It looks like the wind is filling in at last..!
Before the race we said it would be a ‘drift off’ along the north side of Sicily and it certainly has been. Not the best conditions for a 45 ton yacht. Though on Grey Goose it does have its compensations with a highly skilled chef and great fresh food. Most of us have even had the luxury of a shower. Talking showers, I have raced on this boat several times now, but only just discovered it has as many as five bathrooms. When we are drifting along, I have to squirm at the weight of all that plumbing!
Our rather dated code Zero has seen quite a bit of action, though is struggling and has split on a couple of occasions and needed repair. Ed Hill from North Sails has done a valiant job at mending it with strips of kevlar and ‘cuben’. I think he might just get that order for a new one this winter?
The wind should fill in slowly all day mainly from the SW first then veer to the WNW. By midnight we should see wind speeds in the high twenties and by 0300 winds over 30 knots as Mistral winds spread south east across the central Med. It looks pretty fruity tomorrow afternoon, with winds over 35 knot. Rather different compared to the last three days when 5 knots has seemed a lot of wind!