Aboard Dignity (Lagoon 420) Blog

Too little wind is almost as bad as too much wind. Today we had too little. With not enough wind to glide us over the waves and hold the main sail steady, the boat bobbed uncomfortably side to side on the waves, the main sail and boom banged and flapped around.
We may have averaged about two to three knots. Not good at all.
Steve got so desperate he pulled out our torn code zero and started sewing it up. Hoping to mend it enough so that we could use it in the light wind. We watched him struggle with yards and yards and yards of light weight frayed sail. After hours of sewing and barely making a dent in the tear, he gave up.
Yesterday was the best day. Today is the worse.

490nm to go. That says it all. Although our path through the water was a little longer we’re only 86nm closer to our destination than 24 hours ago. We were hoping for boat speeds over 5 knots. We ended up hoping for 3 by end of day. The winds ended up very light. What little swell we had would send the sail flapping as they had so little pressure on them. It was quite annoying. Another day of hoping each new puff of wind, each small increase in the swell, each surge of the wind gen (or, towards the end, the fact that it would turn) would be the resumtion of decent winds.

In my exasperation I took out the shredded Code Zero and selected a damaged section to sew up to see what it would take. After several hours of stitching I assessed my position. It looked hopeless. I could have willingly sat there for two days sewing if I felt I could have ended up with a working sail. But the way the top of the sail had torn through the reinforced material close to the ring I felt I could never make that part strong enough using the skills I have. So this effort was abandoned despite my dislike for quitting a task.

We used the continued lull for another wash. Helen seems quite happy for these conditions to continue albeit perhaps with boat speeds nearer the previous day. I’m less than happy and John less than me. In his case his days aboard the boat are dwindling and each day at sea is one less for him to add something different to this unique experience. For Helen and I we have this year and the next to enjoy the South Pacific so the odd day here and there doesn’t mean much against the big picture.

We’re now needing an average of 6 knots for the rest of the trip to make it during daylight on the 2nd of May. With the privelege of actually being in day 18 I can say that in the last few minutes the wind has just picked up and we’re now doing just over 5 knots – what we needed yesterday. There is hope yet if this upward trend continues and, more importantly, doesn’t disappear. Otherwise we’ll have to settle on the 3rd. Originally, planning for the odd day at standstill, I set a pessimistic expectation of 24 days for the crossing. If we arrive on the 3rd then it will be only 21 despite our poor days so it’s not as bad as our worst case but that doesn’t make me feel that much better.

576nm to go.

Light winds have dominated our existence for the last 24 hours or so. We’re really regretting the loss of our downwind sail as we’re doing a knot or two less than we could be. We joked about stitching it up which may not end up being a joke of the winds get any lighter than they are right now. Having abandoned all hope of May 1st arrival, May 2nd is now looking in doubt. If we can average 5.2 knots for the next 4.5 days we’ll do it but we’re not coming close to that right now. Our trip average is well above that, including the two slow days at the beginning, but the winds are not on our side and nor is the forecast.

Every wind shift and every change in tone of the wind generator is accompanied with the hope of increased winds. Sometimes we find ourselves moving again back at 6-7 knots but it doesn’t last.

The calmer conditions did have some upside. We did a wash which pleased Helen more than anyone but we’ve all benefited. I was able to fix a new end to my USB -> Zune cable which had got a little dodgy. This is particilarly important as I’ve discovered it now has a Soduku game on it which I’m sure wasn’t there when I first owned the unit.