can we help
+44(0)1983 296060
+1 757-788-8872
tell me moreJoin a rally

Menu

American Spirit II - Day 381; A Cloudy, Rainy Day on the South Atlantic Ocean; Tuesday, January 20, 2015



Woke up early again, at 5:15 AM due to boat motion. Assumed watch duties at 6:00 AM; put 1/2 reef in the mainsail due to a squall line that was hitting us. Full reef in main now.

At 6:20 AM the wind has died back down and is 12/14 knots and we're moving at 5.0 knots thru the water and 5.4 knots over the land. There is a solid, low cloud cover. Not a pleasant looking morning. There is no discernible sun rise. It just gets lighter out, gradually.

I wake Joel at 7:20 AM as we're heading a few degrees south of west (256 degrees instead of a course of 298 degrees to St. Helena). Wrong direction. I hate waking him during his sleep hours, and only do so when absolutely necessary. We jibe the boat from port to starboard tack; the pole is now on the starboard side and the mainsail is on the port side. Joel goes back to bed once we jibe.

At 9:00 AM the wind is 11/13 knots and we're moving at 4.3 knots thru the water and 4.5 knots thru the land.

We begrudgingly turn the motor on at 11:30 AM; and roll up the jib. We keep the mainsail out for now. The wind is 11/12 knots, but its directly behind us; a lousy point of sail. If we want to get to the dinner party on St. Helena Thursday evening, we have to get moving quicker. We're now going 6.4 knots thru the water and 6.5 knots over the land; with an engine RPM of 1,600, our fuel conservation throttle setting.

Our noon position is 18 degrees, 3 minutes South; 1 degree, 21 minutes West; and we're 276 miles from St. Helena.

I type a log from 12:31 PM to 1:12 PM and then at 1:45 PM Joel and I send out the log and emails using the satellite phone. A four minute transmission.

At 1:50 PM Jeanine tells Joel that its 'pop corn time.' He goes to start the generator, but no luck. We empty out half of the port cockpit locker, and Joel starts the generator by pushing a button located on the bottom, left hand side of the generator. It starts right up. Further investigation by Joel determines that a loose wire in the 'wire nest' in the navigation station is the probable culprit. After shaking some wires, the generator starts on its own with the proper switch, not the one in the cockpit locker. We'll see if it works tomorrow.

Since we're motoring and therefore making hot water, Joel showers and then I follow. During my shower the water cuts off when I'm all lathered up, for 4 minutes as the water maker is done making water and going thru its 'flush' cycle. Next time I'll make sure I time my shower right. We make 3 hours of water today, or about 20 gallons.

Dinner at 6:15 PM is freeze dried Thai Curry Chicken for Jeanine and me; and Sweet and Sour Pork with Rice for Joel; plus instant garlic mashed potatoes; and spiced up green peas. Joel has a separate dinner because the Thai Curry Chicken is too spicy for him. When (Indian Ocean) Jeremy Nance was on the boat the Thai Curry Chicken was his favorite meal. Jeremy likes hot, spicy food.

The 7:00 PM net is hosted by Tim from Ghost. We have a hard time hearing him as his transmission to us is garbled. When this happens other boats that receive the host with better clarity relay information between the boats. During the net Folie a Deux announces that Brian has caught two Mahi Mahi today. Wow. Very impressive. That (17 year old) boy can fish!

I nap from 7:20 PM to 8:30 PM; but have no success in sleeping. Too much rock and roll. I can sleep when the boat is rocking and rolling a lot, but I need to be really tired to do so.

At 9:00 PM as I start my 3 hour watch Joel and I have a glass of red wine. Its raining, misty like, and the wind behind us is blowing the misty rain into the cockpit. We have to close the cabin hatch cover to keep the tiny water particles from reaching the cabin below. A 'floor towel' is put on the floor at the base of the stairs, so the moisture from the air and your sandals can be collected.

At 9:20 PM the wind is 8 knots and we're moving at 6.1 knots thru the water and 5.7 knots over the land. Joel had taken the mainsail down so now we're just motoring, versus motor sailing. Venus is the only light I can see in the sky, peaking out from a hole in a black cloud to the west and low on the horizon, about 5 degrees up from the surface of the ocean.

At 10:24 PM the wind is still light at 7 knots and we're moving at 6.1 knots thru the water and 6.0 knots over the land. The starboard side of the boat has stars; the port side, in front of us and behind us, has dark clouds. Seems like we're in a tropical trough, the likes of which we had for the first half of the Pacific Ocean. A little while later all the stars are gone; and its so dark you can't tell where the sky ends and the water begins.

At 11:10 PM another rain squall comes thru, with the wind at 20/21 knots.

At 11:45 PM the wind is 16/17 knots and we're moving at 6.1 knots thru the water and 6.5 knots over the land. Its still raining, misty like.

Joel relieves me at midnight and I'm in bed by 12:17 AM.

Brian Fox


Previous | Next