Sunday, December 16, 2007

Madiera to Caribbean - Day 7

We've been at sea for a week now with 1,115nm behind us and about 1,760nm still to go. The nights have gradually gotten warmer and last night was very comfortable. We're starting to see flying fish and a sea bird circled us this morning, but still no ship sightings. In summary of week 1, I'm sharing commentary from my captain, "Wind a little more consistent - 15kts NE - hopefully the bulk of the light stuff is behind us. We are sailing with wind angles of 155/165 true, about 145/155 apparent, which appears to be the sweet spot for these conditions. As day 7 comes to a close we have now been flying a spinnaker for 5 days. The spinnaker pole is about 12 feet off the deck for these deep wind angles, keeping it high and forward away from the main. When the fully battened main inverts due to a combination of the swells and back-draft from the spinnaker, the entire boat shakes and the crew starts to show signs of being sleep deprived. Logged miles are finally starting to trend in the right direction 173nm, 170nm, 154nm, 146nm, 137nm, 173nm and 162nm. Overall the numbers are a little below expectation. The boat has never been drier now with the centerboard fixed and tightened keel-bolts. Fuel consumption is approx 2.5g/day - all generator usage for house batteries, water and refrigeration."

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