49° to 51°: a slow, enjoyable day

The sea has been incredibly flat throughout the night and day. Winds have been quite stable between 8 and 16 knots, all on the stern - at least until about 18:00. I was able to sleep well. Only one passenger ship passed during the night in a few miles distance. Otherwise it seems I had the entire strait to myself. Also Marinetraffic confirms that there are hardly any ships up here. We are getting north - curiously that feeling sets in at 50°N already.

After I initiated day mode with a coffee and the sun was up, some maneuvers were on order. Over night the course has veered north as the winds shifted such that the Gennaker needs to be gybed. I decide to try and film that with a gopro. Not so easy, actually. Looking at the recording I see plenty of space for improvement. The critical phase of the maneuver ought to go much quicker. More practice required!

Following the gybe, I raised the full main - and that configuration remained until about 18:00 when the wind stopped, as was forecast. Rain set in and I furl the Gennaker and motor through the dead stretch. As I write these lines , I am sailing upwind, with the new wind of after the front.

With the ride so incredibly smooth, I get on with a number of choirs. I clean the boat, prep the guest cabins, change batteries of the winch controllers and even, for the first time, I work on an engine while sailing. One of the fuel pre filters is clogged from gunk in the diesel tank. I change the cartridge. This already happened when we entered New York not too long ago. I now have 4 more spare filters on board. Not sure whether at that rate that’s enough for the NWP…Read more