Good Run
Where Next?
Bob Williams
Sat 9 Aug 2008 16:33
Course: South southeast Speed: 5.5 knots
Wind: North, moderate breeze
Weather: Overcast
Daily run: 129 miles
We posted another satisfying day's run today, and over the next 24 hours I am hoping for a similar run, perhaps a little less, then after that we will probably experience some lighter winds and slower progress. We're not quite abeam of Kap Farvel, but getting close, and now that we are clearing the confines of Davis Strait we are starting to feel the ocean once more, Sylph taking on a periodic roll as each passing swell lifts her stern, the wind vane assuming a synchronous motion as it compensates the swell induced yaw, tirelessly keeping us on course.
I was having a good look around last night as it was getting dark and . double drat, another iceberg, I was hoping I had left them behind. Initially I thought it might have been a sail from its tall triangular shape but a quick trip a little ways up the mast with a pair of binoculars soon revealed its more massive bulk hiding just below the deck level horizon. Looking at the chart I figured this one must be taking a short cut to Labrador via the West Greenland Current. I resigned myself to another sleepless night. In fact the following wind and seas and relatively low humidity allowed me to drag my sleeping bag out into the cockpit where I dozed in between bobbing my head up over the rail. I am not sure whether it improved my chances of seeing an iceberg, maybe I hoped I would sense it through other means, hear waves breaking or feel the cold air flowing down its sides. Seeing as if we were going to run into one it would be down wind of us, the likelihood of detecting an iceberg via either of these means in time to take avoiding action was probably approaching zero, but it helped me feel like I was doing something to lessen the risk. I contemplated reducing sail to slow us down but just couldn't bring myself to wasting such a great following breeze. Anyway, we're still here.
Bob Cat:
Skipper Bob has started his yo-yo antics again but later he disappeared for much of the night - the world is resuming some normalcy, it is regularly getting dark again. He left me the sea rug so I was quite warm without him and got another solid night's work in. Feeling quietly confident about the Bookstore job.