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Windleblo - Day Eight



I had the 4 - 6 a.m. watch last night (UTC). At this longitude, that was well before dawn. There moon was new, the sky cloudless, and the sea glassy. I took the bimini down to open the cockpit to the sky. The Milky Way was as dense as I have ever seen it. Several shooting stars crossed the sky. Priceless.

As dawn came, the wind remained elusive. We motored on. It was my turn as Galley Master, and I fixed the guys walnut banana pancakes with syrup, sausages and coffee. Afterwards, we killed the motor and coasted to a stop. Then, we dove over the side for a swim. The water was perfect -- not too cold and not too warm and perfectly clear. It was weird knowing the bottom was 4,000 meters below. A few laps around the boat got the heart going. It felt good to get a bit of aerobic exercise.

The forecast is for northeast winds to fill in to 10 knots before sunset. I surely hope so as we continue to burn diesel at a steady clip. By its nature, bluewater cruising requires careful conservation of resources, and we are certainly using more than our share for the first half of this crossing. Soon, a reckoning might come, when we have to use the motor only for charging the batteries and sit still waiting if the wind disappears. But for now, with our Cape Verde refueling stop just behind us, we feel we can afford to motor.

Another precious resource for the cruising sailor is fresh water. Our water maker has proven worth its weight in gold. I fitted it last summer in advance of this crossing. It is an EchoTEC 260DML and so far, knock wood, it has performed flawlessly. The crew has dubbed it "Windleblo Springs." To conserve power, I run it only when the motor is on so as not to deplete the batteries. With all this motoring, we've made plenty of water. I worry that we've gotten a bit lackadaisical about our water consumption, with showers and even some clothes washing. When the wind picks up, hopefully soon, we will not run the motor so much and will make less fresh water. I'll have to remind the crew to be careful to conserve water and power when the wind comes.

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