Drake Passage
Changeable winds, wearing ship twice and sail replacements. A massive amount of between 950 to 1500 million cubic meters per second flow eastwards on the oceanographic current that stretches for more than 20.000 kilometres around the whole Antarctic continent, driven by some of the strongest winds on earth. This circulation finds the narrowest gap on its way through the Drake Passage, flowing from the Pacific to the Atlantic Oceans. The Antarctic Circumpolar Current is the most voluminous in the world and adds to the difficulties of sailing across the 500nm wide Drake Passage.
Inside this flow we also find the interphase between the cold waters from the south and the warmer subantarctic ones, the so-called Polar Front or Convergence Area, a boundary between water masses that we approach during the day, with dropping surface water temperatures.
Around the Antarctic Continent both weather systems and Ocean flows circulate undisturbed by any landmass. One Low Pressure System follows another one along this oceanic highway. They drive the ocean, and they grow swells that travel and get larger along the many miles ahead.
If lucky, the predominant westerlies will not blow too hard, and the seas will not be excessively high. But if the passing Lows are deep, the Drake Passage pays tribute to its fierce fame.
For us, so far it hasn’t been too much of a difficult sail. EUROPA had to adapt to the variable winds; sail handling has been a common exercise for all during the last couple of days.
As we sailed through the centre of a Depression, stronger gusts and fast sailing were followed by calmer conditions with lighter changeable winds.
To keep a southerly course as much as we can on this new wind situation, today was a busy day on deck. The South-southwesterly wind became a South-easterly after all hands available were called on deck to Wear Ship. A manoeuvre to change course and tack where the ship turns around with the wind, letting it pass through her aft. After a complete circle, she is ready to steer in the new course. A similar manoeuvre to Tacking the ship, but on that case, speed and calm seas are necessary to push her bow through the wind. With a square rigger like EUROPA, under slow progress and with swell, this latter operation becomes of increasing difficulty, being much easier to turn the ship with the wind.
The Southeasterly veers to a Southerly, and for a few hours it seems like we head away from our destination, but soon, the West-southwest and then a good Southwesterly are back and blowing a bit stronger once more. It was time again to Wear Ship and get back on track, steering on a more southerly course to Antarctica, close-hauled on Starboard Tack.
All in all, today’s progress has been barely over the 90nm in a straight line, but that is not including the two times we Wore Ship and the course changes in between.
But getting acquainted with such manoeuvres and all the lines involved, which actually are many of Europa’s ropes, form sheets to braces, was not the only activity that kept us busy on deck today.
On one side the Royals come up and down several times during the journey, both because of the variable winds and some passing squalls, but also on an exercise to train their proper setting and dousing.
For the whole of the morning crew is aloft too bringing down to deck the Fore Upper Topsail. One of its seems had given up and ripped during the early hours of the day. A mending that can’t be be done up the yard and requires more attention and time. For that purpose the ship’s library has become a sort of sail making loft, while a replacement sail is readied, hoisted, and bend-on up the rig.