Downunder
13 September 2019 | 300 Miles SSE Of Ilha De Santiago, Cape Verde Islands
Day 98 7pm Friday 13th September 2019 ( UTC-1 )
With barely enough wind to fill the sails we did not try to go downwind last night so just kept things comfortable. A little breeze after sunrise made a few miles in a few hours until we were becalmed again. Nothing came of the display pictured so it was time to check out the underwater paddle for the electric log. Though totally devoid of any wind I furled the jib, dropped the main, fixed the rudder hard over and let out the safety line astern. Some nuts had come loose on the Watt & Sea and some goose barnacles had to be prized off. I put a girth rope round the hull at the mast and attacked the surrounds of the paddle which were absolutely thick with goose barnacles. I chopped and pulled off most of them but decided it was pointless trying to get a smooth flow as they would just just jump on again as soon as I turned my back. Now here is an interesting thing. On the rest of the hull where anti fouled with Micron 66 there was not a single barnacle or piece of weed - it was as clean as she was when put back in the water. Quite a few above the waterline, mainly on the Starboard side, were carefully scraped off including the soft shell footing they lay down. At sunset the promised light South West breeze came in and I hope it lasts for at least a day.
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