2020 attempt: First week update, July 13th

Good news:

The boat is more or less on course despite the shifting winds. It covered 200 km in one week, more than half of the first big leg towards the waypoint south of Nova Scotia. It continues to send satellite tracking updates a few times a day, which means there are no leaks and the battery + solar panel are doing OK.

Bad news:

It slowed down significantly since Thursday, now going at a third of its early speed, and is having trouble steering in strong cross winds. This likely means one of the motors has a problem, probably on the right side.

This is too slow to make it across the ocean, and also means it won’t be able to navigate and hit the waypoints well. We’ll see what happens but I am not optimistic at this point. As it gets closer to Nova Scotia or Sable island, it might be possible to organize a rescue mission? Currently it’s too far off shore.