Monday, 8 October 2007
It Is Official – The Autopilot is Very Fast
Ever since I arrived on this boat there has been a constant battle between the autopilot and myself. The new kid on the block has obviously wanted to prove who is boss but the autopilot has been putting up a great fight. It is staggering how well a computer and hydraulic ram can drive the boat. So far the pilot has not faltered and consistently drives the boat at high speeds keeping perfectly on course.
Not wanting to be outdone by an electronic aid, at 3 this morning, I decided to have a competition with pilot to see who was best! First the pilots turn. Over a five-minute period the pilot held 8.5 knots of boat speed upwind in 11 knots of breeze. Now my turn. Right. 8.4 knots building to 8.5. That is no good I need to win. Ok, ‘Can we ease the Geny a little please’ I requested. No response. ‘Ah, no crew’ I remembered. Steve was snuggled up in his sleeping bag and noone else wanted to join us. Small problem! After careful consideration I realised that I would need to ask the pilot for some help!
With a gleeful glint in its micro chip, the pilot took over whilst I trimmed the sails. The boat speed built to 9 knots, a little more trim and we were at 9.5 knots, upwind in 11 knots of breeze. Ok, I conceded, this is about teamwork not a competition between each other. The combined effort resulted in an extra knot of boat speed. So, it is official, the autopilot is very fast! However, the pilot cannot trim the sails as well as I can!
The last 24 hours have been fairly slow progress with the wind between 4 and 10 knots. We have now rounded the 1st waypoint and are heading for Fastnet Rock, which is just over 200 miles away. The breeze has now built to a steady 18 knots from the SSW and we are powering along at 13 knots with the kite up. ETA at Fastnet rock is early hours of tomorrow.
I won the klutz of the day award yesterday when my incompetence nearly sank us! I had one of those Philippe Blond Moments and forgot to open the valve that allows the seawater being pumped into the boat to flow to the correct ballast tank. By failing to open any of the valves the pressure built and inevitably blew a gasket. The result was over two tonnes of the English Channel being emptied into Spirit of Weymouth (and over Steve who was sound asleep in his bunk totally oblivious to the catastrophe that was unfolding).
Not wanting to be outdone by an electronic aid, at 3 this morning, I decided to have a competition with pilot to see who was best! First the pilots turn. Over a five-minute period the pilot held 8.5 knots of boat speed upwind in 11 knots of breeze. Now my turn. Right. 8.4 knots building to 8.5. That is no good I need to win. Ok, ‘Can we ease the Geny a little please’ I requested. No response. ‘Ah, no crew’ I remembered. Steve was snuggled up in his sleeping bag and noone else wanted to join us. Small problem! After careful consideration I realised that I would need to ask the pilot for some help!
With a gleeful glint in its micro chip, the pilot took over whilst I trimmed the sails. The boat speed built to 9 knots, a little more trim and we were at 9.5 knots, upwind in 11 knots of breeze. Ok, I conceded, this is about teamwork not a competition between each other. The combined effort resulted in an extra knot of boat speed. So, it is official, the autopilot is very fast! However, the pilot cannot trim the sails as well as I can!
The last 24 hours have been fairly slow progress with the wind between 4 and 10 knots. We have now rounded the 1st waypoint and are heading for Fastnet Rock, which is just over 200 miles away. The breeze has now built to a steady 18 knots from the SSW and we are powering along at 13 knots with the kite up. ETA at Fastnet rock is early hours of tomorrow.
I won the klutz of the day award yesterday when my incompetence nearly sank us! I had one of those Philippe Blond Moments and forgot to open the valve that allows the seawater being pumped into the boat to flow to the correct ballast tank. By failing to open any of the valves the pressure built and inevitably blew a gasket. The result was over two tonnes of the English Channel being emptied into Spirit of Weymouth (and over Steve who was sound asleep in his bunk totally oblivious to the catastrophe that was unfolding).
posted by Philippe Falle at 11:09 AM
