No wind!
Slap, creak, groan........ BANG! Not the sounds of a happy ship but one that has ground to a halt south of the Nantucket shoals. Gentle winds and a slow boat make for a striking contrast to the full pace bustle of our program so far, to say nothing of the famous energy in New York, the city that, like solo sailors, never sleeps. Last night was wonderful as we finally eased out of the brightly lit harbour, passed the carnival at Coney Island and rushed across the start line at 15 knots of boat speed, firing on all cylinders..... scratch that, I need to use new turns of phrase for my eco project! In any case, we were amped to be finally on our way and quickly disappeared into thick claggy fog. We sailed past a fleet of fishing boats and only dully heard their engines and never saw a light despite passing less than a mile away! When the sun rose we escaped the treacle but the wind faded too. Sadly the guys ahead appear to have escaped with fresh breeze and are making incredible progress back to France whereas we will have light and variable winds that will doubly penalize our initial delay. No matter, its great to be back in my element and the troubled winds will make for plenty of practice changing sails!
