Song of the Whale Diary: 6th - 10th November

Thursday 6th November
Friday 7th November
Saturday 8th November
Sunday 9th November
Monday 10th November

Thursday 6th November
Written by Angus
Early this morning the genoa tears about 2 foot from the clew, so once day breaks myself, Claire and Magnus set about repairing the damage. Many metres of tape later and a few waves over the head we re-hoist the genoa and furl it safely away until the current gusty squalls have passed. The winds are averaging around 20 knots but very regularly squalls of into the high 30’s come through, so we’re currently under motor waiting for steadier winds.

Friday 7th November
Written by Angus
The wind settled yesterday evening so the sails went back out. This was short lived and early this morning all hell breaks loose as the wind starts gusting up to 45 knots. We take the main down, furl the genoa and sail along at 6 knots just on the stay-sail. The wind is still hitting up in the 40’s and the swell is around 4/5m so lifejackets and harnesses are the order of the day. I seem to have pulled the short straw as I’m on the rota for cooking this evening! The current conditions mean that just standing up down below is a challenge - so trying to organise pots, pans and ingredients into something resembling a meal could be interesting…..

Saturday 8th November
Written by Angus
Well, I survived cooking and managed to conjure up something edible, but half way through the early watch this morning I head into the galley when a big wave catches the boat. I go flying into the edge of the saloon table and receive one of the worst ‘dead-legs’ I’ve had for years and not even a bruise to show for it! Today we decide to hoist the storm-sail and having done so the wind promptly drops so we’ve been crawling along at about 4.5 knots. Nightfall brings the true stormsail conditions; constant 40 knots gusting into the 50’s. With the stormsail and two thirds of the stay-sail out we make a good 7 knots boat speed but the swell is building and the boat is rolling considerably. We haven’t been seeing many animals, despite regularly hearing dolphins on the hydrophones, but we have started seeing more seabirds – fulmars and juvenile kittiwakes for the most part.

Sunday 9th November
Written by Angus
Similar conditions to Saturday, very strong winds and big seas. The wind calms slightly in the afternoon so boat speed drops to about 5 knots but this doesn’t last long. Captain Magnus secures a new speed record, surfing the boat down a wave to reach 15.3 knots. As night approaches the wind is gusting up into the 50’s so the decision is made to drop the storm-sail before darkness falls, substituting a bit of boat speed for a more comfortable nights sleep. We were rewarded earlier this afternoon with a sighting of a large group of common dolphins, also surfing – and making a rather better job of it than us.

Monday 10th November
Written by Angus
Over the last few days it has become apparent that the start of Matt’s watch coincides with the arrival of rain showers. I’m particularly unimpressed by this phenomenon as I share the last hour of my watch with him. Sure enough at 4am this morning Matt appears through the hatch and within seconds the rain is falling. This quickly builds to an absolute downpour and in 40 knots of breeze was pretty intense. After about 5 minutes, by which point Matt and myself are dripping and assuming the tactics of not moving an inch in case this lets any amount of water into your jacket, Magnus pops his dry head out of the hatch and informs us that you can hear the rain very clearly on the hydrophones. The responses were quick, to the point and not exactly along the lines of ‘ooh, how interesting’. It’s now mid-day and we’re making good speed towards the Western Approaches. We should move onto the continental shelf this afternoon, hopefully bringing calmer waters and a welcome break from the big ocean swell.