Today, the conversations were mainly about food and weather.
By MC
Today, the conversations were mainly about food and weather.
We are running out of fresh food with only 1 1/2 cabbages, oranges, 1 onion (slight under provision there) and tons of garlic left. Surprisingly they couldn’t find potatoes in Dakar otherwise they would have been expected on that list. This is quite normal at this stage of the trip but of course the menues have to be changed accordingly and there was a lot of chitchat about that. We also have freeze dried food which we tried last night and it was quite nice. And we have some frozen food like chicken and vegetables.
The longest leg the crew had done in the last few months was 12 days so it is a bit of a change to adapt to. Then our luck with the weather is expected to change after tomorrow. First the wind will become very light as we head towards a ridge of high pressure and we could be motoring for a couple of days. So, we have started a job list of things to do while there is no wind, like doing a rig check, lift and clean the speed transducer as the log is not working properly and the speed is under reading. Take some photos and measurements for the riggers prior to the mast coming out in CT etc… (see picture of the list on the white board, attached).
Showers and laundry are also planned during the motoring days. Then we need to prepare ourselves to be hit with strong headwinds.
The decision I had to make yesterday was to sail south fast and reach the low pressure sooner or take a slower more easterly course and have lighter air for longer. I took the lighter air option. And when we received our weather routing this afternoon, the waypoints they have given us are in agreement with my decision. Pfew! The worst was the stress of waiting. We should have received the routing at lunchtime and it didn’t come until 3...
At the moment we are enjoying the beautiful sailing conditions we have while they last. Hopefully the bad weather won’t be for too long but I have now idea for how long it is going to be at this stage. It is forecasted to hit us on Tuesday so things could change until then 🤞.
