First 24 hours at sea

 Day 1 was magical.  We departed just before dawn under a beautiful full moon casting a shimmering white path for our way out to sea.

                                    Sunrise over the Atlantic made for a spectacular 5 am watch!

Perfect conditions with blue skies and balmy temperatures, moderate seas, on a broad reach with the main well out, held secure by our new preventer system, full reacher (genoa), cruising along at a respectable 7-8 knots, with winds a steady 12-15 knots.  

 

In fact, conditions were so calm Jeanie cooked up a gourmet dinner of Kumera Mash (sweet potatoe),  steamed green beans with a garlic and tomato sauce and grass fed New Zealand beef steak with a Mojo Criollo marinade followed by a slice of home made GF chocolate brownie, enjoyed at the cuddy dining table (I learnt from you Commodore!!)

Jeanie completing the log at the end of her watch

As the day came to a close we decided on a watch system of 2 hours on, 4 hours off  worked by Tami, Geoff and Jeanie with Captain Charlie resting in the cuddy but available at a moment's notice.  We noted our position, latitude and longitude along with other pertinent information such as % of water, fuel in the tanks, levels in the grey and black water tanks, house batteries, barometer readings, COG (course over ground), SOG (speed over ground), wind direction, true/apparent/speed, sea state, sail configuration, engine oil pressure, temperature, RPM's.

Cruising at a steady 9 knots, water depth over 600ft

As the evening wore on, the temperatures dropped, seas 3-5ft, barometer pressure slowly dropped.  Crew broke out their warmer layers and full foul weather suits including hats, gloves and sea boots.

Sunset on the first night.

A giant orange harvest moon appeared above the horizon slowly turning to a glowing white dancing across the waves. As the night drew on, the wave heights increased along with the wind propelling us forward.