Thursday, May 19, 2011

Day 3- the care and feeding of the crew

Time: 1500 Zulu (noon PV time)
Position 18-deg 47-min N 110-deg 09-min W
Wind: NNW 10-12-knots Seas: NW 4-ft+
Steering: 250 T at 5.9-knots
Rig: double-reefed main, 100% jib
24-hr distance traveled: approx 90-nm

Gratefully the seas settled down a bit just after last post. The 80% jib went down, the 100% went up and the main came down and we sailed under 100% alone all night making decent (approx 4.5) knots most of the evening. Should have put up some main earlier in the day, but Chris was finally sleeping and Shawn didn't want to wake him with the noise of it, so we crept along at barely 4 knots all morning. Since just after a beautiful starry evening before the moon rose, the sky has clouded up so we have had only small holes of sun which we are milking and have been enough to keep us mostly charged up.

Chris is feeling much better. Wore earplugs on his off watch and actually slept. Shawn is feeling okay, but any attempts to cook have been difficult in our upwind configured sailing. Imagine pouring boiling water into a moving target while you are performing a dance yourself. Pulling food stores to peel and cook, that are quickly going bad, only gets started and she starts to feel green and loses the motivation to eat and hence cook. Chris has done well keeping the boat moving- now it is imperative that we start eating properly. Shawn needs to get back into the swing to be able to keep the crew well fed, so she started taking seasick meds today.

Another issue is that we can't seem to coax Griz into her litter box- she hasn't gone since the mellows of Day 1, so we're working on that. Our bodies are getting used to being so hard on the wind (therefore heeling approx 15-degs), but we have had to reorganize some of the windward side of our cabin for access (i.e. the litter box needs a more comfortable setting, all the cans in the upwind locker have fallen forward, caught by the door closure, but in an inaccessible jumble thwarting utilization). We have nearly made the longitude of the Soccoro Islands which marks the end of the beginning of our passage. This means that we have made it past the "no wind" area between Banderas Bay and the Soccoros and are now looking forward to the winds veering more northerly so we can fall off onto a more comfortable reach.

Other unforseen boat stuff so far: (1)one of our windex flags has mysteriously moved. Chris' theory is that a Boobie flying along next to it, eyeing it as a perch, got bonked by it as the mast randomly swung in the confused seas of Day 2, which bent the flag. Everyone seems to want to hitch a ride including some crazy flying fish. (2) Although we knew that it would be a wet endeavor to sail upwind at all in Tao (and hence all portholes and hatches are securely closed), the flu of our stove is letting in a bit of water as waves wash over our deck. This has been stopped by a duct tape job, but has left a sooty mess on the foot of our bed down below. (3) Fatty has had to be retied to keep his bow into the waves and to stop lateral movement of the stern. (4) We now have a head sail change/bean bag seat tied over our stern lazarette for increased accessibility.

1 comment:

  1. Keep up the great movement little by little. Hydrate, eat, sleep, laugh. Forward is the way to go. Much love, Mum

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