Thursday 28th October
What a contrast!
Rough seas and winds, getting up to 30 knots on occasion, all night long ... a bumpy ride! And then suddenly, mid-morning, pressure rose, winds were from the SSW rather than SSE-SE & we were into very light winds and struggling to make speeds over 2-3 knots, changing tack with the fickle wind direction to get best advantage and avoid being forced north...... But oh so slow, even with all reefs shaken out and full canvas... but quite a lot of sunshine and blue skies in between clouds.
Great excitement at one point - winds increased rapidly and veered, only to turn into a typical 'cloud effect' - heavy rain came & went,.. wind died ... and died ... as a dark grey cloud moved away - and we ended up, yet again, wallowing around! Kept light winds all day, with the occasional shower for excitement, and on into the evening...
Forecast is to continue light on Friday, with a very stormy weekend - a DEEP Low headed this way and a deep trough tagged on - so two 'hits' on their way: on Saturday and on Sunday... Can't be avoided since the system is so extensive... Maybe the forecast will turn out wrong - that wouldn't be a first!! But if right, there's some big swell coming on Sunday/Monday.
Amazing how gusts always come after reefs have just been shaken out.
Decided I must eat better, since important to keep up energy levels, so had a 'proper' meal tonight - but the lazy way - a pre-cooked meal in a vacuum-packed foil pouch - delicious meat, potatoes and gravy with the last of some fresh broccoli I added in. Followed by dessert of dried cherries and prunes - added in a Mars bar for good measure - totally decadent!!
Will have to tack around soon, to avoid going too far west, towards the centre of the forecast storms. Wind is SSW 10 knots just now and we're due west of Grays Hbr, about 100 miles off, so a fair amount of sea-room, although I prefer to stay outside the continental shelf until past Oregon..