End of Day 6 Beaufort NC USA towards Guernsey

This Blog entry is an edited version of the message we sent back whilst we were on the passage.  The original, without pictures, was sent by radio with a laptop that controls a modem connected to the HF/SSB radio.  With that set up we can contact one of the SailMail stations to send the daily text message to my daughter Charlotte in Guernsey who then forwards it on to a list of family members.

2359hrs (EDT, GMT -4) Wed 3 Jun 2020

Dear All,

Well we got to latitude N35 at 0400hrs this morning so were looking to turn a little more to the east but half an hour later there was a more significant change of plan.  Nicky had fired up the SSB radio and checked for messages and found we had received the latest long-range forecast and route plan from Chris Parker. 

"Everything looks fine in the short term,... There is much more wind north of you and lighter wind south of you...but wind decreases throughout the region beginning Wed3 night,...[but] After Wed3 you have an important decision to make."

So in the short term Chris was reporting the same conditions we had seen on our GRiB files.  But what was this "important decision"?  Well, a nasty trough is going to form on the SE USA coast and move ENE up the Gulf Stream 4-6 Jun and then develop into a low pressure system at the weekend about 300nm northeast of where we were at midday today.

Significantly this low pressure system, Chris says, "supports a nasty trough or front (wind to 50k) generally south of the low in waters north of 30N.  The question is: will you be able to stay east of the front until it weakens? You might need to get east of 45W by Wed10, but the consequences of you not being able to do that (or the front being faster) is you get caught by storm force winds along the front".

"...[You will need to sail] 1000 miles in 8 days, or 125mi/day.  This seems doable.  The alternative (here's the decision) is to get south of 30N, but that's a long way south, with less good wind for sailing, and, as long as you're pretty sure you can maintain speed, moving ENE-E quickly is the better option".

Well, we've worked hard to get this far north so that we can sail rather than motor, so the idea of motor sailing back down to 30N does not appeal.  Plus, we'd rather keep our fuel in reserve for when we need to move but can't sail. So we've gone for the sail-as-fast-as-you-can-ENE plan.

Chris continued, "In the short term, ... aim for 38N / 55W ... and aim to reach this point on Fri5 afternoon or evening.  If wind is too light ...motorsail to maintain speed".

He went on to describe how after Sun 7 Jun the wind starts to build rapidly from the south so we should sail ESE over the weekend.  The reason for going ENE then ESE is to maintain good sailing speeds and to go around a high pressure area with light winds which is developing south and east of us.

We have not used a weather routing service before but chose to on this passage because of how different the weather patterns are this year and how complex the weather in the North Atlantic can be at the best of times.  Based upon the guidance we have received so far from Chris Parker, and particularly the routing described above to keep clear of the nasty weather front, we think that it has been money well spent.

The 2 tankers passing close and BV nicely clear of the melee after gybing (sharp heading change shown on our blue ‘snail trail’.  Given the vast spaces of the North Atlantic, it seems incredible that 2 large tankers, that can see each other 20-30nm out using AIS should get this close.  In fact, they were so close that the stand-on ship’s watchkeeper called the other and asked that they alter course and ensure that they kept their ship 1nm (yes, just 1nm!) clear

Nicky set course for the suggested waypoint immediately and we had a discussion about the routing and the plan as we handed over the watch to confirm we both agreed that it was the better course of action for us.  The only issue for me taking over the watch was that the heading put us in conflict with a tanker that was overtaking us on our port side.  Georgina was steering a wiggly course because of the waves and the wind backing so I spent most of my watch hand steering.  However, despite my steering, it looked like we had 2 tankers and BV all converging on one spot and on port gybe I couldn't turn any further to starboard to avoid the melee.  So I gybed BV onto starboard gybe, a job that takes about 20 minutes to do on your own and then a further 5 minutes just tidying up all of the miles of sheets and control lines that get scattered around the cockpit during the manoeuvre.  I was still doing that when Nicky woke up so she made breakfast for us even though it was my turn to do that.

Nicky at the helm, surfing down the waves

So, sailing fast towards the new waypoint has been the name of the game today.  We had a good 20-25knot wind from behind us and the waves were also providing push from directly behind rather than on our quarter.  

BV revelled in it, surfing down the waves with spray flying.  Our max speed surfing down the waves has been 13.9 knots; exciting but very brief.  The more important stat is that we have averaged well over 7kts over the ground since Chris' email arrived so we are making excellent progress to hit his suggested waypoint on time. 

Love to all,

Reg and Nicky

Passage statistics:

Position at midday 03 Jun: N35 27 W062 12

Position at midnight 03 Jun: N36 06 W060 34

Midday to midday distance through water: 178 nautical miles (average 7.4 knots).

Midday to midday GPS distance towards destination: 157 nautical miles

Midnight to midnight distance through water: 181 nautical miles (average 7.5 knots)

Midnight to midnight GPS distance towards destination: 169 nautical miles

Total miles covered through water: 943 nautical miles

Approximate distance to go (GPS route to Guernsey): 2785 nautical miles

End of Day 6 Beaufort, North Carolina, USA towards Guernsey