Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Exiting the Gulf Stream

Greetings from 38 07.129N 069 13.853W. It is 1810 on May 20. We are
225 nautical miles from Newport, RI. Sea temperature is 69.5 and
falling; down from a high of 75 degrees today. Current is 1.2 knots
north, down from 3.5 knots north. Wind right now is 10 knots from the
northeast, after last night's high of around 30 knots. Right now we
are sailing at a comfortable 5 knots and watching the sun set.
Despite the winds from the northeast all night, and the currents
flowing north in the Gulf Stream, the waves in the Gulf Stream never
reached a level which produced much concern or great queasiness.
During the night we switched sail combinations several times to try to
stabilize the heel. At times we were standing almost perpendicular
with our feet on the port side of the cockpit as the wind and the
waves pushed us forward. But, all in all, it has been lovely sailing.
A few boats showed up on the AIS system, but none have been spotted by
us. The front we crossed produced some very light and quick showers,
but it only lasted about 10 hours. The highest winds were when we were
crossing the front. The barometer has risen to 1029, and we expect a
high pressure system to stay with us for the rest of the trip. This
certainly has been the least eventful crossing on record for the crew
of the Welcome.

We did have a chance to ascertain the adequacy of the leak repairs and
are pleased to report that the silicone application appears to have
been a huge success. Full battery replacement addressed our
electrical problems. We still have ice, although the reefer has a lot
of suds in it - somehow dishwashing liquid made its way into the
icebox, and with all the hard sailing, the box is now filled with dish
liquid foam. The weather cloths have been a superb addition - the
cockpit has been much drier than ever before, even as water and waves
soaked the port railing and waves sloshed over the bow.

We will be visiting with Joe and Marge Turley in Newport. The big
question now is when to take the boat from Newport to its Provincetown
base for the summer. The trip is about 75 nautical miles. It could
be a very long day, or consume a whole weekend. DT is debating whether
it should be this weekend or next. Timing is critical for passing
through Cape Cod Canal. Jay flies out of Providence on Sunday. Kel
will make his plans when we land - presumable sometime Friday. While
we do not want to ask for bad luck by concluding too much too soon,
but at some risk we feel inclined to declare that this has been a
sweet (and very long) trip.

Team Welcome.

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