Wednesday, July 15, 1115 UTC. Another gray day with some chance of sun peeking through the clouds. Winds are soft at about 10 knots but we are making decent time with a boat speed of 6 knots. Sheila has done a great job of keeping us in good winds for the entire race.
There were just a few instances of the doldrums and no wind. The delaminated main, so lovingly repaired by the crew aboard, has been giving a little help but with two reefs to prevent some of the major tears below the second reef from spreading yet still supply some drive.
Our H #1 is doing ok and we are just slightly off the wind. Our trysail was up for nearly two weeks doing the best to help out. It was another morning of corn beef hash to provide the calories until lunch which no doubt will be tasty. It is doubtful anyone is losing weight on this race with Bruce in the galley.
Christain's private stash of M and Ms have been a big hit in the steering cockpit on night watches, along with green tea to washi them down. The crew has been breaking out into spontaneous song and has likely kept the birds from getting too close. It is either a sign of scurvy or our crew is going off their rails!
We were able to download our GoPro and know that it has been working so we can now better remember things years from now. Life aboard, while not completely routine, is predictable in terms of watch schedules and the usual difficulties in doing something simple like getting dressed in a boat pitching about.
Since we are hard on the wind now, which is a first in the race, the angle of heel is actually helpful in not getting thrown about. Our plan on arrival in Cowes is to unceremoniously put in the dumpster our 4 delaminiated sails that showed their stripes early on and then to have a celebratory beer, or two......
Now 181 miles to the finish, hopefully finishing at the Lizard in some stage of daylight.
Chris aboard Aphrodite