Rough weather, lost milage 13 Apr, 06 - 22:00 27.4512N,17.1907W

3.00 am
Winds: Easterly
Sea state: rough
The waves continue to break over the stern of the boat and occasionally over the side. I had to go out on deck briefly to re-secure on of the oars that had come loose as a result of the waves. Retreated back into the hatch to play the waiting game till the weather improves.
6.30 am
Winds: 30-35 knots, Easterly
Sea state: rough
GPS Position: N 27.45.126 W 17.19.074
A disappointing start. Been blown North overnight, but we still have some progress Westwards. The weather conditions have not improved, so its still more waiting. Haven't been able to get much sleep all of last night. The 1 inch think fiberglass and plywood walls of the hatch are attracting a lot of condensation at night, covering everything inside with moisture including satellite phones, sleeping bag, laptops etc. A quick thanks to Panasonic. The ToughBook laptop has been performing well despite all the moisture and banging about. Haven't got around to breaking any walnuts with it yet, but must try when I get back on land.
9.30 am
Winds: Easterly
Sea state: rough
Heavy rain continues. Each day lost is one extra day into the hurricane season. At this point, I'm considering Trinidad and Tobago as an alternate destination, given that lies at 10 N, which much further South than Antigua, and less exposed to the hurricanes.
12.30 pm
Winds: Easterly
Sea state: rough
The weather shows no sign of letting up. More heavy rain. Just as they spend 9 months of the year indoors to come up with design improvements at Ikea, my 24 hours in a 6ft hatch, has not been entirely lost. For starters, I've noticed that the four large screws that hold the rudder cable in place, protrude upto 1 inch into the sleeping cabin and 3 inches above my head, when I'm lying down. Looks like a concussion waiting to happen. Must also fix ducts to hold the cables for all the surplus electronics: the laptops, iPod, inverters, AA chargers, backup GPS. More foam insulation to be added to the ceiling, to absorb the condensation at night. Extra dampener for the rudder. The list grows...
6.00 pm
Wind: North-Easterly
Sea state: very choppy
The storm clouds are directly overhead. However, far off to the port side I can see the clouds clearing up. A fantastic sunset. Better weather tomorrow? Dinner is 2 power bars and a milkshake accompanied by catching up with updates from Dee Caffari and Aviva Challenge. Dee is attempting to sail around the world against the prevailing winds.
9.00 pm
Winds are still strong. A bit of rain but the weather is looking up. 2 protein bars for dinner. Its impossible to get out on deck to have a try at the gas burner to heat some water. A bit bruised. A couple of cuts from sharp edges that I still have not managed to locate. I suspect one of it's the inner surface of the handles on the roof of the hatch, that I grip while swinging in and out of the cabin. Anyway, the tiredness has somewhat dampened the pain from the cuts. I had a quick phone call with Rune to discuss weather it was wise to push forward to Antigua and we discuss if there was enough margin for error before the Atlantic hurricane season set in. It would be disappointing to turn back.
Side note: Often, the climbers who survived Mt. Everest were the one's who turned back even 30m from the top in the face of bad weather.
While the boat has been handling well over the last 2 days, I have doubts it could take the full force of an Atlantic hurricane.
Only a few hours earlier, I was flipping through Ron Hamil's book, The Naked Rower, given as a gift to me by Andreu Matheu. (Rob Hamil and Phil Stubbs won a race across the Atlantic in 1997).
From the book, a quote by an Anonymous seaman:
"You don't know what pitching-polling is, son? No matter how big the swell, a non breaking wave will not be a problem. It won't sink you. A single breaking wave, though, would flip you end over end if it was higher than your boat was long.
Typically, what would happen is that you would climb the wave at at angle of 45 degrees, and not having enough grunt fail to gain the top, you'd slide down the face. Your stern would bury itself into the trough and the crest of the wave would catch your bow and flip you over. You would only need an 8m wave.
Now, take foundering. That's where a succession of waves simply drives the boat under "founders", as we say. The dictionary defines founder as something like "to cave in, sink, fail, utterly collapse". On your boat the stern would probably implode, the front and cabin hatches fail and the boat would down-flood. You would be prevented from escaping by the sheer force of the water pouring into the cabin - it would be similar to walking into a blast from a fire hose. In that sense, pitching and polling is better than foundering because an overturned boat traps air in the hold and can stay afloat for a period of time. Rolling. Rolling is when the height of the wave is higher than the width of the boat, and if you are not square on to the wave."
With that thought in mind, its time to get some rest for the night. In the morning, I will have to re-consider the wiseness of moving forward in the route to Antigua, given the proximity of the hurricane season. Waiting until after the hurricane season will mean waiting until October. At stake is credibility, life, the investment made by the sponsors and the support of all those who have made this project possible...
Thanks for all the messages of support on the sat phone.
B
TODAYS PHOTOS -
1. Clouds moving in
2. Stormy sunset