Day 18 - Variable Wind

I hit the sack at 9 PM with the timer set to go off at 11.30 PM for the midnight Sailmail session. After the session I went topside to assess the wind and it seemed 2 or 3 kts stronger with the Rutland giving the occasional hum. I set sail and the boat seemed to be managing well, making 3.0 kts with the small area of sail flapping occasionally. This was possible only because of the relative calmness of the sea.

The latest grib file predicted gale force winds in 2 days, the 19th. I will definitely have to heave to, so I'll put up the double reefed mainsail on the morning of the 18th while the wind is still moderate.

Then it started drizzling and the wind began to drop again. I watched the boat struggling along until 2 AM then I rolled in the sail, put the autopilot on Standby, lashed the wheel, then went back to bed for a few hours of sleep.

I woke up at 6.30 AM to find the most solid wind in 2 days. It wasn't particularly strong, but it was above the zone of marginal sailing and it was steady. I set the headsail on the starboard side, engaged the autopilot, then went down for coffee. Thirty minutes later I was back in the cockpit to engage the Monitor. This was a biggie because after the problems of the previous day I wasn't sure what to expect. With a relief the Monitor took over without a problem and steered us on a SE course at 3.5 kts. I knew that at least I had half of wind steering. The next test would come when the boat would be on the starboard tack, because this would require much more travel of the pendulum to the starboard side of the frame.

At mid morning I reviewed the grib file predictions and concluded that it would be better to raise the first reef now rather than the following morning, when the wind was expected to be at about 16 kts before before increasing fast during the day. The grib file had to be off by only 5 kts and I'd have a more difficult task in raising the mainsail, and it was vital that I get that sail up before the coming gale. The current 16 kts that we were experiencing were suitable and it appeared that we would have good points of sail throughout the day for the mainsail. The operation took me over an hour including tidying up the cockpit and at 10.30 AM we were making 5-5.5 kts slightly into an 18 kt wind, despite the fact that I had reduced headsail to compensate for the main. I felt comfortable with this setup because I knew that I could control the speed and heel of the boat by rolling the headsail in and out and the boat was ready for heaving to at any time. My underclothes were wringing wet from the sweating under the wet weather gear so I took off my sweater and enjoyed an extraordinarily sweet cold orange then had a short nap until the noon report.

At noon our position was 36S24, 021W53, giving a n-n distance of 48 miles in the direction 120. We were now 464 miles west of TdC, which is at 37S05, 012W18. The barometer had dropped 7 points to 1013 hPa. I was surprised that we had managed to make 48 miles, but now we were on the move and expected to make good progress during the next 24 hours. The Monitor was coping well and the wind charger had come into its own with the brisk wind and only feint sunlight reaching the solar panels.

It's time for another Blubber Blog Bulletin. I am very careful about measuring my waist, making sure that my posture is consistent at every measurement and I pass the tape along along the widest part of my middle with just barely enough pull on the tape to keep the measure from dropping down. To fudge the measurement would be to engage in pointless self delusion. Today I measured myself 3 times at a comfortable 43", even though I reported 44" only a few days ago. Part of the explanation is that I was actually closer to 43.75 than to 44" when I made that report. I'm not sure how to account for the rest - maybe the cooler weather has simply tightened me up. It's not like I'm starving. I get plenty of protein, vitamins, and minerals, try to have fresh fruit once a day, and indulge myself with plenty of almonds, a piece of cheese most days, a beer in the late afternoons and hot chocolate at night. The one thing that I am shy of is animal fat. I think that I get enough from the cheese and eggs, but meat, butter, and rich sauces are off the menu. What I do get plenty of is exercise, sweat, and rest. Anyway, that is 3" off so far, but I'm not letting up until I reach Cape Town because I am determined to morph from Danny DeVito with gray hair to something more like ... hmm ... how about Brad Pitt?

At 5 PM we were running due east at 4 kts on a broad reach because the wind had backed. I had a several scares during the afternoon where the wind died down - at one point down to 9 kts - resulting in flogging of the boom and thoughts of dropping the mainsail. Happily the strength of the wind resumed each time and I was hoping that we would get through the night with no more problems of light winds. The drizzling had stopped hours earlier but the sky was heavily overcast and the wind was damp and chilly.

At 7.30 PM the apparent wind dropped below 10 kts and Jeff kept steering the boat through the calm sea. However, the boom started to slam hard and I had to do something. I took the boat off the broad reach and slightly into the wind. This increased the apparent speed of the wind and allowed me to sheet the boom in tight. That worked OK but the price was that we were now heading ENE to 070T, and we were barely closing on the island. But the price was worth it because it kept the mainsail up and the boat moving. Besides, the further north we got the less the intensity of the coming gale.

Even that measure was not enough. The wind kept getting weaker and weaker yet somehow the boat managed to keep sailing. At 10 PM it was Game Over and I dropped the mainsail, rolled in the headsail, and put the boat ahull while it was raining.

While preparing my cup of chocolate I wondered to myself where this rain was coming from, and then I remembered something. It took a while but I found it in the pilot chart for the S. Atlantic for December. It shows our current position to be in the vicinity of the "subtropical convergence" band that snakes its way from S America to Africa. That would explain the cloudy and drizzly weather as well as the variable winds. That might also explain why the grib files have grossly overestimated the wind speeds for the last 2 days. The good news is that the band is not wide and TdC is well clear of it, giving me some hope that the winds and weather will be more favorable there than they are here.

I had just changed into warm and dry clothes for bed after the midnight Sailmail session when the wind came up big time. At about 15 kts it was certainly good enough to get me back into my wet weather gear and go up and set sail. The mainsail would have to wait until morning but the headsail alone was good enough to give us 5.1 kts of speed. I then engaged Jeff to do the steering and back in the cabin I went to keep an eye on things until after the Sailmail session.

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