Distance sailed today: 20 NM
Total distance sailed: 117 NM
Midnight GPS position: N 27.19 W019.09
Wind: NE Wind Force 4-5
Sea state: Calm to slight
Generator hours: 8.3hr
“There are two flappy things on a yacht – one at the front, one in the middle. The front flappy thing is called the genoa, the big flappy thing in the middle is called the main sail.” Skipper Steve Dewhurst on sailboat terminology.
The first half of today’s sailing wasn’t. Leaving Puerto de la Estacia we had a tail wind, but Steve kept the sails down until we cleared the island of Hiero. Acceleration zones are aplenty in this area – areas of very strong winds funneled through gaps in islands that can flip a yacht quicker than you can get the sails down. Or, in our case, since we are in a very stable catamaran, we could lose out mast in a very strong gust, rather than be flipped.
Once clear of the southeast tip of Hiero, we had smooth clam waters for a few hours until we got well away from the island. Once clear, we put up the main sail and genoa – full sail – and enjoyed some of the first real sailing of the trip so far.
And the sun even gave us an OK sort of sunset.
