Surrounded by marine life in the middle of the Atlantic
Position: N11 52.34 W23 58.51
Course: 216 degrees
Distance travelled: 1853.79nm from Gibraltar
Average speed: 6.4 knots
Fuel burned: 40.49 gallons
Conditions: 6′ swells ENE, apparent wind 3.9 ENE
Scott and Mary Flanders left Gibraltar on 16 September, and we’ll be following their journey every step of the way, thanks to this unique online “blog”. For the first instalment of their diary, click here
Egret has been enjoying downhill (down sea) sailing with a mild push from the wind, riding gently up and down with mild sea swells passing under. Yesterday late afternoon the flying fish were so thick when we pushed large schools into the air it sounded like rain. Never in my many years of fishing offshore have I seen it once to that degree, much less every 20 minutes or so.
Mary’s watch (2100-0100) had the moon rise full and bright. Steve’s watch (0100-0500) was dolphin watch with 1 1/2 hours of a dolphin escort, Scott’s watch (0500-0900) saw the moon set and sunrise.
As Egret nears the equator the air temperature is rising. In the afternoon it was 92 degrees in the pilot house. The fuel bladder on the foredeck is keeping the hatches closed. Tomorrow we will empty it. Today we do laundry and make water while the generator exhaust is well above water and it is relatively calm.
Our crew buddy Steve is melting. His new best friend is the ice maker. He has kept it running 24-7. What is going to happen in 11.48 degrees? The Big E, baby. We may have to troll Steve to keep him cool. Oh well….
Yesterday I was asked by a good friend via e-mail “what is a bounce”? A bounce is simply an Egretism for rough water. Major bounce is described with details. Egret has never been in what we consider a major bounce. The next few months lend themselves to that possibility. We’ll see……
