2002

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Ocean Planet Report
Ocean Planet Around Alone Log
Tuesday, Sep. 24, 2002
11:30 GMT
Pos: 47 46N, 24 52W,
Wind 30-40kts from ESE.
Course 155-165 mag, at 6-8kts

You may have heard this from other boats in the fleet, but this is not what you would call idyllic yachting. With the wind waves from the current wind going against the swells from several days of northwesterly’s, the ride is, well, hideous. Ocean Planet is better that most in this muck, but without the main (which would be triple reefed) the going is slow.

Actually, I was going quite fast for a while by using the repaired working jib, but it is just too much wind to risk blowing it up. Then if we get moderate winds between here and England I would be helpless. So the staysail is up now, which is a tad too small for the wind but safe. We’re going slow, but we’re going.

Getting the working jib properly rolled up required turning downwind for a good 10/15 minutes, eating up hours of windward work, instantly. But it looks like a good roll so I can leave it up without it opening up in the wind which would be a destruction derby in short order.

It’s dark now, which is nice in that the seas are less intimidating when you can’t see them!

Talk to you more tomorrow,
Bruce