1300 Saturday, June 25
We remain shrouded in fog most of the time. So, I am offering up an image of the cabin. Greg is off watch and dozing; Carl is on deck steering. Carl's berth to starboard is rigged with straps and a Lee cloth to hold him in the windward bunk..
From time to time there are fishing boats or a small freighter, never seen in the heavy fog, but, appearing on radar or AIS. Sometimes, as in the case of a French fishing boat last night, we have to alter course to keep clear. Curiously, last night we did pass through French waters to the south of St. Pierre, one of the two small French islands south of Newfoundland. Our winds for the past 36 hours have been southerly at 25 to 30 knots, moving us fast, yet tiring on our minds and bodies.
When I went on watch at 0500 today I was joined by a group of 6 or 8 common dolphins. They cavort about, surfacing, leaping and swimming effortlessly. Sometimes they rode the bow wave, other times they burst out of the water just a few feet from me on the helm. It is unusual for them to remain with a boat for so long. I recall learning long ago that Navy engineers designing torpedos could not understand how the dolphins could generate enough horsepower to move so swiftly. Further research revealed that the dolphins can make subtle changes to body shape to get near perfect laminar flow of water reducing drag. Torpedoes can't do that.
In about an hour, Tazzarin will round Cape Race at the southeastern tip of the island. Cape Race will be hidden in fog as we turn the corner and head up the final stretch of this run from Massachusetts to Newfoundland. From Cape Race it is about 100 miles up the coast of the Avalon Peninsula where we turn into Conception Bay and make our way to Long Pond and the Royal Newfoundland Yacht Club. We will pass by the entrance of the commercial harbor of St. John`s along the way.
The forecast has our heavy southerly winds shifting southwest and diminishing as the low pressure to our south move out into the Atlantic. We will welcome the change and our arrival in Port in about 24 hours.
Bill
