Last night was very slow going as we finally worked our way through the ridge of high pressure. This morning we have had some glorious, fast reaching in warm sunshine with a building northerly breeze. Next we anticipate the arrival of a cold front with strong northwesters and rain, but at least it will push us in the right direction. As I write this we have 2002 miles left to go, roughly the equivalent of racing around Britain and Ireland, which Phillippa and I did twice last year on our own boat, Phesheya-Racing. We completed those races in just over 10 days, so bearing in mind that this is a delivery on a slower boat I guess we have about 14 days left to Cape Town.
Today we changed time zones from UT-2 to UT-1. Our daily routine onboard is based around local time so between 18H00 and 06H00 we alternate 3 hour night watches, and in the day time we do 4 hour watches. This gives us a rotating system so that we are not always on watch at the same time every day but it does mean that we have to adjust our clocks occasionally. UT (Universal Time) is basically a new name for GMT (Greenwich Mean Time), which was the time based on the mean, or average, time that it took for the earth to rotate so that the sun was directly overhead on the Greenwich Meridian. Of course the average time is 24 hours, but it varies considerably through the year. As the earth rotates 360 degrees in 24 hours the times of sunrise and sunset vary by 1 hour for every 15 degrees that one travels east or west (360/24=15), so every 15 degrees we sail we adjust our onboard time by 1 hour to stay in sync with the sun. The Greenwich Meridian is regarded as the central meridian of UT, so the boundaries of UT run from 7 1/2 W to 7 1/2 E. UT-1 covers the next 15 degrees, from 7 1/2 W to 22 1/2 W, which is where we are now.
No ships to be seen in the past 24 hours and sea life remains much the same as the past few days, though noticeably fewer Flying fishes.
Today we changed time zones from UT-2 to UT-1. Our daily routine onboard is based around local time so between 18H00 and 06H00 we alternate 3 hour night watches, and in the day time we do 4 hour watches. This gives us a rotating system so that we are not always on watch at the same time every day but it does mean that we have to adjust our clocks occasionally. UT (Universal Time) is basically a new name for GMT (Greenwich Mean Time), which was the time based on the mean, or average, time that it took for the earth to rotate so that the sun was directly overhead on the Greenwich Meridian. Of course the average time is 24 hours, but it varies considerably through the year. As the earth rotates 360 degrees in 24 hours the times of sunrise and sunset vary by 1 hour for every 15 degrees that one travels east or west (360/24=15), so every 15 degrees we sail we adjust our onboard time by 1 hour to stay in sync with the sun. The Greenwich Meridian is regarded as the central meridian of UT, so the boundaries of UT run from 7 1/2 W to 7 1/2 E. UT-1 covers the next 15 degrees, from 7 1/2 W to 22 1/2 W, which is where we are now.
No ships to be seen in the past 24 hours and sea life remains much the same as the past few days, though noticeably fewer Flying fishes.
There is no doubt Nick - you look like a sailor. Now it is down to the grind for you and Phillipa. I am amazed at how people are still following the blog. This mother (by default) is watching. Now I undersand the time zones much better. Thanks. What are you guys eating? Marika
ReplyDeleteGood show Nick ! You seem to have a natural penchant for teaching. Tell us more about the South Atlantic and Antartic birds.
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