Log Entry - Tuesday, Jan 24, 2006

Sailboat | Crew | Log | Route | Track

Rocking and Rolling John at helm Its 80 degrees and sunnny An attempt to show wavesl Mike with tether hooked to padeye in cockpit More 80 degree weather The seas are building; we see 15 foot swells and winds of 25 knots. With three reefs in the main, we still do 6.5 knots. Full Circle screams, “bring it on” and keeps plowing through the waves. When I say rocking and rolling, I mean rocking and rolling. We climb the swells and surf down the other side. When they hit from the side, Full Circle throws us around like dice at a craps table. When we sail off the end of a swell, we slam back to the sea with a thunderous bang. Full Circle keeps coming back for more. When above deck, we wear harnesses with tethers. We ride the cockpit like a cowboy holding the reins during his first bull ride. If we fall overboard, the tethers prevent us from being lost at sea, though we might be dragged to our death. At least they’ll be able to recover our bodies. We wear our tethers when we are alone in the cockpit, when it is dark, and when going forward to work on the deck. The problem of the day is refrigeration. The refrigerator compressor is overheating and tripping the circuit breaker. We can no longer count on it to supply us with fresh food for Ted’s gourmet meals. Ted has retreated to his bunk in tears. We will survive. We have enough canned meals to feed ourselves for many days. Ted shouts from his bunk, “Never, I will not eat canned food; dogs eat canned food, not sailors.” Mike shouts from the cockpit, “Who needs canned food when we still have peanut butter. As long as I have diet coke and peanut, I’ll do just fine, thank you. Do the math: ten cans of coke, two jars of peanut butter.” We may be able to get another day or two out of the food in the fridge. The blessing of this malady is that we will no longer have to run the engine for so many hours each day. We can relish in the sound of the sea. These seas make it difficult to write. I am fearful for the life of my laptop. It is our link to our voyeuristic fans and our frantic spouses. It must be saved at all costs. We have emptied water tank one, which has 62 gallons and have switched over to tank two, with 117 gallons. That is 3.8 gallons per person per day so far. A bit luxurious, don't you think? As I write, Ted shouts, “29 knots, I just saw 29 knots. I think we better bring in this genoa. We’ve got way to much out there.” “OK Ted, I’ll be right there.” Can thirty be far away? We were told to expect some heavy winds as we got further south, and we’re getting them. The blender of the sea continues to churn. Previous | Next