Rapidly warming conditions

Hello from a warm Bahrain Team Pindar!
 
Conditions are rapidly warming as I climb NE’ward. I was working on some repair projects down below and realised that I was getting very overheated in my thick thermals, so am just in a thin set of Musto thermals now and realise that it had been high time to shed some layers. It’s even fine on deck in bare feet today. It is getting back to Bahrain weather!
 
Now almost at the latitude of Buenos Aires and out of the Roaring Forties. The miles have passed very quickly since the Horn. When I was sailing in the Southern Ocean, the distances were so vast and the sea so empty that it was hard to measure your progress, now its easy, with Argentina and soon Uruguay and Brasil on the port side. I can tick off the cities, provinces, and countries along the way on the digital chart.
 
Over half way to the next big meteorological feature, the SE trades which sit reliably just to the north of Rio. All the way from the Horn to these tradewinds, the South Atlantic can be a lottery and so far myself, Dee and Arnaud have been filling up our bingo cards very well. But there is a slow section tomorrow, where I need to struggle through a light airs transition zone to reach a new wind that is blowing from almost the opposite direction to the NW wind that I have now. Then a couple more days of steady sailing till the final transition near Rio to the tradewinds. But to have done two-thirds of this section on the same weather system is very fortunate and it has been relatively gentle conditions for the boat.
 
Been catching Sam and Marc in these conditions and if I can get through the transition zone without being too delayed, then I have a chance to get within 300/400 miles of them on the approach to the doldrums, which is a feasible distance to catch up before the finish, or ‘attack’ as the French love to put it! 
 
Last night had another interesting repair job before I could charge the batteries. The clutch problem that I had fixed two days before, reappeared, and it did not make sense that it would need readjusting so soon, so there had to be something else wrong. Sure enough, on taking it completely to pieces I saw that a screw in the clutch plate had worked loose and destroyed the clutch. So, over a few hours, I removed the hydraulic pump, then the clutch assembly, them remounted the pump. The pump won’t work anymore without the clutch, but it is only the back-up keel motor and so long as the electric keel pump keeps working, I will be OK. Or I will be hand pumping the keel like Bilou in second place! It was an interesting job as it was interspersed with sojourns on deck to reduce sail, as the wind increased steadily over the period from 20-35 knots. Now its back to 15-20 knots.
 
Next major job after ensuring power is to get weather data and I was also working last night trying to get the Iridium Open Port working again. I had already checked the cable, but the tech support team in Arizona that I talked to are sure that the problem is in the cable, so I will try to rebuild the complex plugs - there is nothing to lose by trying.
 
Whilst working on the iridium, I found a corroded plug on the long time non-functioning Fleet 77 satellite system and I am working on this now by crawling like a contortionist into a 12 inch high space at the very stern of the boat,  to make new connections with crimps. If I can get at least one of these systems working it will really help me avoid the light wind areas in the South Atlantic and pick the correct course across the Doldrums, as well as sending images back.
 
Just been outside to check for other vessels, and to make sure the sail trim is good, and the conditions are just beautiful for sailing. Blue skies, steady winds, sparkling seas, it’s exceptional conditions for this race, but just everyday conditions in Bahrain . As I reflect on many things as enter the last phase of this long race, I can't but help think of the proud country whose name I am championing. So many people from the Middle East and indeed all over the world have been following my progress and I am really looking forward to visiting my new friends in the Kingdom of Bahrain, when the race is over.  
 
Right now though, I still have to get another 5500 miles up the South and North Atlantic, so I had better get back into my suitcase sized hole at the back and carry on splicing wires!
 
All the best
 
Brian