After a busy 30 days at Perini's La Spezia yard, to attend to a long list of details, we are underway to Antigua, and we will try to keep you
posted from time to time on our progress.
posted from time to time on our progress.
The weather forecast predicted a mistral with gusts to 60 knots on Sunday, so we left the dock at 5:30 Saturday evening and first motored and then motor-sailed towards St. Tropez in order to get a better slant when the mistral set in. We continued to motor into the teeth of the rising wind until off Marseilles, when we turned south-west and began to sail on a broad reach, mid-Sunday afternoon.
As I write, we are sailing in forty knots, with the occasional gust to fifty, with the two courses and the cro'jack set---just three sails out of 15---but we are sailing at 15 to 16 knots in building seas. Mistrals, typically, are beautifully clear, and the sunlight on the foaming crests is truly beautiful.
We hope to clear Gibraltar, where we will stop to take on fuel, before a predicted westerly storm begins mid next week. We'll attempt to sail directly to Antigua, as the Trade Winds have failed due to a low over the Azores, but we may have to sail south to find the wind.
During the 12:00 to 4;00 night watch Monday the wind built into the force twelve range gusting to 66.5 knots, and still with only our three sails we reached a speed of 24.8 knots (as measured by GPS) which is a new record for us. With hind-sight we wish that we had set our check-stays; had they been in place, I would have tried doubled our sail area and shot for maybe 30 knots. In the gusts one of our tender covers blew away, but there was no other damage. However our aft EPIRB , was triggered by a wave and sent out a false alaem. We got a call almost immediately, and assured the Authorities that all is well.
Best, Tom