A Fine Day For Sailing

Day 68

Noon Position: 48 40S 43 54W

Course/Speed: SE 7+

Wind: WNW 25

Sail: Twins poled out, heavily reefed

Bar: 1002

Sea: W8

Sky: Rain

Cabin Temp: 61

Water Temp: 51

Miles last 24-hours: 164

Miles since departure: 8754

We’ve been sailing with the twins poled out for three and a half days.

It’s a fine way to make miles.

The Commodore, whose father, Warwick Tompkins wrote 50 SOUTH TO 50 SOUTH, tut-tutted when he saw Mo’s sail configuration. His boat, Flash Girl, was undergoing a refit at KKMI in Richmond at the same time Mo and I were readying for sea. “Don’t like that rig,” he said as we stood on the dock admiring my boat (well, I was admiring my boat), “she’ll roll too much if you ask me.”

And, yes, twin headsails *can* be rolly when out full in light winds or when sheeted flat. But in heavier weather, as we have now, Mo runs as if on rails.

Wind started to come on yesterday afternoon, and by the time I woke this morning, we were cruising the leading edge a low whose center is down around 60S. By noon winds were NW to 20; then 25; then 25-30. Only this hour (5pm) has wind gone W as the low’s center passes under and ahead of us.

I furl a bit of sail, and as things intensify, I furl a bit more. Because the poles are quite long, this shortening of sail has the effect of pulling the poles forward, which bellies out the head of the sail, and that belly acts as a damper to the boat’s tendency to roll. It’s magical to watch.

A nice illustration of this comes from a water color by Marin Marie, a copy of which I keep taped to one of Mo’s cupboards. Here the two twins on poles are also quite full and forward. I presume Marie is running on a brisk day in the tropics given he’s in white shorts and wears a pith helmet.

—

7pm. Of course, then there’s the question of just how much wind the twins can take. I’ve been on deck the last two hours trying to answer that. Wind strengthened as it went into the W, a steady 30-33 knots at times with gusts to the high 30s. Now the twins are the size of pillow cases, and I think I’ve reached the extent that I can roll them and still get sufficient pull.

“Sufficient,” might be a misnomer. We’re averaging 8 knots an hour these last four.

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This run of days is also the first, best illustration of how I’d like to make this circumnavigation of the southern ocean, which is to say, surfing the top third of the low pressure systems that go round and round down here. The problem to solve is at what latitude. For the moment, I’m staying further south than I had planned because of the calms above me and because the lows are also deeply south. I don’t think this will last the further we get from Cape Horn.

A thing to be watched. Closely.

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Getting into the swing of things on day seven by forcing my head down for a nap. Was a bright day, so I used my sock cap pulled low to block out the light.