Log Entry - Sunday, Jan 22, 2006

Sailboat | Crew | Log | Route | Track

The rhythm of the sea Pat Branch Intensity in Motion Our patience waiting for the right weather window was amply rewarded. We exchanged twenty foot breaking waves, which topple boats like floating soda cans, for undulating twelve foot swells, which lift us and set us down like a gentle giant. We exchanged forty knot winds, which rip sails as if they were tissue paper, for fifteen knot winds, which propel us, safely, to our latitude 18 destination. Full Circle rides on that pulsating boundary between sea and sky, undulating, endlessly undulating. We are now at sea two and half days, and the sky and sea are as splendid as we have ever seen them. Though we have seen them many times before, it is as if we are seeing them for the first time. Their splendor and power overwhelm. Full Circle takes the wind speed and propels us forward at nearly half that speed. It is humbling to see this 28,000 pound mass pulled through the water at 6.5 knots with 13 knots of wind. It is disturbing that this rhythm must be interrupted by the diesel engine to recharge batteries. Perhaps a more austere form of sailing is in order. Occasionally, the encounter between sea and boat is not gentle. It is hard to tell if Full Circle bashes the sea, or if the sea bashes Full Circle. It matters not; the result is the same, a thunderous bang and a giant shudder. If you are off balance at the time, you are liable to be thrown from port to starboard or beyond, like the flip of a coin. And we all have the deep purple bruises to prove it. So far only bruises, no broken ribs. When the sea wages war, it is only ingenuity and cunning that allows one to survive. Physical strength means nothing against the sea. We must play defense; offense is sure to loose. We managed to reattach the severed table to the bulkhead. We solicited the help of the ship’s carpenter who had the necessary wood glue, screws, and electric drill to get the job done post haste. The table was attached to the bulkhead with a piano hinge. When it was ripped from its mooring, the piano hinge remained attached to the table along with a narrow strip of wood which was ripped from the wall. We unscrewed the strip of wood from the piano hinge and glued and screwed it back to the wall. We will let it dry over night and try reattaching the table tomorrow. Our goal is not perfection, but strength. We are optimistic that the surgery was a success. We tick off the minutes of latitude as if they were minutes of time,and we notice that, as of midnight Sunday, we are at the same latitude as Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The temperature reached 80 degrees on Sunday, but with the fresh breeze, it remained cool. Life on the boat is beginning to take on a rhythm; the watch schedule leaves us all well rested and awake most of the day. We have assigned cleaning duties, which rotate from day to day, to insure that our home on the sea is as pleasant as possible. All trash except plastic is deposited in the sea. Today's photo shows Pat Branch intensely guiding Full Circle on her journey. Notice his Bermuda Paint hat. He lost his sailing hat before he even got on the boat. The Bermuda hardware store took pity on him and gave him, not just one, but two paper hats, hardly ideal for sailing, but he has taken to them and promises to wear them until the salt water dissolves them. Previous | Next