Day 17 Part 2 (revised Day 10)

Nellie is going like a bat out of hell. We are finally on the open North Atlantic with nothing between us and land, with the exception of Iceland and the Faroe Islands for thousands of miles. Our route up the east side of Britain had really been a coastal voyage. 

The sky is clear. We've got strong winds of 20 to 30 knots from the southwest, white caps or, as the British call them, white horses,  and rolling waves of 5 to 7 feet. 

At an average of 7 knots Nellie rolls along, heeling well to port and back while she glides down one wave and then is raised up by another. If this holds we expect reach the northeast coast of Iceland in a little over 2 days of sailing from Thorshvan, a distance of approximately 300 nautical miles. We started the day under full sail, but have now reduced sail a bit to allow an easier motion without losing significant speed.

Imagine the energy required to move this 180 ft vessel with 50 people, all of their belongings, food, water and fuel for the engines and generator at this speed with only the wind! 

Of course, today would be my turn on mess duty. I would have started a dinner last night but as we were in port, I began with lunch. 

First we cleaned the the upper mess, which is on the top or weather deck, wiping down all surfaces including the ceiling. Next we layed out the place settings for the Voyage Crew, then had lunch with the people who were about to go on watch, served the Voyage Crew while the Cook's Assistant, Nate, served the Permanent Crew. Finally, we cleaned up, had some time off (I took a nap as I had also been on Harbor Watch from 4 to 6 am) and repeated the process for dinner. With the movement of the ship it was quite a workout servings the food as the deck tilted first one way and then another in an almost regular rhythm. 

I'm now relaxing in the upper mess before watching a video on my tablet and going to sleep. I report for breakfast at 6:45 am. 

PS

As I made my way to my bunk the on duty watch is handing the main t'gallant (taking in the second sail from the top on the main mast). We're flying!