Learnings and Nantucket Bound

Day #13, Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Time of Report: Have not received an "official report", i.e. a call from Woody
Position: 39.64,-73.42
Heading: Towards Nantucket
Speed: Not reported

Woody & JD are back at sea! As of their latest Spot Finder tracking, they're heading north. They must have found a window in the weather as from what I can decipher, they left yesterday afternoon, with the ebbing tide, bound for Nantucket.

Based on a post Woody submitted on the Flicka site, he shares some of his learnings:

"We have learned that passages in a Flicka are better done in 3 or 4-day segments. This way, weather is reasonably predictable and fuel consumption is not an issue. We now plan to depart Cape May this afternoon with the ebbing tide, bound for Nantucket wich we should make in 3 days. Then it will be 4 more days to Nova Scotia with arrival there expected to be June 17.

We have learned that our Airbreeze wind turbine and our solar panels are not sufficient to make us independent of the engine for electricity. The Airbreeze starts putting out a trickle at 10 kts of apparent wind. At 15 kts our experience is that the output is only 2 Amps. We the wind behind us at 15 to 20 kts and our speed at, say, 5 kts, the output is just enough to maintain basic instruments and nav lights. Not enough to support the autohelm. It takes 25 kts apparent to really do its thing."

Communications Crew (Tracy Tumlin Allardice) and Weather Reporter (Bill Tumlin) are hoping to hear from him this evening with a report.

“Thought is the wind, knowledge the sail, and mankind the vessel.” ~ August Hare