End of Day 5 - Beaufort NC towards Antigua

These Blog entries are edited versions of the messages we sent back as we completed the passage. They were sent by radio using a laptop that controls a modem and the HF/SSB radio, using the SailMail system. We sent the messages daily to Charlotte and she then forwarded them on to a list of family members.

2359hrs (AST, 4 hrs behind GMT) 3 Dec 2018

Dear All,

In a near continuation of the previous few days' sailing, we have spent most of the last 24hrs fractionally off close-hauled on starboard tack, sailing a little bit free of hard on the wind. We can't quite lay a direct course to Antigua but tomorrow the wind should veer enough for us to be able to do so should we wish. However, instead of doing that we will continue as we are, aiming for a spot about 400 miles north of the island. At that point we will be at the northern side of the easterly trade winds (though there may be an area of calm between us and them) and from that position we will turn south to put those strong winds on the beam.  That's a fast point of sail and will be much more comfortable in the long run than going direct now and then having to be hard on the wind in those strong winds for the last couple of hundred miles.  It also means that should the trades veer to the southeast (unlikely at this time of year but not unheard of), we will actually be able to lay a direct course all the way to Antigua, rather than having to tack back and forth to get there.  Of course, it does mean a longer distance to sail compared to going direct (assuming that the trade winds stay easterly) but we think that it gives us the best chance of getting to Antigua comfortably and not being pushed too far west by the trade winds and the west-going Caribbean current and, possibly, not being able to make our destination.

We tied the pressure cooker down onto the hob to make sure that it didn’t fall off and the oven door is tied shut with another piece of line.  You can also see Nicky’s shock cord addition between the cooker and the crash bar to damp down the motion of the cooker; it works very well

The sea has settled down today with longer gaps between waves which has made life much easier on board. The motion has been much more predictable so clambering around has been easier.  We therefore took the opportunity to cook. I made a pork stroganoff during my watch and Nicky conjured up a Spanish fish dish to use up a lot of the dorado we had caught.  These should keep us going for the next few days, quite possibly until we make landfall, assuming we can fit it all in the fridge!

We have also (big excitement of the day) crossed a time line.  At 67 degrees and 30 minutes west we moved into the Atlantic Standard Time zone (AST), one hour closer to GMT.  So, we each had 30 minutes less off watch and advanced all the clocks by an hour. Except that we forgot to do the In Reach, only realising the error after tonight's message had been sent.  Ho hum, one clock always gets forgotten but it's done now and at least it's a lot easier to adjust than the clock in our car!

The disappointment for the day was that the water from our watermaker didn't pass Nicky's taste test.  It's ever so slightly salty so we haven't topped up the tanks today.  In the worst case we are limited to the water that we have in the tanks plus the emergency water that we have in jerry cans, which is about twice what we need for the anticipated 5-6 days we have left on board.  That's without actively working to save water, and certainly there will be no need for rationing drinking water, but it will mean that showers are a no-go until we're a lot closer to landfall.  (Out of interest, additional water conservation measures we could take include: washing up in sea water and using a fresh water spray to rinse, steaming veg over sea water, using the lightly salted watermaker water for cooking, taking salt water showers using the deck wash, drinking beer!) However, tomorrow we will dig out some special chemical cartridges and give the watermaker membranes a really good clean.  It will take about 3 hours to do and will use up about 30 litres of our precious fresh water but we think it's worth using that water to try to get the watermaker back on form – after all showers are far preferable to sponge washes, though drinking more beer might not be so bad!

It’s all black out there before the moon rises [Ed: and the moon is rising later and getting smaller every day]. It’s quite a sensation rushing along but seeing absolutely nothing except a little bit of wake

And that's about all there is to report. The miles are ticking down slowly, the sea temperature is now up at 25 degrees Celsius and we are now wearing shorts and T-shirts during the day.

Love to all,

Reg and Nicky

Passage statistics:

Position at midday 3 Dec: N29 44 W67 48
Position at midnight 3 Dec: N28 58 W66 50
Midday to midday distance: 143 nautical miles
Midnight to midnight distance: 147 nautical miles (NB only 23 hours due to clock change)
Total miles covered: 655 nautical miles
Approximate distance to go (direct line): 762 nautical miles

End of Day 5 Beaufort in North Carolina to Antigua