Aug 12 In the English Channel

Written by Jack van Ommen on August 12th, 2009

At 10.50 I am at 50.11N 1.31W with 275 miles to Ijmuiden, our entry port for Amsterdam, a 94 mile day. The weather improved yesterday afternoon and we had a beautiful sail. The moon rose in a red ball at 11 p.m. In the last hour the clear skies turned back to normal, dark and threatening a drizzle, low visibility. We crossed the Northbound shipping lane and are now sailing in between the N and S bound lanes. The flood set us sideways, towards the English coast, but now the tide is with us once again. We should be crossing the Northbound lane towards the Belgian coast before dark. We had a flotilla of Dolphins putting on a show around the boat, yesterday evening. The winds have been mostly from the WSW, running or broad reaching. The 140% genoa luff tape is torn and we cannot use this work horse any longer. Most of last night we flew the light 150% with full main but now we are down to just a double reefed main. Voor de welcoming commitee: Depending on the currents and wind we should be at Ijmuiden by Saturday morning. In that case I would prefer to moor at the Sixhaven and bring the boat through the standing mast route on the 2 a.m. schedule on Sunday night or even Monday night. Stay tuned.

 

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