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Update day 76

I'm stuck! Just as yesterday I enjoyed an unexpected good run with ideal conditions to make miles northwards, now the weather files have turned against me and I have a lot less wind than expected. I had agonized for days about whether finding a way east early (but that put in even more squarely in the path of over 40 knots of wind, to be avoided) or make gains northwards with an escape route to the east later. Sadly it looks like I am going to struggle for a few days here which is going to be hard to swallow. I hate this kind of sailing where the boat flaps around wildly and the wind turns constantly to come from all directions or disappears completely. In order to progress I need clean smooth air to flow over the sails but there's so little wind and such an agitated sea that the flopping of the boat shakes the wind out of the sails so even if there's 5 knots of wind it's almost as useless as none at all. Here's hoping for the sea to calm, the wind to pick up and for there to be a way out of here otherwise I'll still be out here competing when the next edition of the race starts!

© Foresight Natura Energy / Conrad Colman #VG2016

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