So far, so good and Pandora has made it to the half way point of our 1,800nm run to Horta.
Since departing from Bermuda, we have been doing very well with daily runs of just under 180 miles, at an average speed of 7.5 kts. That is quite respectable but the second half is likely to be a LOT slower.
The crew is getting along well and meal planning seems to be acceptable with a decent, I think, variety. How many ways can you eat pasta?
Some live-to-eat and others, eat-to-live. Fortunately, the crew of Pandora are in the latter camp which simplifies meal planning, a lot.
There is not a lot to see out here except water but several times today we were treated to a show by some curious dolphins. They arrived in a rush, danced around the bow, and were gone just as quickly as they arrived.
It is remarkably difficult to get a shot of them despite their constant antics.
A few shots, if a bit blurry…
Jason and Ted were also trying their best to get a good photo.
We have also seen loads of Portuguese Man-O-War jellyfish.
Earlier today we had to pull down the mainsail as the line that tensions the leech, the aft end of the sail, had chafed through. Without this line in place, we could not put tension on the leech and the aft end of the sail was fluttering badly. In the grand scheme of things, it is a minor issue, but the constant fluttering of the fabric would have weakened it badly.
We were able to prepare a temporary fix but the sail will need servicing in Horta. Oh Well…
At night we split watches with the first beginning when it gets dark, until 22:00. The second watch from 22:00 to 03:00 and then I take over until the crew wakes up, generally between 07:00 and 08:00. During the day, nothing formal is needed as someone is always in the cockpit.
For sleeping, I have modified the aft cabin with a board in the middle to allow for comfortable sea berths. It is a bit tight, but is working out well.
As I write this, Thursday morning, we continue to head ENE to a waypoint of about 41N, which will put us far enough north to catch better wind and yet not so far north to make for a lot of extra miles or run into gales.
Horta is located at 38N so we are heading a bit north of that and then will turn to the East and then back down toward Horta to take advantage of a better wind angle. I hope that this strategy will pay off.
From the beginning of the run Chris has focused on the importance of being in what I will call the “Goldilocks zone” where we are far enough north to catch favorable winds and yet not too far north to add extra miles to the passage or put us in winds that are too strong.
As of this morning, Chris has become more specific about the best strategy depending on where each of the boats in the fleet is located and given the large windless zone between us and Horta, where each boat lies is particularly important.
Some of the boats left the afternoon before we did and a few others after us. So, now that we are into our 5th day from Bermuda the “best” place to be is becoming clearer and, as luck would have it, that is pretty much where Pandora is. Lucky us…
Because we decided to delay our departure from Bermuda by 12 hours to let a band of squalls clear out, we seem to have the good fortune of finding ourselves in the “sweet spot” for catching the best wind.
If things play out as expected, Chris believes that we may only have to motor for the last 24 hours of the trip and will have sailed almost the entire 2,000 miles. Well, we will see about that…
In past years I have motored for as much as 130 hours to make the 1,500-mile run from Hampton, VA to Antigua, the prospect of only 24 hours of motoring on a 2,000-mile-long passage sounds unbelievably lucky.
Had we been even 100 miles farther north, or south, of our current position we would not be as well positioned to catch the best conditions and our motoring time would likely be at least several days, a big difference for sure.
Who knows when we will arrive in Horta, but for planning purposes, I am estimating somewhere between June 11th or 12th, for a passage time of under two weeks. That would be amazing as I was expecting the run to be somewhere between 14 and 17 days.
Of course, it is hard to say exactly what will happen, but for now, based on what Chris has suggested, that is my best guess.
As of now, both the Euro and US weather models are in pretty good agreement so that suggests that conditions will play out as Chris is suggesting.
Are we in the right place at the right time, what I will call the Goldilocks zone?
Time will tell.
It always does.
Editor: You can see where Pandora and the others in the Salty Dawg Rally fleet are in real time, at the Salty Dawg Azores Rally Map.
If you want to see where Pandora is alone, check out “where in the world is Pandora” at the top of the page or click on this link.
And, as always, you can register to receive a notice when I post, Which I do regularly, at the top of this page.