Mahina Kai – Day 4 Marion to Bermuda – Weatherman said
there’d be days like this
The Weatherman said there’d be days like this. There’d be days like this, the Weatherman
said.
Having cleared the main Gulf stream current, we are now in
the third leg of this race, the Sargasso Sea and Bermuda approach. The challenge now is to thread the needle of
ocean currents and setup a route that provides the fastest path to the finish
line outside.
At the Skipper’s briefing on Thursday, the Meteorologist described
how the winds from the receding storm on Friday would give way to high pressure
areas around Bermuda, and cause winds to lighten. He said to bring a deck of cards for the last
leg. He was right about that! In late evening yesterday, winds began to
fade, and today we find ourselves with barely four knots of wind and flat
seas. Although we see no vessels around
us, we know many other boats are experiencing the same situation.
When there is a little wind, a sailboat cuts through the
chop of the waves and rides relatively smoothly to its powerboat cousins. But, when there is no wind, a sailboat bobs
around like a cork in a bucket. When
waves move past, the boat rocks back and forth, unfilled sails rattling. It
becomes noisy, bouncy, and a difficult place to sleep!
Today on the watch, we have seen some Portuguese Man o’ War,
and Sargasso seaweed, which becomes more prevalent once we pass the gulf
stream.
Thankfully, we get a little lift in the wind around
lunchtime. We adjust our sails, make
final course adjustment to Bermuda, and we are on our way. Progress is modest, but at least we are
making forward advancement against the currents. This fades after a few hours and in the
afternoon we are again halted and bobbing.
There is a wind rally around dinnertime.
We are hopeful for some consistency in the wind, which will make for
some progress in the night.
BLT Sandwiches and chicken salad are on the menu, chicken
pot pie for dinner, Cookie of the day is: Blue whales.
#SVMahinaKai #MBR2017
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