Motorsailfishing
06 August 2016 | 35 38'N:147 42'W, 1000nm from HI
Brad
Not much to report really. We had some unexpected southeasterlies overnight that dovetailed nicely with the no-wind (<8kts) motoring to give us some pretty good distance made good. Our current target is 37N 143W, which is where we're projected to get into our new wind. That target is still 275nm away, or right around two days out. I just made the mindshift from mostly sailing to mostly motoring, which will likely be reflected in our track. Basically, if we can't sail right of 25deg at 6 knots or better we'll be motoring - unless the wind is steadily/significantly over 11kts, where our motoring starts to suffer. As Vince knows, I can never give simple guidance to the "drivers." Quotes are because none of us has touched the wheel since HI, as evidenced by Tom's picture of me this morning holding the autopilot remote control. The Cape Horn wind vane and electric autopilot have worked great for sailing and motoring, respectively.
Are we winning the BacCup? I don't have much insight into where the other boats are relative to our position with the exeption of Bullet, which I've been tracking since we seem to be relatively close (as a safety net, not as competition).
Last thing on wx/track: current projections are for a fairly light (15kts, then 10) winds for the last 700nm, but from good angles. I hope to teach the fellas how to fly the A4 spinnaker for part of it. Too soon to commit, but Sun 8/14 is in play.