Saturday, June 14, 2008

Saturday,14 June 2008

0600 position, 39N04 135W20 C097M S5.8, APP WND 300 S23

We went 141 Nm in the last 24 hours. 610 Nm to go. Pretty unlikely that we can do that in less than four days. So, it's looking like a Wednesday arrival at the moment.

Just as the sun was setting yesterday (gusting to 25 and over, 6-8 ft. seas and building)
I had the thought, "Wonder if we should put in another reef?" As most of you sailors know, that is one of those questions whose answer is "YES". So we did it. Lots of fun up there at the mast. After that it was motor sailing with two reefs in the main and a jib about 3 feet on a side.

As an aside; I was driving during the night and thought I was on autopilot but I wasn't. Good old Cirrus, just plugging along into all this weather by herself with no hand on the wheel.

Speaking of "Good old Cirrus" she sure punches her way through this chop nicely. We've got big bumpy waves close together and it is really tough on the crew. But a more modern boat with a thinner hull would be really scary in these conditions. Lots of "oil canning", hull flexing, and noise. That's not to say that we are having a good time. Hard sailing for the next couple days.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

You guys are doing great. Especially considering the wind and sea conditions. I've been looking at the gribs every day, as I am sure you have, and every day you just seem to be in the best spot possible to reach the Golden gate in a reasonable time on a reasonable course. Well done. Keep it up.