Up and down

Variable conditions for the crew of Cheyenne

Day 47
Position at 0510GMT: 22deg 04.325S 32deg 27.621W
Course/speed: 090deg/13.6 knots
TWS/TWA: 16.0 knots/041 deg

Steve Fossett and the crew of Cheyenne spent most of yesterday trying to crawl out of the hole in the breeze they had fallen into off Rio de Janeiro and yesterday afternoon were able to break into the northeasterly trade winds. As a result they are now having to beat upwind, not the greatest point of sail for the giant cat, in around 15 knots.

By our reckoning Cheyenne made 277 miles yesterday, but will have sailed many more. In terms of VMG to the finish she probably only made 220-230 miles. The ghost ship competitor Orange at the end of day 47 at sea was still racing northeast around the south Atlantic those making the compatitive distances of the boat down the track hard to determine - but Cheyenne still leads her by around 950 miles or two good days of sailing.

It is likely that Cheyenne will continue heading east over the next 24 hours at least in order to put more distance between them and a windless zone to the west. The further they head north towards the latitude of Recife, the more the wind will veer to the southeast.

Navigator Adrienne Cahalan wrote the following this morning:"We are currently beating upwind in 15knots of northeast wind and will be for the next few days as we punch through up to and in the southeast trades. We still have a day of tacking to get to the south east trades as the low pressure system to our west has disrupted their normal pattern. We do not anticipate that we will see the trademark, trade wind blue skies and nice small white cumulus until about latitude 17S. It will be important in the south east trades to pull out a couple of 450-500nm days to keep on record pace.

After the south east trades we pass into the ITCZ (the area of no wind at or near the equator) which is currently located at around latitude 2S. We are looking to pass through the ITCZ at about longitude 30W (where it is the smallest) on Saturday night or Sunday. After we cross the ITCZ and the equator we will be again be sailing upwind in the 15kt north east trade winds."

Brian Thompson writes from on board...

It feels like we are in the doldrums already, with very light winds and big squalls all over the ocean. It’s night now and with no moon the best way to see the squalls is with the radar, and at the moment the screen is half covered with the green smudges of rain showers. Outside the rain is falling softly and persistently as we exit out the back of one particularly big squall that had completely blocked our path. We are managing to trickle along at 8 knots now. During my last watch at the beginning of the night we were under clear skies but the wind was so light that the max boat speed we saw for the four hours was six knots, and most of the time it was three knots, and that mainly caused by the push from the swell.

Such frustrating sailing as we fight to get out to the trade winds. The meteorology is complicated by low pressure areas that are forming around us, rather like a macro version of the squalls that are popping up in minutes. The air is very unstable here so anything can happen. We are just making the best progress we can in the changeable conditions. We are switching from the solent to the Code O to the blast reacher as the wind shifts and keeping occupied with sail trimming.

Damian [Foxall] has just created a breakfast of cold porridge and freeze-dried raspberries. It’s actually very good, but perhaps we are just very hungry! For instance, the health bars we thought were very average tasting at the beginning of the trip, and left uneaten for days, are now craved as if they were magnum ice creams. Today Guillermo [Altadill] brought out a stash of sauces to complement the fine selection of main meals so we have a choice of Thai, Caribbean and Louisiana sauces.. Perhaps a dash of each, but not on the porridge... for now anyway.

Brian