Underway using sail
The fog set in very quickly after leaving South Georgia, even when the wind arrived, it did not blow away any of the fog. It is persistent and at times very thick.
Last night after dinner, the watch on watch set the mainsail and jib. Then at 01:00h the wind picked up enough to keep doing 5 knots, so we turned of the engine and enjoyed our silence through the fog.
On the radar we can pick up the icebergs, and for the growlers (which we have not yet spotted) we have a look out on the front. Early this morning we passed one iceberg on two miles and saw its shade. Then we passed another berg on the windward side at 8 cables and saw its magnificent shape and size. It was the first sighting for the 12 to 6 watch and it was quite impressive. It was already fairly rounded, making it likely that it has been in the water drifting around for a longer period already, and that it has turned over showing us the bottom of what it once was. Just now we passed a berg on 8 cables and did not even see a shade of it.
The fog makes the watches active but also cold. We change over every 20/30 minutes and take turns steering, being on the lookout and having a warm cup of tea.
Downstairs its nice and warm, so we can warm up halfway through the watch. Christmas decorations are going up. Yesterday we turned on the Christmas lights, which makes the saloon very atmospheric!
We are hoping the wind will stay with us till the evening. Then it will start decreasing and turning South. So we have to make as many miles as possible with the current wind. In a few days we expect a headwind to set in. So we’ll see how far we will get! Our course is now set around the South of the South Orkney Islands, some 240 miles in front of us.
