Sail with Jenny in the fjords of Norway

Day 3: 12.01 – More wind

We have had more wind and sea today, we have tried different sail setting but it never worked very good because of the wind direction – we are getting to far east. The first part of the day has been very cloudy but after lunch the sun came through and we enjoyed some sun in the cockpit.
A reef was taken before dark to make it easier for the crew, we do not want to wake up people if we do not have to.

Day 4: 13.01 – Good crew
After a slightly noisy night with rain and Squalls and the noise from the Staysail running back and forth on the deck track and held the crew in the forward cabins awake are they in the morning just as smiley and in good mood for a new day. When Sidsel came on watch did the ladies decide enough was enough and went forward and dropped the Staysail.
It was a very gray forenoon which the crew used to catch some extra sleep but as soon as the sun was out in the afternoon were they on deck to worship the sun.
It makes a big difference to have a good crew on such a long ocean crossing who takes responsibility for necessary work on board – it makes life so much easier for all.

The boat is kept tidy and we all get time to relax between the watches, and I get plenty of time for my studies. Sidsel og Jan-Erik are super crew and we are having a good time together onboard but so far we have not had any big feasts on this leg, have to see what we can do to celebrate half way in a few days. This voyage is about 3500nm before we reach Brazil and we may have a wee dram when we reach St. Helena although that is not even half way

So far the gods of weather has been on our side and we have sailed over 190 nm a day in the first three days. Hence we have started talking about what to do when we reach St. Helena, it will be exiting to see where Napoleon lived.

Dag 5: 14.01 – Wind dropping

We have had a quiet night and good steady breeze and calm sea which made the crew off watch sleep well. Jan-Erik has his watch from 00:00 to 03:00 then I (Eli) take over to 00:06. Due to our fast traveling westwards do I not have any light when I get off in the morning so I will ask the skipper today if we should change the clock back one hour. The reason for keeping the time as it was in South Africa is that we keep radio contact at 08:00 with the German boat Moin heading for St.Helena and the British boat Jacaranda heading for Rio, and it is on the off watch for the skipper who operates the radio byt also needs his beauty sleep.

Today also has been a gray day to around 14:00 before the sun shone through and the wind has gradually dropped all day and gone more SE. The sea has been calm and today we have managed a quick shower and that felt very good, Finished off with a sundowner in the cockpit celebrating half way to St. Helena.

Dag 6: 15.01 – Wind dropping more

Very noisy night with sails slamming and boat speed down to around 5 knots. Time is now 04:00 in the morning and it is still a couple of hours before daylight. However there is almost full moon and not so dark.
To shorten the time I will bake some bread for breakfast and I know that will please the crew.

After a good breakfast with newly baked rolls and Salmon from Norway the light asymmetric spinnaker was set but there was so much movement in tha boat from “old sea” that it would not work. Hence working sails were set and course changed such that we were reaching with new wind hitting the sails. Not steering just the way we want but keeping the boat moving.
Have also today moved the clock back one hour as we are out of sync with daylight as we are moving so much westward.
We have also had a very annoying breakdown today as our electric owen stopped working and the next few days will show if we will manage to make some kind of bread.
The skipper was more pleased with today’s happenings as he pulled up a small Dorado and hence secured the dinner for tomorrow.

Dag 7: 16.01 – More fish and a little more wind

The night has been calm with a light breeze but we not so fare had to use the engine.
We also feel that the temperature is rising especially during the night watches. No more fleece and long trousers.
During the day we can also see that the skin colour is changing from red-brown to brown, unless you look at the skipper who is as usual just red even after using thick layers of sun block. Actually it has been overcast all morning and all is happy with a break from from the sun, but when the sun came out in the afternoon the ladies were out on deck.
A slight increase in wind has given us a daily run (noon to noon) of 132nm which is very slow for Jenny. However life is very relaxing at this sort of speed.

The last two days we have had our dinner (fried Dorado) at the cockpit table which has not happened on passage since the Pacific.
The skipper also hauled onboard another small Dorado today which is nice as long as it is not to big.

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