Author: Pete
Location: 05°57.424S’ 98°45.381W’
Date: 11:00 March 2 to 11:00 March 4
Day 4 and 5 at sea.
Good wind on Thursday, between 10 and 16 knots, accompanied by taller rollers than we’ve had so far on this passage and some chop. We’re sailing on a beam reach heading roughly WSW. Gorgeous night on Thursday (who cares what day it is out here, right?) with almost full moon and light cloud cover. The boat is pitching and bucking in the bigger waves, but seemed happy to be making 5-7 knots after several days of light wind.
Had a low key day Thursday. Attached the towing generator better so it doesn’t vibrate so much. Caught a tiny mahi mahi, maybe 20″, but threw him back. Great colors though, gold and blue! Played Rummikub this afternoon. It tests not only your logistic capabilities, but also how well you can hold your lunch down. He who can stand to look at the tiles on the table longest wins! Made a good curry with the last of our cauliflower, a tricky feat on a rolling boat. There are some veggies in the bilges now I’m sure.
Squalls came more and more frequently during the day Friday starting early in the morning. Couldn’t get a radio signal good enough to send an email due to the heavy weather around us. Winds kicked up to 22 knots in the squalls accompanied by rain all day long. We all got a good shower on the house! We have a double reef in the main and jib and the boat is sailing along happily. She doesn’t seem to notice that we’re being shaken up like a snow globe in here! Liza somehow made plantain bread out of some sweet, ripe plantains, a treat on a stormy day.
The first several hours of heavy seas is a little wearing on the nerves. One thinks that being out in the elements at the helm with all the crew at the ready is the way to keep the boat upright. But really, she needs to have appropriately reefed sails, a good heading, and a lookout for boats. Other than that, she’s happy to handle herself, and we need just watch from the navigation station inside, protected by Tayrona’s thick shell, and hold the hell on. It’s hard to overstate the value of having rested crew. It’s difficult to resist the temptation to be up and running around on deck tweaking sail trim, scouring the horizon for squalls, and standing in the way of the on watch crew. Eventually, you just have to get into dry clothes and get some shut eye. Night watch can be long when it’s rainy and dark.
Now, the hidden full moon is blasting the high cloud cover with light and the scornful sea is illuminated. Tayrona is charging through the waves happily. The only sounds are the whir of the wind generator, the buzz of the towing generator when the ‘fish’ skips out of the water on a big wave, and the bang of the chop on the underside of the hull.