the days of picture postcard sailing are definitely over.
....how fast things change from "wonderful" to "what the f..k"
ever since that squall yesterday morning it has been raining on and off - but mostly on.
the wind settled in the mid to high 20's from the east and the sea is now an amazing and short 5-6m wave - the odd ones higher.
during the night we even had a couple of hours with constant 35kn.
we are goose winging again with heavily reefed sails and sometimes ride those waves with more than 12kn.
a fast progress westwards, but also a very exhausting one.
we expect this kind of weather to stay for another couple of days....:(
the wet weather gear got so drenched - we got wet right through, the movement of the boat is quite heavy and the noise of the waves crashing around is scary when it is pitch black around you.
the bruise collection got some remarkable new entries and there is not one muscle left in our bodies that does not show us it's presence.
maloo is doing her best and going through it without showing any signs of wear (knock on wood!!!!) - we try to give helmi, the autopilot some well deserved breaks every now and then, but hand steering is quite an exercise in these conditions.
....why am i'm doing this again?
I wish you all the best - I can imagine, how exhausting your turn sometimes is. In the end you will be proud of having mastered this expierience!
ReplyDeleteThe Lady of Shalott has already some buds though the weather changes from warm to cold and warm.
Best regards from fraunberg 2