Author: Pete

Location: 26°31.746S’ 173°34.450E’

Date: Nov 1 and 2, 2015

Day 4 and 5 at sea.

Variable winds yesterday sweeping southwest to southeast, ending almost directly where we’re trying to head.  We keep changing tacks, fighting upwind, which is definitely not Tayrona’s strong suit.  We can’t burn too much diesel now as there will be a portion of the trip that we have to motor heavily into headwinds farther south.  Conditions were mild during the day, then kicked up in the evening, throwing a couple squalls which helpfully washed our decks of salt accumulation.

Winds increased the next morning to over twenty knots almost on the nose with rollers literally big enough to hide a freighter.  We’re tacking a good deal to get ourselves south, making for a slow, pounding day.  Does that make us tacky?  The wind died, then eventually built again, swinging farther east which allowed us to point straight at our waypoint, 500 miles north of New Zealand.  Now it’s back to calm conditions and motoring, but I have a feeling that will change soon enough given the schizophrenic nature of the wind in these waters.  

I’m always startled by how loud sailing can be.  When the boat is really cooking along there is the constant snare percussion of light hull slaps accompanied by the bass thud of heavier waves striking the bridge deck.  The complaining of the lines and creaking of the blocks and tackle under their loads are amplified when telegraphed through the fiberglass and into the cabin.  The wind fills in any gaps in the cacophony with an airy hush through the rigging. Sounds like taking your vehicle through a drive-thru carwash with the wipers going full tilt and a couple of burly guys throwing sandbags at your quarter panels.  Scree-chah-splish-BANG.  Splish-sploosh-BANG-thump.  Sometimes I pretend that I’m the conductor and it’s my own orchestra.  It doesn’t seem to break Miranda’s sudoku concentration, but I suppose if the heaving boat doesn’t, nothing will.

Things are well aboard.  Mir made home made English muffins for breakfast and I made fifteen-bean soup for dinner.  That’ll put the wind in your sails!