By Nicole
It's amazing what a little sunshine will do for morale. After a week of donning foul weather gear (still damp from last shift) and getting drenched on every watch, we were getting a tad cranky. But this week it's been nothing but blue skies. That means stargazing on night watches, hanging out in the cockpit during the day and getting to wear dry underwear all day long.
Last week we crushed 171- and 163-mile days, which for a heavy, little boat like ours is crazy! But we were burning miles, and the speed felt good. After shearing a pin on the autopilot arm, though, we started hearing a familiar Scottish voice in our heads saying, "She can't take much more of this, Captain! She's giving it all she's got!". We wisely decided to throttle back, and promptly installed the spare autopilot pin. Reefing the main and jib settled things down, and as the boat mellowed, so did life aboard.
The halfway mark is now hundreds of miles in our wake, and being on the backside of the passage hill feels good. We certainly have a long way to go still, but we're starting to see the faintest bit of light at the end of the long tunnel. A few boats in our Galapagos armada have fewer than 900 miles to go and will be anchored under the lush, green spires of the Marquesas before much longer. Hopefully they can get the Hinano beer chilling for the rest of us!
Lows:
Cleaning out the clogged head pump (toilet)
Eating the last farm-fresh pineapple
Worrying about the autopilot (and hand-steering in heavy weather to give it a break)
Rolling and bucking in lumpy seas for days (still)
Highs:
Seeing sunshine and blue skies
Finally having dry undies
Playing games in the cockpit
Nailing the halfway mark
On to week 3! Au revoir! (I'm trying to learn some French, but my Spanish is confusing matters. Ou est el bano?)
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Awesome guys! Palm trees almost on the horizon!
ReplyDeleteSteve
Thanks for the update, Nicole! It sounds like you're having a good passage now. May it continue. Hugs. xo
ReplyDeleteHurrah for dry underwear.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about the wet weather but at least you found out that after 2 years of dry weather, your foulies still work.
ReplyDeleteI've just ordered French for Cruisers, and have the Rosetta Stone French loaded on the Touch. Not looking forward to wrapping my lips and tongue around another set of unfamiliar pronunciations, but it has to be done. All hail, English!
Re: your mileage....well done. We hope our behemoth will do as well.
Keep up your spirits, and fair winds.
Heather
Getting closer! Hooray for clear skies! We're thinking about you!
ReplyDeleteCheers, Brolaw
Keep up the good work. I'd be interested to know what your watch schedule is. In all my double handing I've done 3 on 3 off, but am looking at 6 on 6 off. What's been working for you guys?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Denny! Great to hear from you. For watch schedules, we mostly do 3 on, 3 off during the day and 6 on, 6 off at night. The six hours at night is a stretch, but it does allow for some decent sleep in between. (Minus sail changes and such.)
DeleteWOW!! Congrats!!! We were with you in Chiapas last spring and were so sorry to read about your lightning strike on your blog last summer. But how fabulous to come back to your blog now and find you're over halfway to the Marquesas!! What a thrill for you guys. Good luck on the rest of your cruise. --Emily & Mark, s/v Groovy (http://roadslesstraveled.us)
ReplyDelete