6 degrees 40 North and we’ve really got to the main course now. The first flashes of lightning burst on the southern horizon two nights ago and yesterday we were confronted with our first line up of squally cumulonimbus towers. These are so large that they can be individually picked out on our satellite images and develop so much thunderous energy surge vertically through difference layers of
As regards the wind, these clouds rule our world completely. Most wind is created on a macro level between high and low pressure systems thousands of miles apart that are created by uneven heating of the earth’s surface by the sun. These towers of power however totally dominate these larger scale winds and can flip the wind 180 degrees and quadruple its intensity in an instant. They operate like stock market bubbles. Warm water causes the air above it to heat and rise, which brings in more air which in turn rises. So far so good, everyone’s getting a pay off. The growing energy accelerates up, gets further heated by the sun and continues to hoover up all the air at its base. Then, at theour atmosphere until they are beaten back by cool from above. peak, when everyone knows they should sell, it cools slightly and loses momentum in the higher altitudes. Rain starts to fall which deflates
the bubble and soon all that vertical energy is going the other way. Droplets of rain push the air down which then splays out in all directions, like a jet of water on a spoon when it hits the ocean.

In our weather notes, these clouds are called growing and, significantly, crushing clouds. As the growing cloud sucks air into its center, the tactic is to pass to windward as its suction will augment the prevailing winds and your speed. However, as a crushing cloud blows out in all directions, you need to be on the other side of the cloud, relative to the wind, in order to get the boost. Confuse a growing cloud with a crushing cloud at your peril as to pass on the wrong side means to be completely becalmed. Like rutting stags in the autumn, taking two opposing forces and crashing them into each other equals no movement, of either wind or boat.

With all these gusty winds and temperamental burst of energy around, its nice to be in a well, if hurriedly, prepared boat. Our sails can take a beating in these conditions regardless of how quick one is on the take down. So is thanks to our title partner Cessna Aircraft that we have all new sails that will make it through without exploding suddenly. On previous campaigns I have spent days labouring over the twisted fibres of ancient spinnakers, as have some of our competitors in this race, and while a new sail is not guarantee, I’m appreciating the rare luxury of reliability while is lasts.

A little cloud.... view from Cessna Citation this morning !

I have and addition to make, it should be 8 deadly sins. The list should read “coveting thy neighbor’s wife, laziness, easy speed under spinnaker, gluttony etc etc etc”. Since gybing yesterday off the coast we have been eating up the miles with an easy relaxed lope that has taken distance out of those ahead (although there is a still aways to go) and padded our cushion to those behind. As night fell and the moon rose, I set into rhythm at the helm of easily surfing the short waves into the silvery path the moon laid out before me. Head up, catch a wave, accelerate, zoom down past the moonlit path as the instruments tumbled over themselves to catch up. 15…..16…17..and finally 18 knots before the wave exhausted itself and the search was on for another easy ride. The procedure on the Mini was much the same, but crossing the ocean on a boat half the length and less than a quarter of the
displacement is an altogether more strenuous exercise. Here I barely got my toes wet! Unfortunately it didn’t last for long as the wind shifted unfavourably and we switched to our A3 reaching spinnaker in order to keep our course

On morning clean up we found that the night’s winds had deposited a layer of the Sahara’s finest, leading to a serious scrub down lest it get into the delicate ball bearings of the pulleys and tracks that are so essential to the safe functioning of the boat. I resisted the temptation to make mud pies but instead climbed out to change one of the spinnaker sheets as illustrated by today’s photo.

Conrad changing the spinnaker sheet... and more! copyright Hugo Ramon / Cessna Citation

Watch the video and listen to my first interview upon my arrival  to Guadeloupe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88c3pfre3ZU