Crossing the Atlantic Ocean (Day 10)

I think that we can safely say that the first 6 hours of 2 Jan were 'interesting'! At the midnight watch changeover, we gybed back onto port tack and for the first time in several days Reg had the joy of actually being able to sail our planned track. For most of the passage we have been sailing about 30 degrees either left or right of our planned track as, had we been sailing directly down it the wind would have been perfectly behind us. If BV were picked up on a swell and turned a bit too far the wrong way, that could result in an unintentional gybe. Whilst we have a preventer rigged to stop the boom whizzing across the boat in such a circumstance, actually using the preventer to stop the boom puts quite a lot of strain on the rig, so we aim to sail about 30 degrees off the wind to give some leeway for lurching. However, in the very early hours of 2 Jan, the wind was from the SE so we could safely sail our intended track of about 280. Hooray!

Ominously dark rain clouds approaching    

So much for early celebrations. At about 0300 local time, most of the wind vanished and a horrible choppy sea set up. The sails crashed around and it sounded as if the rig would rip itself out of the boat. There was nothing for it but to honour what little wind there was and so we set off due south. And then the big black rain cells appeared. Not one but 3 at once, all apparently homing in on BV. By this time it was easier to hand steer rather than run either Georgina or the auto-pilot as the wind was shifting all around the place as the up and down draughts from the various cells vied for supremacy. We wove our way around the worst of the really black bits, with the wind literally going from blowing 8 knots from the E to blowing 15 knots from the W in under 10 secs at one point. At that stage moving along under engine seemed the most sensible option and so it proved as the wind dropped away to nothing and then the rain started. Torrential rain. Even on the outer edges of the big, black cloud (looking even bigger and blacker than it probably was as it was still night). But, viewing things with a positive spin, at least the rig got a bit of a wash! As dawn broke more big rain showers were in evidence all around.

BV getting a much needed wash from the heavy rain    

We spent 9 hours under power in the end but eventually the wind filled in enough to sail again. By this stage I had lowered the mainsail to stop it banging around in the swell so we moseyed along gently under genoa alone until Reg awoke from his off-watch period and we could work together to get the main up again. So, as I write, we are back up to speed (6.5 knots) with a double reefed main and full genoa. Hopefully tonight won't be anything like as 'interesting' as last night!

Reg's bit: Before we set off, I had envisaged that sleeping would be more difficult in stronger winds but with pressure on the sails and BV bustling along it's surprisingly quiet down below and with everything feeling right it is easy to sleep well off watch. Light winds it turns out are much more of a problem. With the mainsail whipping because of the swell and the whole rig shuddering and crashing as the sail flaps and then fills it's almost impossible to sleep. At the forefront of our minds was that at least 12 yachts aborted the ARC this year and returned to the Canary Islands. Of those at least 3 that we know of had lost their masts. We definitely don't want to be an additional '2017/18 mast lost overboard' statistic and so Nicky's plan of dropping the mainsail and going a bit slower under just genoa but without the rig crashing around was definitely the right thing to do. Now at the end of this 24-hour period we seem to be well clear of the trough and its rain showers. BV has both sails up again, we've got a steady 18-20 knot wind and we are track progressing well; back to everything feeling as it should on board and hopefully sound sleep for whoever is off watch.

Position at 0001 Wed 3 Jan: N15 00 W048 15
Distance run 1159 - 1159 local time: 138 nm
Distance run 2359 - 2359 local time: 139 nm 
Distance run so far: 1409 nm
Distance to waypoint (just N of Barbados): 669 nm

End of Day 10 position