April 27 Day 8

0900 (St Martin time)

Trip metre 4806

Distance to Horta 1868

Distance sailed in 24 hrs 78nm

Distance made good 65nm

Yesterday was a good day.  The wind settled from the SSE averaging about 8 kts.  After some pounding in the beginning the sea also settled down so I could open the hatches.  Nice sunset.

"Saw" a ship on AIS 12.5 mile away, lost signal at 17 miles.  Then saw a ship about 4 miles away that closed to within half a mile.  We had a chat on VHF.  Doing 8 knots to my 4 knots so disappeared over the horizon.  The night was very smooth sailing with the wind weakening and Nuts slowing down. Slightly more breeze since dawn.  Then another ship appeared on AIS., called Black Pearl, 105m 3 masted yacht.  Chatted to them too.  They left St Martin 2 days ago, doing 12 knots, ETA Ponta Delgada on 5th May at 1600.  Maybe they can give me lift.

Another  cooing lesson:

Fry onion

Add bully beef

Stir and fry a bit more to blend flavours and add fragrance to the ambiance of Nuts dining hall

Dig up some "fresh" potatoes from  a locker 

Sprinkle some magic hot H2O potion and stir

Then add sautéed onions and bully and garnish freshly prepared potatoes  with pseudo gravy barbecue sauce

Finish off with freshly ground black pepper and a sprinkle of salt

Must be a Gordon Ramsey special as I'm in the kitchen from hell

 April 26

Distance to Horta 1933

Distance sailed sailed 85nm

Distance made good 68nm

Yesterday was bouncy beating but on a good course.  Wind eased overnight and slept well.  I could free off sheets for the first time on this voyage in the early hours but it did not last long.  Wind suddenly changed to the NE and I had to tack.  I don't want to go further North for 2 days to avoid lightning storms forecast in that area.  Now there is a 1m swell from the North, a slightly smaller one from the SE and a wind chop from the NE added on top which makes life on a 5m boat very uncomfortable.  But Nuts is fine and behaving well.  Just wish I could rely on the weather forecast.  It is difficult to plan a route when  the forecast changes so often.  This NE wind was not forecast. I guess the squalls in the distance are messing everything up.  No ships seen for several days, not even on AIS, set on a 10 mile range.

 April 25th Day 6

Ian's cooking lesson last night:

Fry chopped onions in olive oil

Add chopped up canned pork and fry a bit more

Add 2 eggs and garnish with a bit of salt and lots of ground pepper. That was supper tonight

So there you have it, Ian as a cooking influencer.

Meanwhile, back in the real world, Ian is not making much progress towards Horta

Lots of distance travelled, not much gained to the end point

Today 0900

Log trip metre 4643

Distance to Horta 2001

Distance sailed in 24 hrs  84nm

Distance made good 70nm

Yesterday was slow progress, showers in the morning, sunny in the afternoon, clouded over at sunset.  Wind picked up at dinner time which made cooking supper a bit of a challenge.  Put 1 reef in to calm things down a bit and a bit later added the second reef trying to keep speed down a bit for comfort inside.  After midnight wind veered more to the south and at last I can head straight for Horta.  Started sailing too fast and the motion was violent inside.  Still beating hard and sea getting more choppy with cross seas.  Boat speed up to 5 knots but pounding heavily so added the third reef.  Later things started calming down a bit so I will shake out some reefs.  Seeing more weed again but the sun is out.  Coffee time!

 April 24th Day 5

Log 4459

Distance to Horta 2071 nm

Distance sailed in 24 hours 59 nm

Distance made good 22 nm

Slow sailing all day yesterday in bright sunshine (Day 4).  Played with fishing rod with hooks removed to see what was around.  Still plenty of Almaco Jacks.  Had curry and rice for supper.  First half of the night slow sailing towards SE.  About 2am it started raining and wind shifted more to SE.  I tacked and made some progress. At dawn the wind became gusty with squalls, 0 to 15 knots and NE to SE.  Mostly light now at 0830, about 5 knots.  I will be busy today changing course and trimming sails.  But first - breakfast time.

 Day 4 Videos

 Day 4 Update

0915

To Horta 2093 nm

Sailed 62 nm

Made good to Horta 29 nm in 24 hours

Sigh.  It's going to be a long trip

 April 23 Day 4

0600

Busy night with and squalls and no wind periods.  Spent 2 hours steering, tacking and doing 360s before wind settled down at dawn. I see there is a tropical wave on its way from the south and potential depression forming close to the north of me.  I have been watching this system so that's why I have been keeping south.  Coffee and YouTube fix before breakfast.  Sunny calm morning so far.