Alpaire Day 10

The Wind has been fairly constant at circa Force 4 from the East, but is forecasted to go NE and strengthen to Force 5. We are continuing to sail South West (230 degrees true) in order to have a better angle for the inevitable gybe. Our direct course is 260 degrees True and the distance is 1127. We got 164 miles closer to our destination in the period noon to noon. (Bam 158, Crackerjack 170, Taistalai/ Chris Tibbs 161). We do not have a reliable distance sailed log, but distance to go from the GPS is all that matters. Our progress yesterday did not go un-noticed. On the SSB net today we were asked by Mrs/Ms Tibbs if we were still carrying a spinnaker.

At circa 1100 miles to go we have enough fuel to get there if we had to use the engine. We have used some diesel for the generator. Occasionally we run the engine to recharge the batteries and give the generator a rest.

We have been having a problem with the readings from the smart controller which was saying that our starting battery voltage was low and that input from the generator to the service batteries was a few amps even though it was saying that those batteries were circa 80% full. As you know the charge going into the batteries decreases the fuller that they get. Normally we would expect it to charge at a few amps when the batteries are 99% full. At 80% full we would expect the rate of charge to be circa 80 amps. First we had to get an irate Drury out of bed (all in a good cause, since the batteries are underneath). We checked the actual voltage of the starter battery with a volt meter and it was 13.5 volts. That means the smart controller is not so smart. We discovered an inverse correlation between the smart controller voltage readings and the angst of a certain member of the ship's company. We don't have a fully tested method of measurement for the angst. It is similar to the Ric  hter scale and is definitely logarithmic. We intend to attach the meter to the lugs on the side of his head.

Most days we do not see any other boats. However since early morning we have been sailing parallel to Marlene F, a Colombian registered Oyster 66. We have a visual on her and can see her on the AIS. We saw her a few days ago and parted company as we headed on a more Southerly route using the assymetric. They told us they do not have a spinnaker. They do not seem to be able to sail as deep as us with our twin pole etc. At the moment our courses are converging slightly and we seem to be of similar speed. They are five miles away.

Back to fishing news. Again we have no successes to report. We lost another lure overnight. This time I think it was due to rust and being in the water for too long!

Mark writes "Charles has some tips for catching Dorado. He says do this and you will get a dorado within 1 hour at any speed, guaranteed :-).You need four or five squid skirts (aka lures) on the same line. (Or yourbit of yellow glove might work just as well). Space them out 1.5 - 2m apart, over a knot in the line and a small weight. Put the last squid skirt at the end of the line with a triple hook inside it. (The others don't need a hook). Also put a reasonable weight further up the line so it all runs a bit deeper under the surface (to avoid catching birds. Probably not a problem where you are!). He says it's guaranteed dinner."

Des and Sam jumped into action. Multiple squids and weights were deployed. Des started the stop watch. It is now 127 minutes and counting.....

I can reveal we have a number of new strategies which we are about to deploy. The first strategy is to use the alu foil from the statin packaging. Hence my hint the other day to buy big pharma, Pfizer etc. We are a bit cut off from the world here. Has there been any movement in the share price due to this price sensitive information? Our next strategy is a little more controversial. We are running out of yellow shopping bags. The majority of the crew have decided that we should use the crown on the RIYC ensign. We can probably cut it out very neatly. It is too big anyhow and serves no useful purpose. I can't remember who the last king of Ireland was.

All well here enjoying the sail.

PS. just gybed, wind 23 knots, boat speed 8.5 knots sailing 270 degrees true.