GHOST

Wohoa, we've less than 400 miles to go AND we are finally heading in the right direction with some good boat speed. We had to run south of the goal, by some 60miles to 13 13N so that with the wind shift to the ENE we could run broadly in to St Lucia. Now we just hope the wind holds!!

So we'll have a few contributors for the blog today. First off the boring bit from me. Last night was a challenge. We had a leisurely afternoon running under 2 reefs in the main and about half the headsail poled out on the opposite side. Just after dark the boat rounded up slightly, a function of a dark night and a rogue wave slapping into the port quarter and the whisker pole (the pole that holds the headsail out) snapped. Thankfully no other damage was done but it damaged everyone's confidence which resulted in a restless night for all..not helped by the rolly poley sea state. We still managed a respectable 170 nm days run.

But this AM is a different story, we gybed the boat and are now running on a course for the finish, moving along at a fairly good average of 8-10kns.

There was a question that was raised in a couple of emails we received that asked how we manage both power and water. So I've the task of boring you with the following!

So on water, we have a dessaltor 60L water maker that does a great job of producing pretty much all that we require for cooking, cleaning, drinking and showering. Although we are still a little sparing on that last point, showering only every other day. It is a very industrial unit which means it requires a decent amount of amps to run (something like 33 per hour) so while we can run it just off the batteries for short periods we do put the engine on (in neutral) to compensate for the power drain. It has worked well in all but the very roughest conditions but we generally ask someone to sit by it and monitor the pressure as the boats movement and surging can disrupt it. Before we fill the tanks up we use a specially fitted tap on the sink to fill up our water bottles (a large 1.5lr and a small 0.5lt) to ensure we are all drinking enough.

On Power, we have the engine that has an 80amp alternator and sterling smart charger that helps get the most out of it for long periods of charging. We also have a small Honda petrol genset that we run on deck when conditions are right as an alternative to the engine as it is quieter for those below and doesn't heat up the aft cabins. The other benefit of the honda is it lights up the 240volt sockets all round the boat so we can charge dyson vacs and cameras etc. We also have a couple of decent but small solar panels that around midday contribute about 4-5 amps and as a back up we have a tow gen as well that hasn't been used yet but if all else failed we could throw it off the back, slowing us down a little but pumping in 6-8 amps 24/7, assuming we are sailing!

In terms of power storage we have a bank of 5x 105Ah gel batteries for domestic use, another 5x 80Ah gels for utility use (elec winches, beer fridge etc) and a separate red top optima for the engine start.

All in all I have been fairly happy with the setup, if I had my time again I'd have put more solar panels on and changes I'll make before our next big crossing is to tap in to the utility bank of batteries more. Perhaps installing a switch that allows the primary fridge to run off the utilities as at the moment the domestics take the brunt of all consumption and the utilities sit there nearly full.

Well enough of that boring stuff, I'll had this over to someone else. B

AND; Today's special message : HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD. Loads of love, Heather x. Its all going well, enjoying it, though bit disappointed we aren't going to finish more than half way up our class. Hope to arrive late Wednesday/early Thursday morning....flat bed, good sleep, and swimming...can't wait! We went off the idea of swimming off the boat at sea when another yacht reported being shadowed by a big shark for half a day!!