Tahira - ARC BLOG D-Day 1 [20-Nov-23] to

TAHIRA ARC BLOG
D-Day 1 [20-Nov-23] to
Location: Open Seas - Atlantic
Lat: 26.23N Long:16.13W

OUR FIRST FULL DAY AT SEA

We have now completed our first full 24 hour cycle and all is well. We are settling into the new pace of life and routines as everything slows down. After the slow start due to the lack of wind in Gran Canaria, we had a great overnight sail, and woke up to a beautiful sunny day with enough wind to keep us ticking along at 6.5 knots - perfect!

Most noticeable was the sudden change from daytime to night time. Back home in our comfortable homes we would simply turn the light on and carry on, but here everything is different.

In day light we can see everything, move around the boat freely and complete routine tasks without thinking about them. In stark contract, when night time hits we have to adapt, and adapt very quickly:

" We can't see what we are doing so a lot of routine tasks are done totally or partially by feel. We have head torches, but using them can destroy our night vision and wake up those trying to get valuable sleep.
" The risks of moving around the boat when on watch increase dramatically, so we stay locked in to the cockpit - vigilant at all times.
" Changing the watch every 3 hours necessitates waking the next watch up 15 minutes before they are due on so they can get prepared.
" Decisions are made by the watch and not the skipper - although Chris and John are always on hand for anything significant.

But as well as the challenges of the night, we have also seen the magnificence of the stars and sailing at night where feel and use of instruments are as important as what we can see. We can now all identify the North star, and 3 members of the crew are learning to navigate using the stars. The modern chart plotter also has the location, direction and details of any boat within a 2 mile range - this is great for safety and for seeing how we are getting on with other boats in the fleet.

It has been a beautiful first day, sailing in calm seas and warm weather, noticing the beauty of the blue seas. The only low point an unexpected Man-Over-Board drill called at random by the skipper. It was not appreciated by everyone, but was a great lesson for us as a team. We also got a view of Tony's shreddies!

We are now looking to turn all activities into routines - either driven by time such as the 9am watch, or by events such as a wind change.