Some of you probably looked at the title in complete confusion. France? How could Kosmos be in France when they just crossed the Atlantic? France is in Europe and Kosmos is in the Caribbean! What the heck? Believe it or not, Guadeloupe is an official overseas department of France and an integral part of the French Republic. Guadeloupe is to France what Hawaii is to the USA. And, as an FYI, the correct pronunciation is Gwah-dah-loop, with no A sound at the end.
Guadeloupe is Continue reading
Day 19 – 1000 UTC location: 16°52.00’N by 056°34.00’W and 2474 nm from Las Palmas. Yesterday’s average speed was 5.8 knots.
Conditions:
Around 0130, the seas picked up even more, though the wind was still dead. It was still an OK ride, but not nearly as nice as it was. By morning, the wind had picked up to 10 knots apparent and shifted to our nose. The swells were only at 4 6 feet on our starboard beam, but they were coming from two directions, north and northeast. The wind waves were at 1 – 2 feet and choppy. The wave intervals and force had picked up, so it was definitely rougher than yesterday. Eric commented that Continue reading
Day 17 – 1000 UTC location: 17°35.00’N by 051°46.00’W and 2195 nm from Las Palmas. Yesterday’s average speed was 6.0 knots at 1600 RPM.
Conditions:
The wind was erratic today, moving from starboard to port and back again, but the gusts were so light at 5 12 knots that it didn’t matter much. Despite the fact that the wind had picked up some, the seas just continued to get better, though so gradually it was almost imperceptible. Wind waves were nothing, and the swells were 4 6 feet, gentle, lazy, and at long intervals. We are so happy we decided to pick a northern route. It paid off, after all. It was sunny, though heavy clouds moved in later in the day. The moon isn’t going to rise until after midnight, so as of this writing at 2200, it is pitch black outside.
News:
We managed to make contact with the sailboats today. They are also having “good motoring weather”. The fastest of the bunch is Continue reading
Day 15 – 0900 UTC location: 18°18.00’N by 046°47.00’W and 1907 nm from Las Palmas. Yesterday’s average speed was 6.0 knots.
Conditions:
By midnight, the wind speed had slowed down to about 15 low 20’s apparent and spun around to the port aft, which is the direction the wind was supposed to be coming from. By 1000, the wind was down to 5 10 knots from port beam and the seas had seriously calmed down. The swells were about 4 8 feet and waves about 2 6 feet. But more importantly, they were less confused, coming at less rapid intervals, and “longer and lazier” than they had been (quote from Colin). We were still Continue reading
Day 13 — 0900 UTC location: 19°01.60’N by 041°50.40’W and 1621 nm from Las Palmas. Yesterday’s average speed was 5.4 knots at 1500 RPM.
Conditions:
The seas have been slightly better today, but only slightly. They are still no fun. We are still getting 6 8 foot swells from two directions that clash with one another. The waves are still 2 3 feet. Both the swells and the waves are sharp, so these aren’t gentle rolls we are experiencing. Where it is getting better is the degree of roll. We are still experiencing the constant 5 10 degree roll both directions, but now we are seeing more 5’s and less 10’s, which really does help. We’re still getting the Continue reading