Happy Birthday Lesley - dear friend (Away Lime!) I'd have a drink to toast you, except I"m not drinking while underway, so will have to wait until landfall in the Marquessa's. Peter will have an extra beer!
We had another record breaking day (methinks it will be the last one for a little while since the wind has diminished). We made 188 miles with wind of 15 - 20 knots. We flew the Geneker (which is a bigger cruising sail that we use in place of the genoa). It was a bit of a gong show as we set it up for the first time, especially with an 8 foot swell, but we eventually mastered it in time to get in a few hours before we doused it at sunset (my prerequisite and not Doug or Peter's choice - but the motto on board is "Safety First").
I'm sending this a bit later in the day than normal, since we have put up the geneker again, after a rolly breakfast of French Toast and split teas/juices. Again we had some interesting moments, but we are getting better at communicating with one another and giving and understanding instructions clearly.
Yesterday was our first full day where everyone felt great - including Doug who is getting better minute by minute. Shelby has figured out if she stays above decks she is fine, but hopefully she'll be able to move around freely without feeling queasy.
During the day, we enjoyed the sunshine, doing crossword puzzles and games with Shelby, reading, relaxing and also Shelby and Doug practiced their knots in the afternoon. We took our first showers and have all added a few bruises. A special thanks to Fatima who gave me some DVD's as a goodbye present...while making a celebratory steak dinner I was rocking along with Alba, and it couldn't have been more appropriate as they belted out "I had a Dream!!!!". Then to cap off the great day the sea was kind as it flattened out for us to all enjoy dinner together sitting down and listening to Il Divo - Siempre. Just magical - thanks Fatima!
The night watches were a bit of a challenge, since the winds died down and the waves/swells increased forcing us to hand steer most of the night. We are still getting used to "Max", our self steering system, so we'll continue to tweak it and get to know the ins and outs to make it work well under all conditions. We also saw far off in the distance our first boat. We think it was a fishing boat, possibly from Japan, but never got close enough to even pick it up on radar.
So as I write this, we have just been hit with a squall - lots of rain and it looks like it will hang around for a bit. The wind has died down to about 10 knots, making the seas even lumpier. The swells are eight feet every 8 seconds. It is always more challenging having four people on a sailboat while in a downpour, especially since it is warm and humid (25 degrees - 80% humidity) which makes it too uncomfortable for sleeping or being down below (except since I've promised to do this every day - I'm hanging in here for a few minutes more). Doug and Shelby are both feeling a little queasy again, so it might be a long, long day for them.
Thanks for following us along and Happy Birthday again to Les!
No comments:
Post a Comment