900 Miles From Anywhere

That's exactly where we are on day 12 (or is it 13?), and barely half way to the Azores. Who would of thought the Atlantic Ocean is so big? Since we were in the gale a few days back, we haven't really had any decent winds with only one 100 mile day. This passage normally takes 17-21 days to complete, but I think we just might set a record for the slowest crossing.

The problem has been a series of high pressure regions that either materialise on top of us or move over top of us. The trick is to try to stay to the northern edge of the highs, but knowing where that exactly will be over the short term is the difficulty.

Nevertheless, the days are very pleasant and lazy. We see the occasional pod of dolphins coursing by us. We saw a sperm whale resting on the surface before going for another incredibly deep (3000 m) dive in pursuit of food - usually giant squid. We have seen other types of whale and several species of birds, jelly fish and a snake. What we haven't seen is a fish on the end of our fishing line.

Being out here gives me a good sense of what it would be like to exist in Limbo, where one's sense of time is distorted, and everything looks the same but is different. Most of my thoughts are focussed on the weather and the wind - will there be any? will there be too much? will it be blowing in the right direction? Then there is also the maintenance of the boat. Currently, I have a problem with the main sail that we just purchased from Mack Sails. It turns out that the topmost sail slide, which is made of metal, is too small and slightly misshapen, and has damaged the sail track and keeps popping out. So right now, we can't really use our full sail. I am not sure how to repair it, but I think it will be a big (which usually means expensive) job when we get to the Azores. We will see how Mack Sails addresses it.

Otherwise, life is good, me and the girls are having fun, and we are slowly heading in the right direction.

Branko