0200. The breeze has freshened and is now blowing 16 to 20. It has swung back towards the E. We’ve got a nice sea – maybe six to eight feet – just enough for some really good rides. Top momentary speed tonight is 22 knots – meanwhile, the ten minute average speed on the GPS is stuck on a measly 12.8 knots. We’ve been “racing” a freighter for the past six hours. They’ve been gradually overhauling us and now, after eight hours of holding them off, they’ve drawn abeam. I wonder how much handicap they have to give us to the flats at Cristobal, Panama?

There is a huge difference in average boat speed between when we actively help the autopilot and when we just let it do its work. In the conditions of the past two days, BEOWULF is capable of winding her speed up by building her apparent wind, in the same style as high performance multihulls. Our faithful WH autopilot is set to an apparent wind angle, and then we use the course setting knob on the remote, and the rudder gain boost button to heat up BEOWULF’s course or pull her bow off onto long surfs.

Here is an example of how this works in practice. Right now the apparent wind angle is set at 105 degrees. Average wind speed is about 17 knots. The computer looks at the target AWA and defines a compass course for the pilot to follow. We can momentarily change that course by turning the course change dial. So, sitting on the leeward pilot house seat, holding the remote control across our lap, when we feel BEOWULF start to slow down, and therefore in need of some “heat”, we dial in five to eight degrees helm to windward. This takes affect immediately, and BEOWULF heads up and accelerates. The computer senses the building apparent wind angle and orders the pilot to pull the bow off to leeward. If we want this to occur rapidly – if we are just beginning to lock into a nice wave for example – we hit the yellow rudder gain boost button which doubles rudder angle. As soon as we feel the rudder bite and the bow swing, we release the button, the bow slows its turn, and the computer/pilot relationship goes back to automatic. What we are doing, in partnership with pilot and computer, is sailing the classic “S” curve.

In conditions like we’ve been having the last eight hours, working the helm in this fashion is good for an extra 15% or more in boat speed. But unless we are racing, we don’t usually only help steer in this fashion. Of course, if there’s a freighter around to race…

1000 hours

Breeze has dropped a bit, but seas have lengthened out so we are getting some really good rides. The GPS is showing a ten minute average of 14 knots – for the past four hours. BEOWULF and crew are having a great sail! 308 miles under our keel for the last 24 hours.

Ran off to slow down and make the foredeck dry so we could do our morning inspection. Found a bit of chafe on the forward code zero sheet. The rail car had slipped aft and there was not enough space between it and the turning block. Amazingly, that’s the first piece of headsail sheet chafe we’ve experienced in close to 40,000 miles. Rolled up the headsail, and then brought the lazy (windward) sheet around to leeward and visa versa.

What is always amazing to us when we run off like this is how much apparent wind BEOWULF generates. Running deep, minus her big headsail, the sea and wind waves look positively placid. The waves are running four to six feet now, and average wind not more than 16 knots. But when we head back up on course and BEOWULF accelerates, the apparent wind builds rapidly, as does our speed.

We were able to get weather faxes late last night from NMG (New Orleans). Looks like the tradewind (high pressure) circulation might be trying to push back into Panama. Our barometer average pressure has been dropping slowly since leaving the BVI – indicative that we’re getting towards the outer edges of the high pressure system. However, it appears this morning to be going up slowly. If this is the case, it is a good sign.

One thing to keep in mind about weather models and forecasters in an area like Panama: Between the Pacific and Atlantic weather systems, and the mountains of Central and South America, this is a very tough area in which to play weather guesser. So, we take everything with a grain of salt. Hopefully those west winds we were seeing forecast yesterday, and which are shown lighter on today’s prognosis, will fail to appear.