La Vagabonde's crossing

[Cherod]

It seems that apart from a tough start the have been very fortunate , every thing seems to have gone their way , right up until now , even the system that they are in seems to be matching their boat speed just when they need boat speed , the calms ( from what I can see ) have dispersed quickly and they are now in a good position to ride the northerly that is forecast for the remaining days ( of course that’s only a forecast but 4 days can usually be trusted ) fortune , they say , favours the brave .

[Terje Vigen]

During the last couple of hours our friends have been heading NE again, with quite good boat speed. This "small sweep up north" is the last one based on their weather information, informs Nikki Henderson in her latest Facebook update.
The atmosphere among the crew on the fast sailing Cat obviously is still very good

Day 17

I thought I’d share some of our sunshine today with this less than 1000NM to go selfie! We have been absolutely sending it for 24 hours clocking an average speed of 9.7, and still going!

Oh we are very excited to get to Lisbon - and to see you all there.

Things are getting increasingly weird onboard - is this eclectic behaviour a symptom of cabin fever? This evening whilst cooking the most bizarre concoction of all our remaining orange-coloured soups of various flavours - Satisfaction by Otis Redding came on the speaker and Svante, Greta and I all broke into an impromptu dance. Like seriously going for it. Great fun - but so random! Then back to cooking as if nothing had happened. Riley woke up from an afternoon nap at exactly that moment ... to quite the scene. Naturally he joined in. Sadly no photos - too much jiggling and fun was being had.

It was Thanksgiving in America yesterday (or so our calendar said). None of us are from the States, but we thought we would take their tradition into our own hands.

Over dinner (butternut squash and carrot soup - all things orange) we shared with each other what we were thankful for: each other, the fact that this journey is possible, the privilege of being able to experience the ocean - travel - from this perspective, the freedom and the adventure that goes with it, our families, our health, food on the table, wanting for very little. It was special to recognise what we are grateful for - so many things - out loud - it really intensified and highlighted how lucky we are.

What a journey this has been - and now reaching the final stages. If the forecast turns out to be accurate we have one gybe left of the trip - a small sweep up north before our descent to the Portuguese coast. So many memories made - and so many more to make!

[boatman61]

Well starting Sunday night the weathers finally drying here in Portugal so their arrival in Lisbon should be fine weather if colder than it has been.. but the sun will be welcome.. As will a break from 'Coastal Events'.
All in all an uneventful trip on the whole..

[Cherod]

fantastic news ,,, maybe arrive a day early !!!

[Breaking Waves]

as Cherod described, and as expected, they have done their jybe northerly as the wind rotated w/wnw.

They did again exceed my speed expectations, so managed to put in more easting before the shift finished.

The routing plan is unchanged, sweep up a bit to follow the low, and then finally turn for the barn. I did both a normal and a 'faster' routing to check the sensitivity and they have the same general plan (with somewhat different micro details because they encounter slightly different wind fields).

Green line here is the slower routing and red line the faster. This is the wind field on the 30th near when they hit the top and turn to home.



One thing really really nice that their extra boat speed the past few days has accomplished is they now miss (stay in front of) that light-air ridge behind this low. So they can stay in pressure all the way to the finish.

and yea, by avoiding that light air, eta has moved up to 12/3 or 12/4.

[Breaking Waves]

some quick reflections:

They basically made two 'human skill/judgment' interventions to the routing along the trip.

- The 'intentional slow down' period to let the TS and crush zone move out ahead of them. That was good judgment and almost perfectly executed.
- Staying persistently below (south of) the routings for a couple of days (a few days ago). I believe the intent here was to maximize vmg and not to go chasing too far off GC for winds. They sailed quite nicely thru that period and did not lose much distance, but they did end up in a light air field and did, in the end, continue to climb north. So, I was quite sympathetic to this judgment at the time, and it clearly did not cost them much, with hindsight I guess the routing would have been faster overall (in a race with a fleet we would probably know for sure but with one boat here we can not know for sure).

As Boatman said, an 'uneventful' trip (so far, don't want to jinx it); which is just about the highest praise you can give a crew. The TS could have provided some excitement, but they did the slow down exercise to give it some extra separation. They have had good wind angles, and I would guess decently strong average wind speeds.

My polars have been pretty crappy. I usually am able to get them pretty closely dialed in within 5 days, but for various reasons that just did not happen here. One lesson is that the routings have been more useful than I would have expected given the crappy polars.

[Cherod]

Couple of things I noticed , 1 st , boat speed was not as high as some of us might have expected ( perfectly understandable and commendable under circumstances ) 2nd , fronts have moved through faster than ( at least I ) expected ,( this has actually worked out in their favour ) 3 rd , they have played the cards dealt very prudently, and uneventful which is what we all want in a serious voyage ..Not bad for what have been particularly meanly referred to as everything from child abusers , fornicators , frauds , are not even real !! , who can’t navigate , can’t keep watches , can’t cook proper food , etc etc , I expect they have done as well as if not better than some of the long winded know all’s on here . I will not tempt fate by congratulating them now but will wait until their now expected early arrival .

[boatman61]

Its been an interesting and fun thread BW..
Thanks for an insight into what you guys do..

[Terje Vigen]

Originally Posted by Breaking Waves

and yea, by avoiding that light air, eta has moved up to 12/3 or 12/4.

Despite logging an impressive 232 nautical miles yesterday, the crew on LA VAGABONDE seem to be a little cautious to guess exact ETA, other than "somewhere between Monday and Friday?".

Here is their latest Facebook update:

⛵️📡25 knots from 130 degrees. We did 232nm yesterday, (430 kilometres). Starting to stretch our legs.

Still a little early to give a prediction of arrival into Lisbon. Somewhere between Monday and Friday? Your guess is as good as mine. What day do you think?

#sailinglavagabonde #northatlantic

http://sailing-lavagabonde.com

[Cherod]

Any safe arrival day is a good day

[Breaking Waves]

Originally Posted by Terje Vigen

LA VAGABONDE seem to be a little cautious to guess exact ETA,

there is still some uncertainty about light air near the approach,

and offshore sailors tend to be careful about giving out eta's - you don't want people reporting you overdue to the authorities if you miss slightly, and historically its been viewed as potentially causing bad luck.

thanks for posting the facebook things - it helps quite a bit to get a sense of the feelings and thinking on board.

[Cherod]

Interesting that with ( apparently ) the wind behind them and relatively calm seas they still have a few rolls in that geny , still not on the limit

[Terje Vigen]

Originally Posted by Breaking Waves

there is still some uncertainty about light air near the approach

At the same time as they'll have to cross shipping lanes with fairly dense traffic.

[Breaking Waves]

off topic, but google up Allegra if you want to see what crossing in $B's style looks like . . . .

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[Cherod]

Originally Posted by Breaking Waves

there is still some uncertainty about light air near the approach,

and offshore sailors tend to be careful about giving out eta's - you don't want people reporting you overdue to the authorities if you miss slightly, and historically its been viewed as potentially causing bad luck.

thanks for posting the facebook things - it helps quite a bit to get a sense of the feelings and thinking on board.

I would say the reluctance in stating an ETA is more to do with their uncertainty re the possability of some light airs rather than any overdue worries , after all I would think this is one of the most followed / tracked journeys of recent times ,,, I remember one worthy referring to it as “ stalking “ !! ( thanks for the link )