Day Three - Lightning and Warships!
- 40°32'.305N
- 62°20'.946W
- Boat speed 5.7kn (10kn most of the day)
- Heading 103°
- Wind speed 7.5 kn
- Wind direction 174°
We have more wind than the forecast! My fishing attempt ended with only seaweed, and the schools of fish last night as we crossed George's Canyon meant that I would have been better off with a net!
It's beautiful star sailing, in a comfortable temperature. I am surprised at the temperature - normally this is a very cold trip, but we are in southerly and warm water which is key!
There have been more sail changes today, with lighting behind and to leeward. If there's going to be lighting that's the best place for it. We are expecting the wind to get light again soon, so we are enjoying cruising along beside 2 - 4 military ships. One is Danish Warship F362 and the other Zeven Provincien.
Interesting to have lighting on one side and them on the other with us in the middle. Actually thank goodness they are not on the same side... we might of mistaken the lighting for guns firing!
Sailing at night brings all your senses to your game. Our ears are primed for any unusual noise from Maiden - she talks to us. We use sight, looking for lights on other boats, waves, clouds as we have isolated showers in the forecast. We also monitor the lighting. We feel the wind for its strength and temperature. I feel under my feet to make sure Maiden is happy with the sail trim and sea state.
I often get asked if we stop at night and drop the anchor. We have over 5000m depth of water at the moment - that amount of chain is certainly not possible to carry for weight and performance. We keep sailing as if was daylight, just waking up is harder and often it takes people some time to get on the same page as the boat! It would be like asking you to be woken up at 3am, and within minutes, asked to drive a motorbike down the highway at 200km/h.
So every 2 hours, we have a new watch come up and go to bed. This keeps everything running smoothly. We manage the energy, concentration and fatigue in a positive way. Everyone is learning about the sail trim, driving in the dark and using the navigation technology we have on board.
All go here on Maiden heading east and waiting for the head winds that are in the forecast... it has our permission to be wrong!
