Well the seas have now built to the predicted 3.7m swell with winds of 20-30 knots and we were hit by our first squall on my night watch. Fortunately, we have been sailing very conservatively with a poled out, reefed staysail upwind and a triple reefed genoa on the boom downwind. It makes it very easy to reef quickly. We have avoided using the mainsail as trying to turn into wind in these huge seas would be incredibly unpleasant and probably dangerous.
We have just had a video-conference with the rally organiser and our fellow Vikings, catching up with all the news on the high seas. Everyone seems to have similar sailing conditions, even the fast cats that are well ahead of us. Oliver, the organiser, has agreed that we have unusually windy and rough conditions for this time of year but his spin is that this is great downwind sailing and we’ll reach Grenada in super quick time. Not fast enough for me!
It’s all sounding like a real Indiana Jones adventure but I’d call it hell!
What happened to the egret?
Our last day skiing and looks like a good one. The weather has been mixed this week with snow and low cloud yesterday. I had a terrible day on Tuesday with several spectacular falls. The resorts are empty, not actually sure where everyone is. Your home is still all intact and there are even 2 baby yukka shoots growing (I’ll send a photo). We can’t thank you enough for your kind generosity and have loved staying here.
Much love, Kris & Gary x
Hi Kris and Gary, Thanks for your message – the egret flew away. Hope it’s OK. Really delighted that you had good skiing – I so wish I’d been there with you rather than out here! Love Cate xx
Hi Guys, great photos and narrative. The conditions sound challenging but you sound like you’re dealing with it really well. Great work. You’re certainly making fast progress with headsails only. Keep the main down!
Your fantastic boat will look after you and you two are very capable.
I’ve been watching the weather every day on windy wondering what it’s like there. Trades +++ with a big swell. The nasty stuff is well north of you. You know that.
You’ll have some stories to tell and wonderful memories.
Take care and stop falling: land fall soon enough🙃.
Massive respect, Ray x