Sat eve: Finally set off from Falmouth around 2.30 pm - heading south for La Coruna on our first reasonably long passage. We expect to be there Wednesday morning.
We arrived in Falmouth on Tuesday - the immediate forecast wasn't great for Biscay so we decided to spend sometime finishing off some jobs and studying for a suitable weather window to cross to Spain. I completed the Sea-me wiring - it sounds an alarm if it detects another ship's radar and makes Kika look to other ships like a small destroyer. So far we haven't been out of radar contact with other boats and have switched the alarm off, but they have all been giving us a wide berth so hopefully the radar destroyer disguise is working well.
Rebuilt the wind-vane self-steering gear with much help and advice from Helen Franklin, who provides spares for our make of wind-vane and fortuitously lives close to Falmouth. She came to the rescue twice - initially to find a workshop to fix a corroded bearing and then to find us replacement parts when I dropped a vital piece in the water while rebuilding.
Even though the wind is dying away there's still a substantial sea causing Kika to roll considerably in a nausea inducing manner.It's a beautiful night with a bright full-moon in a cloudless starry sky. Sun am: position: 48deg 48min N, 006deg25min W - 40 miles west off Ile d'Ouessant off north-west tip of France.Wind died in the night and spent 6 hours motoring in no wind.
Currently the wind has picked up from the north-west force 3 and we're steaming along at 5 knots with the wind-vane steering us.Still adapting to life at sea, managed chicken pot-roast in the pressure cooker and snatches of sleep between periods on watch to dodge the shipping. Hoping to clear the shipping lanes early tomorrow.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment