A game of chess?

With a high pressure system forecast to "bubble" over the North Sea
tomorrow, picking a route through the light winds looks like something of a
lottery. On the left flank heading for the Norweigan coast is Richard House
Hospice, presumably hoping to sail around the pressure system, but at the
moment well to both North and East of us. Spearheading the attack in the
centre is Pippa on The Shed, taking the direct aproach and storming up the
rhumb line and therefore the shortest course, as she had the benefit of an
earlier departure from Lerrwick. But many of our friends and rivals are
attacking the right flank. Whilst we expect to be becalmed today, the
forecast is the winds will fill in from the South allowing us to march down
the East Coast of Britain.

On Jangada we have been taking it easy today and have backed off a gear. The
storms of the past few days left a large swell which caused an awkward sea
state as the swell rouded both sides of the Shetland Islands with waves
approaching us at differet angles. So spinnaker down, Jib Top set which has
given us the breathing space for some sleep. Our arrival/departure at each
port in the small hours of the morning means we do not get the benefit of
two good nights sleep. Whilst it is inevitable that we will have slipped
back in the rankings on this leg as a result, we hope that by adopting the
"tortoise" approach we will reap the benefits later.

Richard
Monday 02:30