26th January 2025: Day 10

The saga continues, the winds and swell have not abated, and now, it seems, we are in squall alley.  Over the past six hours we have had as many squalls.  They approach from the east behind us, the clouds darken and streaks of rain lash the sea, the wind becomes lighter and changes direction, and then they hit with winds of 35 knots and torrential rain creating a dense mist over the water.  From here on this will be fairly standard as we approach the Caribbean.  A professional sailor who is helping a friend on one of the other boats does several Atlantic crossings each year, often on racing yachts.  He said that this is the roughest east to west crossing he has ever done.  Oh joy!

Meanwhile, I’ve learnt a new weather term – C.A.P.E. – which is the amount of energy in Joules per kilogram in the atmosphere.  When it is high it signifies instability in the atmosphere with increased risk of thunderstorms.  Needless to say the CAPE is rising as we approach the tropics and, we are told, the squalls are likely to get stronger too.  We do feel rather unlucky that we chose this year to do the crossing.

Still, I managed to produce a lovely brunch of crispy pancetta with scrambled eggs (no need to beat them) and we have a French tagine for supper tonight.