Day 9 – 0800 UTC location: 20°22.00N by 32°30.00W and 1087 nm from Las Palmas. Yesterday’s average speed was 5.8 knots at 1500 RPM.

Conditions:
Wind and seas continued to pick up through the night and by morning wind was at 12 16 knots apparent from the pot aft, swells were 5 7 feet and wind waves were 1 2 feet. Unfortunately, the swells were coming from one direction, and the waves from another, so the seas were a bit confused. It was not terrible, but it is certainly no fun, either. And it just got Continue reading →

Day 7 – 0800 UTC location: 21°12.30’N by 027°38.40’W and 808 nm from Las Palmas. Yesterday’s average speed was 5.8 knots.

Conditions:
By morning, the wind had calmed down to 6 10 knots apparent on the starboard beam. The seas followed suit, with swells at 4 feet and wind waves at 1 – 2 feet. Overall it was Continue reading →

Day 5 0800 UTC location: 23°01.90’N by 023°07.30’Wand 531 nm from Las Palmas. Yesterday our average speed was 5.9 knots at 1600 RPM.

Conditions:
The seas continued to pick up all night and by morning were back to being on the verge of “uncomfortable”. The forecast said that seas the would calm down in evening, a hope we clung to all day. But instead of getting better, it only got worse. By evening, we had sharp swells at 7 8 feet from two directions — behind us and from the port side. It doesn’t feel good when the swells collide. The wind was 10 20 knots apparent from the port aft, and wind waves were 2 3 feet. It officially hit the “uncomfortable” mark, and we were rocking and rolling. It is difficult to Continue reading →

Day 3 0800 UTC location: 25°42.20’N by 018°48.20’W. Yesterday we only averaged 5.6 knots at 1600 RPM. We are sad about our speed being down by so much.

Of course, the calm couldn’t last forever. By 0800, the seas had definitely picked up. Swells were now 4 feet and a little closer together, with 1 2 foot wind waves on top of that. Wind picked up to 12 18 knots apparent, still on the port aft quarter. It was still a nice ride overall, but noticeably lumpier and rollier than it had been. At the 0900 radio net, one of the boats told a joke. Q: What did the Atlantic say to the Pacific? Continue reading →