25’33.2S 035’19.1W course 214′ speed 7,5kn
What a beautiful day it has been. At 06:00 the wind had slowly increased to a force 3 almost 4 and so we were able to set the mainsail again and turn off the engine. The wind was expected to increase during the afternoon and so I decided to set the mainsail reefed straight away. To be honest the ocean looked like wind was coming. A darker ocean, with white caps on it, whilst the wind on deck was no more then 5 knots, while making our way under engine at 6 knots..
We did loose the really big swell that was running from the South and so we had a smooth ocean to begin with! Under reefed mainsail, and full mizzen, forestaysail and number 2 jib, we were doing an easy 6 knots straight away.
By noon we had stronger winds, force 5 most of the time, running with the wind we were up to 8 knots most of the time. And around 13:00 the wind had increased to a force 6, which made steering challenging, coming up to the wind we would race along with 9 knots, with the mizzen still set whole. We reefed the mizzen just after lunch and brought back the comfortable steering seat while still doing 8 knots. Even as the waves were building up, slightly steep still, the course was stable. Tecla danced around on the waves every now and then, shaking her behind and throwing her head around on a wave every now and then. But she also deserved a little fun, so letting her go and just waiting for her to come back to course was the best strategy and one that worked!
After reefing, most of us went below decks for a workshop bread making. Moritz had said he was interested, and he was not alone, so we decided to make a workshop out of it. Ending in making our own pita breads for the evening. Which meant, HAMBURGERS! With all the extras to go with it! Galapenos, cheese, coleslaw, sweet potato fries, pickles and baked onion.. Now the onion is a bit of a story.. we have some amazing big onions on board, two or three is more then enough for a whole meal.. But they are very strong and sting the eyes like nothing else. I am crying my eyes out every night, turning into a toddler with a runny nose and red eyes that hurt badly! And today I was done with it! We were shaking and rolling in the galley, which made our job hard enough. Jasmijn was cutting the salad right next to me and I just could not stand the hurt this night and wasn’t going to put her through it either! So, I got us our swimming glasses to protect us. And even though they were very warm, and my glasses fogged up after 15 minutes, there was no crying involved, but there was a lot of laughter!
Right now we are doing 7 to 7,5 knots with a broad reach, the waves make us shake and roll a little, but its not too bad. We are on a course straight to the Falkland Islands, one that we will not be able to keep during the next 24 hours, but still, for now it looks amazing! 1876 miles to go!
The night is dark (not filled with terror) as we have had no moon for a few days now. Previous nights the stars and planets have lit our way so brightly though that it did not feel too dark at all. But tonight we have more cloud cover and so the deck is a deep deep dark blue/grey. When we talk to each other, we talk to shapes more then to faces, although yesterday I could still see if Soete was smiling at my jokes, or if Mark had coffee with milk or tea.
All is well on board,
Jet
