Wind at Last

The past two and a half days have been very disappointing. My average speed is only 4.42 knots and not all of those miles in the right direction. Yesterday for two hours there was a breath of wind. I dropped sails as the slamming and banging of windless sails and halyards was intense and potentially damaging to the gear. But now some wind. The ghost of Dodge Morgan is at 523 miles and I am at 315 miles, and for the first time gaining on him. Cold meals last night, refrigerator and freezer off, unwashed dishes in the sink, no BBC radio. All of these and more are the actions I took to save power which bottomed at 23% and is now at 30.4%. I am getting at 24 volts 9 amps from solar, 3 from wind and 14 from the hydro generators. I would be getting more from solar, but the winds are from the south east heeling my boat and its panels away from the sun.

Had a surprise call from wife, Catherine. "You’ve got wind," she explained, and I thought how nice she was to call to share my excitement. Then, "the housekeeper must have changed the TV clicker and I can’t get the TV to work." I smiled - I am being missed. "On the grey one push TV, now push 03," I responded. There were screams of joy. For a moment I was home.