Position at
1200UTC on 01 Dec 2024:
N21deg46min
W30deg23min