Tuesday update from Ken

Grateful Red : Trans Atlantic – Europe
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Latest reading
21 Jul 2009 05:08:08 UTC-05
Vessel speed
7.2 kts
Location
49.37 N 7.99 Wview in MapTech or Google maps
Nearest city
Brest, France (150.08 nm
7AM, Tuesday AM (Central Standard Time)

Update from Ken:

“Sailing is hours of hoping to go faster followed by spurts of pure chaos. ”

The 12 steps of sailing are:
1. elaton,
2. excitement,
3. nervousness,
4. doubt,
5. regret,
6. fear,
7. pressure,
8. panic,
9. assurance,
10. confidence,
11. acceptance
and…
12. appreciation.

In the last 48 hours we have been thru all steps. Only 48 hours age we were sailing at maybe three knots – throwing out the spinnaker for more sail area. But out of the corner of our eye were watching the pressure going down – a big-o’ high was moving in. Winds started to pick up, speed increase. Nice, but in a couple of hours winds were 15 and the sun was setting. Reef the sail for safety – take away 30{e5b62957b3804ab7f47eece8c936dd4b822dafb6efd3f6ca02827a1c1cc3266f} of the sail area for the night time sail. But no, by midnight the winds are howling at 30 plus – all hands on deck and do a second reef at night, in the rain – blackness every where.

The boat and winds are screamin’. Pretty exciting as we are tethered to the boat (attached to the boat by metal cleats with large nylon straps). Boom! a huge rogue wave covers the boat & the binimi and makes the cockpit a swimming pool. Any item in the cockpit not physically attached to the boat is gone – but the tethered-in crew is wet but still around.

Lucky for us we are above the Cadot line. ( for those of you not familiar with Wisconsin Cadot, Wis has a sign telling all visitors that Cadot is half way between the equator and the north pole or 45 degree latitude). We are now closer to the North pole then the equator – the days are long and the nights are short (in the summer anyways). By 3am one can start to see the horizon and by four the sunlight is apparent. The sun is now up and the pressure is starting to rise – winds are still 25 plus, but after darkness and 30 plus – a day in the park!