DTD 3282 dmg 110 from half way in 324 miles, there should be open water - no islands - between us and dutch.
There seems to be a lot less time on this one for idle musing. It's all work or sleep, unlike in the southern ocean, where we set a sail, trimmed it and left it for days at a time.
And no sooner do we put our little pug nose out past the squally bit but the Examiner turns up again and decrees that the stitching along the leech line of our small furling headsail should die. It's a pre loved sail, came with the furler and looked fine before we left, but the U.V. might have got to it - or some other rats in the boot room. Anyway, not a catastrophe and potentially fixable, over time, with the sailmaker's needle and palm. Tedious though. We're bobbing along under engine, storm jib and 2 reefs just watching the wx for 3 hours, then I think it's back to the big sail and fingers crossed it will last the distance - furlers seem to flog their leeches something awful and no amount of tweaking seems to fix the problem, consequently high stress area.
Well done Barrett. Obvious really, I guess!
Anyway, we are certainly in, or in striking distance of the trades. I've no real feel for what to expect when we do get there in terms of the combination of wind and sea state. I just hope we are not headed too much and can sail reasonably free so as not to overstress the headsail any more than necessary. And soon it will be out with the needle and palm.
Big sail back up - hooning more or less north at 5+ kts. Passed an island 60 miles to the east - 10 miles across, has an airfield but no name on my digital chart. Anyone?
Today's boat job - just hardboiled 34 eggs - we didn't vaseline them before we left and I don't see why we should throw them away. When they cool, I'll vas them just in case. Egg salads for the future.
Just had a full can of wd 40 discharge into the bilge and all over the floor, lethally slippery and not pleasant. Poo!
