Settling into a sea-worthy groove
We have started to fall into a groove....
Four days out and the seas are strong with the wind at our backs, about 15-20 kts. It pushes the boat up on the top of the wave, like a surfboard. Then she dives into the oncoming wave. As of 10:55 on Nov 13th, we have covered 461 nm. Only 241 to our way point for a fuel stop. We are using more fuel than expected due to the battery situation, which is that the house set is not holding a charge when we go to sails. We are having to run the generator or the motor every 90 minutes.
As you can see - I’m smiling! Sickness has come and gone….
Behind me, Graham takes a much needed rest in the Caribbean sun
How frozen does the food need to be?
Carlos checked out the house batteries, they appear to be OK and taking the charge, but not holding it. Next suspect in the battery saga: the freezer. It pulls quite a bit of power, so unless we are charging, we agreed to shut it off. Another example of teamwork in the decision making process. The food was pretty frozen solid, anyway. This extended our battery time to 3 hours. Based on that move and the fuel situation not being as low as expected (rough seas make for imperfect measurements....), the waypoint for fueling was eliminated and we pushed on.
Carlos fixed the starboard side bathroom door.
Carlos will fix anything he can fix or he will figure it out to make it work.
Time to make friends
I have been enjoying getting to know Graham and Amber better. Graham is at a crossroads where he has the opportunity to make some choices about where life takes him next. Amber is studying fervently for her captain's license test, but she has been jerked around quite a bit by the testing company. She is planning to take the test when we land in Sarasota. She is also working toward relocating to Puerto Rico. It's good to share our dreams with them and find some common ground - both in our own experiences and feelings about on what's going on in this world. Graham and Amber were doing some planning of their own on a vision for sailing related business opportunity. The team is coming together, norming, anticipating tasks and taking the load off of Graham.
The routine
The days start with Amber's watch and morph into Graham's and Amber's watch. I write in the log and cook a morning meal. Carlos would read charts or work trying to get his satellite phone working or touching up other mechanical issues. In the afternoon, we ate snacks and leftovers if the microwave could be used (only have 110V when the generator was running). Then we would settle into watching the sea, washing clothes or reading. There was no internet signal, unless we got close to land, but Graham had a satellite phone for emergencies.. The evening meal was usually more substantial and signaled the start of the evening shifts. Graham would go to sleep in the afternoon and get up to go to 11, Carlos would go from 11p to 3a, then Amber and myself would do the 3a to daybreak. This worked out most equitably with Graham and Amber at the helm most of the day.
Watching the sea is my favorite activity. The waves are so blue and the so high, they almost feel like they are coming into the boat with you. Amber was all about studying. She would ask Graham and Carlos a lot of questions to find the right answers on the practice quiz.
The food
Morning was usually light foods - usually some granola bars, fruit, yogurt. One time, I made pancakes. Another trick of Amber’s was crescent rolls with meat or fruit in the middle. We scored a ton of fresh avocados and apples in St. Thomas, so the thinking caps were on for using these up. Coffee was in big demand - we had to start the generator to run the coffee pot!! We had lots of wraps and there was also soup for simpler meals. A bit hit was hot pockets - the microwave again, but fast and easy. The easier the food was to prepare, the better. The evening meal could be leftovers, spaghetti or some meat in the oven. We had ice cream sandwiches, too, but with the freezer situation, they were saft.
We also had a few surprises
A playful group of dolphins decides to follow us along the bow of the boat. Such a freindly set and so free to roam the full ocean! Just spectacular!
11/14/20 - Happy Birthday Gizele!
Gizele is our daughter and lives in DC. Got the satellite phone to work in the afternoon and got through to her. She was excited to hear from us, since we had been silent since 11/10. By mid-day we had travelled 595 nm. Closer to the Keys than USVI.
The days are filled with shimmering blue water, birds dive bombing for flying fish, errant (dead) fliers on the deck. No ships, no land; just the horizon, sky and ocean - and this little boat!
in the next blog:
A stop in Key West
An errant wind forecast
Lost the Autopilot!
