Well the wind got the better of us, not once, but twice yesterday – and both times without prior warning.
On our sunrise shift, a 27kt gust hit the parasail hard and, due to the heavy swell as the boat went down a wave, the autopilot dropped out, which resulted in everyone being up on deck very quickly to rescue to sail and steer the boat back on course.
Ferg did a grand job of getting the parasail down in the gusty winds – which was challenging and needed a good deal of strength – although he sustained a mild rope burn to his left hand when the sail decided it still wanted to play with the wind some more. Next time, he’ll remember to put sailing gloves on before taking the sail down!
While typing this blog, I looked up and clocked a ‘grumpy looking cloud’ behind the boat. Nothing showed up on the radar as it being anything untoward, however, when it made an appearance, it did so with aplomb and gave us g usty winds of 25 – 32kts.
The parasail, which had been put back out, thought this was great fun, the Skipper and crew did not. The boat raced along in speeds over double digits, clocking 15.6kts under sail at one point (the average speed is normally just under half that).
We spent 10 minutes trying to outrun the grumpy wind cloud, otherwise known as the leading edge of a front, but it was clearly enjoying itself way too much and the waves, which have been up to three-metres, were also enjoying a game of kiss chase with the aft of the boat.
After a little more drama from the autopilot – who threw its toys at of the pram once more in the heavy seas – we were able to get the big parasail down by blanketing part of it with the genoa (a smaller sail) and bring the parasail and boat speed down – putting an end to the wind’s antics. Fortunately no damage was done to the sail or crew this time.
Needless to say, it’s not just squall clouds we’re looking out for now – it’s the grumpy ones that are masquerading their intentions!
Total miles sailed in 24 hours: 167
Total miles to go to Fernando de Noronha: 1442
Date: Sunday 5th March 2023
Photo: Of a grumpy cloud at sunrise Monday morning!
© Two Drifters Travel
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