Wind and seas abate

The 40’s, a belt of latitudes around the southern hemisphere full of contrasts. Yesterday we had a glimpse at their bad temper when the winds blow hard, the squalls hit with even stronger gusts and the seas grow and grow. For today their mood has changed, the conditions abate, the ocean calms down and the wind becomes at first a steady good 20kn, decreasing gradually along the day to just a fair breeze at night.

It was last night when we started to set more sail, change course, eastbound now. Today, braced almost square the ship runs the winds and lower swells with all her squares set. Downwind she still rolls a bit, but nothing compared with yesterday.

That meant too that she noticeably slows down. From the 8,9 even 10kn while she took the beating, today she does just between 4 and 6. 

Still during the last 24 hours she sailed 140nm. 

How many miles left to reach the small land speck lost in the middle South Atlantic, Tristan da Cunha? Well, a look at the chart tells us that the island lays 512nm away from us.  

But that doesn’t mean much in terms of thinking about an arrival date, because of the variable weather and winds ahead, the changing patterns of the atmospheric pressure systems, the sea state and the sailing conditions. Then, you need the luck on your side once there. The island is also famous for its oceanic character, beaten by weather and swells that make a challenging question the possibility of landing.