Magda Jean motored out of the harbor, and by noon we had all three sails flying and were sailing along happily. The wind and solar power generators easily kept up with our needs and wants, one of which was our autopilot, which kept us on course with no need for hand steering. We sat in the cockpit, just enjoying the ride. It was chilly though - and for most of the trip we wore long underwear, pants, then slicker pants for the periodic wetness, three shirts, and our foul weather jackets. At night we wore caps as well. It was not unpleasant with the proper gear. We had to reef the main sail and the jib in order to stay in control. The seas were sort of rough, and the boat got knocked around a lot. Later, we lost the wind, which was a bummer because the seas were sort of high. There was a LOT of yawing around, but except for the fact that slatting sails and a slamming boom are bad for the boat, we were fine and happy. Our first dinner was pretty miserable, but we waited too long until it was dark. While of course we have lights, we did not feel comfortable enough yet to leave the cockpit unattended to eat dinner inside. While I slept, Mike sailed and his log reports indicate it was cold but the sailing was good. There was a lot of rolling around from side to side, but I was able to sleep.
Wednesday dawned with Mike sleeping (only a bit - getting enough sleep for him remains a challenge) and me on watch. I loved every minute of it. The autopilot kept us on course, and I watched the sun come up. There is always something to check on while on watch, and believe me, it is not boring. It is also absolutely wonderful just to be alone with my own thoughts. I would find myself in this state that I think is a meditative state - something I have heard about but never been able to achieve before. It was like I was asleep but hyperaware at the same time, but also somewhere else mentally altogether. We also decided to change our course and go further offshore and tack, because the winds were getting us nowhere. Sailing is not like driving - since you cannot go directly into the wind, you have to get places sometimes indirectly. Like you can't get there from here. You have to go somewhere else first, and then cut back. It can actually take less time to go more miles, and that is a concept I have had a hard time dealing with. When my destination is southeast, it is very hard to watch myself on the gps track going west southwest. But the course change did make for wonderful sailing, with less wear and tear on the boat. I fixed spaghetti for dinner. Our stove is on gimbals so it moves back and forth as the boat rocks. And I have these metal things with thumbscrews that attach to the stove and keep the pots and pans settled down even with rough seas. It was fantastic. The boat is rocking so much that I have top brace myself in order to stand up, but the pot of boiling pasta water was as steady as if it were on my stove on Wing Street. I washed the dishes in salt water with a fresh water rinse. I had an evening watch, and discovered to my absolute delight that I could read onboard even in a rocking boat. The winds died down, and we turned the engines on, because if not, the combination of no wind and rough seas caused the sails to slat and the boom to slam around. (Not only do I hate that condition because it is very uncomfortable, it is also very bad for the boat.) While the engine was going, I changed course to a more southerly direction. Mike was asleep and I made the decision to do that on my own. (It was a constant issue for Mike to get any sleep. A lot of that had to do with things happening that he needed to be there for, but truthfully, some of it is due to his own personality. He thinks he has to do everything himself in order for things to go properly. Even though I stood a perfectly fine watch, it was hard to get him to go to sleep, and even then he jumped out of bed every time the boat shifted.) When Mike took over and I went to bed, he experimented with trying to sail, but it wasn't working very well. The boat took some really hard rolls. He finally broke down and turned the engine on. It is hard to sleep with the boat rolling round, but if you can not worry and just sort of relax into it, it can almost be pleasant. I identified all the noises and diagnosed the sources finding the threat factor to be low, and then everything was fine.
On the third day, I read during my morning watch and just thought about things. I considered getting the computer and doing some writing, but didn't feel confident enough to have it in the cockpit where it might get knocked over. That will come later. I sipped my coffee and thought about how it seemed to be getting warmer. It was. We shed layers of clothing and never did have to put quite as much back on. The winds came and went, and because we wanted to make some progress towards Turtle Bay and warmer weather, we used the engine. We don't like to, but at times it makes life much easier. I made smoked marlin ceviche tostadas for dinner. My evening watch was a lot of fun, because we were sailing along nicely with a lot of roll in the seas. It was very exciting and a complete adrenaline rush. I would have let Mike sleep longer but he woke up and insisted on taking over. SO I went to bed and slept nicely even with the pitching.
We were sailing when I took over the watch, but the wind died down and again we turned the engine on. It was getting warmer and before I knew it, I had on only one shirt, one pair of pants, no socks, and no jacket. I saw a jumping fish, and would have thrown out a line except for the fact that Mike was finally getting some uninterrupted sleep, and it takes one to handle the fish and one to handle the boat. Our final afternoon was beautiful, and we anchored in Turtle Bay exactly at sunset. After securing our anchor so as to ensure it would not drag, we went to bed and slept well.
That brings us current. We are anchored in Turtle Bay, just off a nice little village. The winds are so strong today that some of the boats dragged anchor, but not us. Our expensive top of the line anchor was a sound investment. Our wind generator and solar panels are easily keeping up with and exceeding our power needs, including a coffee maker and this computer. We haven't had to run the engine to charge the batteries all day. Once the wind dies down, we plan to take the dinghy to shore to explore this little village and send regular emails in an internet cafe. I will try and post pictures in my next blog post. Finally, I feel like a real sailor.
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Don't worry abouting sounding like a sailor, as I read your blog you use sailor words that I have no idea what they mean, but sound real cool. I would love to see sunset pics at turtle bay.
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