Richard Hewson

> Half way to Bequae!
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> Today we reach the half way point in distance between Mindelo and Bequae. We have had a good run over the past week, making 1100nm in seven days, averaging 160nm per day at 6.5kts >
> A few stats for our voyage so far:
> Distance sailed: 1098nm
> Distance motored: 2nm
> Sail changes; 1
> Gybes: 6
> Tacks: 0
> Max wind: 28kts
> Min wind: 8kts (in lee of Cp Verde)
> Max temp: 29*
> Min temp: 25*
> Yachts seen: 3
> Fishing boats seen: 6
> Aeroplanes seen: 10
> Diesel Consumed (battery charging): 42L
> Bags of rubbish: 1 (still not full)
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> Looking at the stats we are surprised how little plastic we have consumed on our voyage. Most of our stores were bought in bulk and transferred into smaller reusable Tupperware containers or jars as required. All fruit and veg was purchased from the market without plastic wrapping. Food waste has been tossed into the ocean for fish to eat. Cans unfortunately must remain onboard as many have a plastic lining on the inside (of course!!!) taking up much of the waste. Jars are re used. Bread, muffins and treats etc has been baked. We have not been buying. >
> It would have been nice to not use as much diesel on the voyage, however our solar is not working as well as we hoped. We have managed to bring our engine running for battery charging down to two hours per day by reducing the freezer temperature to -10* instead of -18*. This is a trial and we will need to check the temperature of the food in a few days to ensure the temperature is consistent to the bottom of the freezer. >
> Kids have been busy being kids. Making cubby houses and playing games around the boat. It is fantastic to see how well their imagination works even in the middle of the ocean where some kids would suggest there is nothing left to do. Leggo gets a lot of use too, and some days we find a small village in every part of the boat. Thankfully not much Lego ends up on the floor so our feet are still in tact! We never hear the kids say “I’m bored” as there is always something to do. >
> With the wind and forecasted wind becoming lighter, this morning we changed our headsail from the Yankee to the 110% Genoa. We have started to see a long swell from the NNE identifying a distant low pressure system, but this will be too far away to give us any strong wind. Last night we saw a few squalls pass by us indicating a change in the conditions from what we have been experiencing over the past week. >
> We see a lot of light brown weed running in line with the wind and current. The weed gets caught around the Aires wind vane occasionally and needs to be pulled off with the new gaff. We wonder where the weed comes from, perhaps it is plucked from the bottom by a giant squid or some bottom dwelling fish as its too fresh to have drifted all the way from land. I will research this when we next have Internet and would be interested if anybody has an answer (if so please email Lyn with answer so she can forward it on hewsonlj@gmail.com) >
> The weather for the second half of our voyage shows light winds for the final 700nm due to a low pressure trough passing between us and the Caribbean. At first we thought we could sail south of the trough, but over the past few days the forecast trough has been getting bigger. So we will most likely complete the voyage under motor. We can only receive GRIB’s for 7 days through our system, so there is a slim chance the weather forecast will improve with time. On a positive note, we motor at 5kts which is perfect for fishing so we hope to arrive in the Caribbean with a freezer full of Mahi and Tuna. >
> Check out our position at http://cms.winlink.org:444/maps/positionreports.aspx?callsign=vk7hew >
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