La Promesse NED7576

…..and kicking! Our depth sounder shows figures again. 147 metres under the keel.
So that means…..fishingvessels. We like the fish. Not the vessels. They zig zag all over the place and it is never clear if they see you or if they do than matter.
Clear sight. No fog. Still freezing. Floris handsteering surfing downwind up to 18 kts of boatspeed. He’s having fun!

Meat Loaf is on board as well!

Floris & JanKees

Today is superb downwind sailing; 20-25kts, full main and code0 (largest sail setup 199m2), windangle 130. Surfing 14..15..17 kts. And again.
Floris kept a sharp outlook for reported ice in the area we crossed. Hero of the day!

Jankees & Floris

Floris caged the big blue bird in 30 kts of wind with the same souplesse as I did it……13 years ago. 🤨

Freezing cold. 🥶

Floris 💤 & JanKees

We had to recover from a heavy night beating and slamming. La Promesse weighs nothing (for 40 foot) with 4.000 kg ready at the startline. Smashing or falling off waves make loud bangs. Inside is one big drum.
But today was fine. We are now under full main and Code0 in a NNENE (?) 20kts coming down.

Put waypoint at where ice is reported and decided not to go trough ice area but shortcut the corner a bit.

Happy with the stability of downwind and the absence of the slamming. Celebrated with Haribo Starmix and Twix. Yeeeeehhh!!

Watched a documentary about climbing K2 in Himalaya. Impressive. We prefer sea levell.

Now in my bunk with remote playing awa.

Floris & JanKees

Last 24 hours beating with double reef and staysail doing 8.5 sog. Wet, cold. No appetite. Not even for pancakes. Just when you need them. Now trough lighter area and winds waiting for the shift and northerlies ahead.

The NOAA icechart shows that our route goes trough areas where ice is reported. Besides that, NOAA says that “The international ice patrol is experiencing reduced iceberg reconnaisance. Please navigate with caution.” Ok!? And now what? I like ice only 3 scoops in a cornetto.

Iceberg is one thing. What about the growlers and the bergy bits? A submerged icecube (shaken not stirred) could rip of one of our rudders!?
In 2009 I put a mark on the southern most point where ice was reported and kept that mark starboard.

We’ll discuss a bot more and than decide.

Floris en JanKees

…when having fun. Today is just another day at the office. Beating. For the next 24 hours. Tuesday end of day a fresh northerly breeze should carry us down and in the direction of Newport.

Penne Bolognese with Parmesan. From Adventure Menu dot com. Better than the average Italian pizzeria in town. Watching The Office. US version. LOL.

…. in patience. Zen. Relax. Enjoy. Meditation. All true. The ocean is blue. So is the sky. But we were racing and therefore a bit irritated. That’s why.
Beautiful spot whales in front of us. Blowing their fontains. Minor repairs done. But tired and agitated of the windless conditions. In 5 kts of headwind La Promesse can do 3.5 kts of boatspeed. That’s the good news. It is going to be another busy night.
Floris & JanKees

No wind.

……high pressure cell with little winds to deal with today. Means lot of work to keep her going. This is like IJsselmeer sailing at home.