Island Dodging
08 November 2017 | 810 Miles to Hierro
6:00pm Wednesday 8th November 2017 ( UTC-2 ) The breeze eased a little today and when hard on the wind the WindPilot gave the best results while when more than 20 degrees off the wind the autopilot was just a little better. Even in the hazy sunshine the solar panels gave more than sufficient amps to recharge the batteries, run the autopilot and the other electronics. This evening the wind has swung a little more to the East so being hard on the wind with the WindPilot Ihla Santo Antao , the most North Westerly of the Cape Verde Islands, sort of got in the way so I have freed the sheets to clear the Island by about 10 miles sometime after midnight. If you get too close you can get in its wind shadow. There is another advantage of using the electric autopilot close to land - a gradual wind shift won't lure you on to the rocks - it has happened but so far not to me. I have had a sneak preview of the weather beyond Santo Antao and it appears the North Atlantic High - moving towards the tropics for the coming Northern Winter - is having an influence on the Trade Winds between here and Hierro. This may make it just a little easier if you can pick the lifts and not fall into the blue holes. It is now very comfortable in the cabin of L'Eau Commotion. The 6am cabin temperatures for the last five mornings have been 30C, 29C,28C, 27C and 26C this Morning. All in all most pleasant and comfortable sailing with not even a hint of salt spray to dampen the enthusiasm .