When are we going to be there?
Scot Free III
Frank & Anne
Sat 29 Jun 2024 17:07
41:04.634N 35:16.391W
Friday was a frustrating/fractious day. As expected, the wind died so had to set up the cruising chute. Took time and effort. From wearing 5 layers now down to shorts and t shirts. Very hot sweaty work. 28 degrees down below. Caribbean style heat and humidity. Turned the fans on for the first time.
Suffice to say once the cruising chute was ready, not a puff of wind. The Azores High is renowned for this but with still aporox 280, not enough fuel to motor the full way and don’t want to put unnecessary hours on the engine.
Supper eaten, engine on and F went to bed. Managed to sail slowly from about 1am but by the time A woke up, the wind had died again. Engine on but true wind only 5/6knots just not enough.
Day 8
Have been watching 2 big fish swimming in our wake at 5-6 knots, saving energy, using their fins to steer. Thought dolphins at first, because of the size, but they never broke the surface. Think they’re probably marlin. Far too big and heavy to contemplate for supper. 3 ships seen today.
Cruising chute again late this afternoon and a gentle sail. Too small in reality for this boat but it didn’t cost much (bought it, via Facebook, from a chap, on the pontoon, in Shelburne to replace the very old one we shredded) and we like the (almost) Ireland colours!
Did some clearing up. Dried out oilskins in the sunshine and put them away. Did some maintenance too. Two of the nav lights suddenly died, a bulb had to be replaced. The stern nav light housing couldn’t be unscrewed so that will have to wait. Compass light has also gone, so compass taken out of binnacle and contact cleaner sprayed on connectors. Later, the light was only flickering, so more work needed.
Enjoyed a home cooked bolognese, courtesy of Packet Inn. Newfoundlandlers bottle a great deal of food to see them through the winter. Great on a boat. Always surprised at the stacks of Mason jars in the hardware stores. T and R had bottled most of their meals for their trip and kindly gave us a jar. Delicious. All the better for not having cooked it ourselves. As it was so calm, even had spaghetti without it sliding off the plate. M
No ships seen today.
878 nautical miles gone.