Hello Again Friends
Well, I must say that the last 24 hours have been some pretty exciting sailing. With westerly winds just aft of the beam blowing between 15 and 25 knots, Gryphon Solo was reveling in her best conditions. Boat speed was between 13 and 18 knots, with a couple of blasts up to 20. Being on deck was a seriously wet affair as waves constantly crashed over the boat and washed all the way back to the cockpit. Changing sails on the foredeck in the dark with the waves crashing over my head reminded me why I like to do this.
It was truly exhilarating sailing, hanging on by the "seat of my pants" as the Red Rocket launched off waves and crashed into the next one. When the boat really gets going fast, it starts humming at a high frequency, which is both very cool and very unsettling. Gryphon Solo is highly loaded so when going really fast, I always hunt around looking for problems, but luckily found none.
I was navigating toward a desired entrance point to the Gulf Stream, that large river of warm water that intersects the path to Bermuda. I entered it right when I expected and water temperatures went up by four degrees and the current swept me in an easterly direction for a while, but not nearly as long as I thought. As a result, I exited the stream further west than intended, and have been struggling to make the desired course to the finish. With a northwest wind direction, I need to sail a bit too far downwind to be ideal. I am hoping for a slight wind shift to the west as we approach Bermuda. My fate is in the hands of Aeolus, God of Winds.
Only 240 miles from the finish now so I should be darn close to Bermuda by the time I report tomorrow morning.
Happy Sunday to all,
Joe
