We're eating the miles, port tack 2 reefs, about a third of the heady and a nasty steep 3 metreish swell that poor old Berri has to thud through occasionally.
To continue the theme of the early navigators - once they had the knowledge that to get to the Cape, all they really had to do was follow the prevailing winds from Lisbon to the doldrums, struggle through and back on the wind again, following it around in the big arc across the S Atlantic passing north of Tristan (and as the name suggests, a Portugese sailor doing just that but perhaps a bit further south than intended actually discovered the island). And Tristan to the Cape and past the tail of the Agulhas Bank is the place where the storms are. Like us, they must have anticipated that bit of ocean with some serious trepidation. And these days, with satellite measurements, scientists are logging the 'freak' waves caused by current, long fetch swell, wind and amplification from the meeting of two wave sets. Just like the SE corner of Australia, where we got rolled ourselves. 3 big ones every 1000 sticks in the jelly of my memory and one huge one every 10,000. Googls selkirk settler for some photos.
Huge ship in the night - Pete didn't think he'd seen us so gerzillion candlepower light into the sails and he altered.
Shave and a clean T shirt if I can find one for Macca this evening.
