Headaches is what I have because it’s not possible to make a plan on how to go through the lull which we reach tomorrow.

Yesterday, I did a lot of calculations and simulations on how to go through the 300 NM north-south extension of this lull. I started on the E and far on the W and in the middle but nothing was really a good plan

It’s the lull with quickly changing wind directions and wind speeds. The forecast indicates wind direction changes of sometime 180 deg with in less then 3 h. From forecast to forecast the wind pattern within the the lull changes. This suggests that the real winds don’t follow the forecast at all. Thus, it’s not possible to make a plan on how to pass the approximately 300 NM zone to Marsden Cove Marina. The only thing, which is reasonably possible is getting ideas on going through this zone.

My idea is, to try to go as much as possible towards Madsen Cove Marina and look at the weather forecast if there is a higher wind area located nearby. This means plenty of manoeuvers and changes between genoa, genoa & main sail, and gennaker. And decisions to do something can become ridiculous before the action is done.

How long will it take us to go through this silly lull? Looking at the indicated wind speeds and times I can imagine that we will have and average of 3 KN. This leads to day distances of 72 NM. Taking 300 NM as the width of the area, it should take 4 days to cross the lull and reach Madsen Cove Marina. 300 NM we normally do in 2 days…

Despite the very enjoyable sailing since we escaped on the north side of the former lull zone,
despite the good food and mood we have on board,
despite the delicious bread with walnuts I could bake,
despite the average STW of almost 9 KN MaRe runs,
despite the sunshine we have,
despite ….
I have headaches about what’s in front of us.