Another day, another battle against the elements. We're making progress, but the current makes it feel like trying to climb a greased pole with oven mitts on. The tracker will show just how slowly we're inching forward. It's like trying to win a marathon while running uphill through knee-deep mud. Yesterday, we tried a tack, hoping to find a more favorable angle to the wind. The results were, as expected, less than ideal. Our GPS must have thought it was on a rollercoaster, as we swung through an astonishing 155-degree course change on the GPS in a single tack. On one tack we had been making 3 knts the right way and the other tack showed us going 2.5knts away from our destination.
We’ve tried various combinations of sail and engine power. Motoring on both engines proved necessary to maintain steerage, but it's a fuel-hungry option. Single-engine motoring is more economical but less effective in these conditions. Ultimately, we’ve found that motor sailing with the headsail offers the best compromise between speed and fuel efficiency, and actually getting somewhere. We're currently sailing 40 degrees off the wind with the headsail, and the engine is giving us that extra little push we need.
It seems we escaped Shelter Bay just in time. We heard yesterday that a couple of boats on the same dock as we were got zapped by lightning a couple of days ago! So some people will be looking for new electronics!
The sky remains stubbornly overcast, and the wind shows no signs of changing despite the forecast. However, there's a glimmer of hope on the weather charts. A potential wind shift to the south and a calmer period are in the forecast. We're crossing our fingers and burning diesel in anticipation of better sailing conditions.
