Saturday, January 7, 2012

1/7/12

Noon Position: 31 59.8'S 076 40'W COG 100T, SOG 6.5,day's run 110nm.
Normally I sail with only "white sails" at night - no spinnaker or
drifter - because if the breeze comes up trying to douse either of my
two lighter sails can be a real hassle - they're both free flying, with
no snuffers or furlers. Last night I broke my own rule and kept the
spinnaker up all night, which was a blessing - without it I would have
just been dead in the water, as the wind was very light from astern, but
with the flat seas the chute let me keep moving at 3 knots or so. Today
I've progressed from spinnaker in the morning, down to the drifter a
little later as the wind went more North, then down to 95% jib as the
wind built, then to wing on wing as the wind went back west, and now
this afternoon back up to the spinnaker again as the breeze has dropped
again. As of noon today I was 270nm from Valparaiso. I'm going to
refrain from making any ETA or weather predictions or even hopes, as
doing either publicly seems to have a nasty tendency of jinxing me.
Today has been a very nice day of sailing - just enough wind to sail
fast for most of the day, but not enough to be unpleasant. Clear skies,
warm weather, and fast sailing - too bad such paradisical conditions
never last.

1 comment:

  1. A prudent man, indeed. Nothing worse than jinxing yourself.
    Would love a little more description about ins and outs of
    how you live day to day -- routine, food, safety... Best Wishes, Sandy

    ReplyDelete