Wed 6th April 2011
7.30am Falklands 100 ml away - just on edge of AIS screen now - soon to disappear... Dawn a short while ago. Several albatross still keeping us company.
Wind slowly veered overnight, so we're now close reaching in NW winds of just under 20 kt. Slower, now we're beating into the wind. Pressure shot up late y'day from 997 and has been steady now for quite a few hours (1006 hPa).
3pm It's turned into a rough ride in bright sunshine! (It looks like being that way for several days, with occasional brief respites.) The barometer has dropped again, from 1006 earlier to 998 now. Seas have built and are really lumpy and we're beating into a NNW wind of around 25kt - so it's pretty uncomfortable, being well-heeled and tossed around often by the waves. I suppose the good news is that the waves washing the deck constantly are doing just that - washing the dirt from the rusty Stanley FIPASS dock and the big sooty lumps from a dirty engine exhaust off the boat - no bad thing!
Had quite a busy radio session this morning. I managed to make contact with the S.African M.M. Net (Graham, ZS2ABK, is Net Control) - that will continue all the way across to Cape Town- and spoke to the 'Ernest Shackleton', on passage north to the U.K. from Stanley. Also contacted the Patagonia Net - initially speaking to Wolfgang, who runs the Net from Chile, and then to two boats I'd met in Ushuaia - 'Kilico' and 'Persimmon'. It was nice to chat briefly with people I've not seen for a time!
Distance travelled over 24hr to 1400 GMT (1100LT): 124n.ml. Will be far less tomorrow!
Having frequent naps, trying to catch up on sleep - I find it best to sleep for short periods over the day, to make up for the very broken sleep necessary overnight.
7.30pm Cooking a meal - nice to have some fresh young potatoes to add in - have had last season's on board for so long... Good to be able to warm the boat now the heater's working well - chilly without it, with a sea temperature of 8C (46F)!
Just noticed the wind might be backing a little (and possibly abating) - good news if it does, since it means I'll be able to get back on my NNE preferred course - hoping to avoid the worst of some very heavy swell from a deep Low passing S of here, as well as getting N more quickly. Pressure is down at 995 hPa and seas are still very lumpy but having reefed down even more two hours ago, we're more comfortable & less heeled, although making slow progress and still regularly washed by seas over the decks.
Just switched the wind generator back on - well over 20A going in & voltage brought right up - nice! (Had to turn it off when apparent wind was up into the 30s.)