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American Spirit II - Day 429; 1 Month Until Rally is Over & We Have a Great Day Sailing; Wednesday, March 11, 2015



One year ago today:

"Day 67; Fish Fly in for Lunch ; Fixing the Hydro Generator under Sail; & Halfway to Marquesas; Tuesday, March 11, 2014. Awakened abruptly today with Mike and Joel talking about the hydro generator. It had stopped working. Why? Because the line holding it down has snapped. Second time this has happened. With 10 foot seas running up behind us, attaching a new line is doable but taking safety precautions are a must before doing so. No need to fix it now. The wind turbine is turned on, then Joel is back to bed. It's the middle of his night since he got off shift at 3:00 AM. Because the wind turbine can't generate all the electricity we need under sail, I turned off the refrigerator and freezer until we either start the electric generator later or fix the hydro generator and put it back in the water. All things considered, breaking a line on the hydro is a good problem to have because its fixable under way."

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I relieve Heidi at 6:05 AM, five minutes late. My alarm woke me at 5:45 AM. First time on this leg that I didn't wake up before the alarm.

The sun rose at 6:30 AM, and I saw the entire orb, upper and lower limb, rise out of the sea. However, because there was so much humidity in the atmosphere, I didn't see a green flash. Too bad. But still a nice sunrise. The wind is 20 knots and we're sailing at 5.2 knots thru the water and 7.3 knots over the land; a 2.1 knot helping current.

At 7:00 AM the wind is 20 knots and we're sailing at 5.8 knots thru the water and 7.4 knots over the land. The 'blow torch' (sun) is back.

At 7:30 AM I roll out another foot of jib. A few minutes later I roll out another 1 1/2 to 2 feet of jib as the wind is dropping to 18 knots. At 7:42 AM I roll out some main to the 2nd reef.

At 7:57 AM the wind is 20 knots and we're sailing at 6.9 knots thru the water and 8.6 knots over the land.

We're seeing a ton of flying fish on this leg. More than any other leg in any ocean. There is at least one in the air continuously as we speed thru the water. And they're big, as big as 8 inches. They shoot out of the water at full speed, with their 'wings' moving like a hummingbird's - really fast. And then they skim along the surface of the water no more than 12 inches above it, and run into a wave top, then shoot forward again, hit another wave top, maybe; then shoot forward again. Sometimes they are airborne for 100 yards. Amazing.

At 8:07 AM and again at 8:08 AM, two BIG 'sneaker' waves hit the boat and and wipe out the cockpit. I was lucky and got out of the way of the first one. A 'sneaker' wave is like a 'slapper' wave, but its quiet because it hits the side of the boat at an acute angle and 'sneaks' down the gunwale to the cockpit without making any noise. If you're not paying attention, you're soaked. Heidi wants to call these 'sneaker' waves 'wave ninja' waves. Dial *199 on your cell phone and let us know which you prefer.

At 8:09 AM the wind is 19 knots and we're sailing at 6.9 knots thru the water and 8.6 knots over the land.

At 8:27 AM I take off my foul weather pants and short sleeve shirt because 'blow torch', the sun, is cooking me.

At 9:01 AM the wind is 20 knots and we're sailing at 6.6 thru the water and...I can't read what I've written. The wind is generally 20-25 knots, but these are 'trade wind' winds and not winds associated with a low pressure system of tropical trough. A BIG difference. Much easier to handle.

During the 10:00 AM net Civetta II said they were 823 miles from Grenada and we were 757 miles away, a difference of 46 miles.

Breakfast at 10:20 AM consists of eggs; sausage and potato cooked together; and chilled peaches.

From 10:49 AM to 1:00 PM I typed 2 logs and did some emails. After I'm done typing, Heidi types some emails to her family.

Our noon position was 6 degrees, 0 minutes South; 50 degrees, 50 minutes West; and we're 739 miles from Grenada. Since noon yesterday we've traveled 174 miles at an average speed of 7.25 knots.

At 1:00 PM the wind is 15 knots and we're sailing at 6.1 knots thru the water and 7.9 knots over the land.

At 1:15 PM Joel and I use the satellite phone to send out the logs and emails.

At 1:30 PM we emptied the aft, starboard cockpit locker. Joel then sprayed some Teflon spray on the rudder bushing or bearing and a white, plastic shim. One or both of them are making a loud screeching and groaning sound that is really loud in my aft cabin as the rudder is just behind my cabin. The noise stops...for a few hours, then returns. Tomorrow we'll try Teflon grease instead of spray to see if that works better.

Joel cooks some micro wave popcorn at 2:30 PM.

From 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM Joel and I nap while Heidi mans the cockpit.

Dinner at 6:10 PM consists of thin sliced blackened sirloin steaks; freeze dried Macaroni & Cheese (Heidi's choice); and green beans.

At 6:33 PM the wind is 14 knots and we're sailing t 5.9 knots thru the water and 7.5 knots over the land. At 6:35 PM the Baltic Sea, a 561 foot cargo vessel going to Charleston, is 7.1 miles off our port beam.

The sun sets at 6:30 PM into a cloud bank, so no green flash.

I host the 7:00 PM net and Civetta II reports that they are 759 miles from Grenada. We're 685. We have a full jib out and 1 reef in the mainsail. They are sailing with a jib only.

Heidi calls home and talks to her children on the satellite phone at 7:15 PM.

I try to nap from 7:30 PM to 8:15 PM, but am not successful. I'm in the cockpit at 8:15 PM and relieve Joel at 8:37 PM. The wind is 14 knots and we're sailing at 6.6 knots thru the water and 8.3 knots over the land. Its a star filled night.

At 9:38 PM I see a ship's range light behind us. Our AIS says it is the Halopima, a 656 foot cargo vessel heading to Mobile, Alabama. It eventually passes us off our starboard side.

At 10:00 PM the wind is 16 knots and we're sailing at 6.7 knots thru the water and 8.7 knots over the land.

At 10:25 PM I put 1/2 reef in the mainsail as the wind is increasing.

At 10:51 PM the wind is 19 knots and we're sailing at 7.5 knots thru the water and 9.1 knots over the land. I put another 1/2 reef in the mainsail. Our highest speed tonight is 9.6 knots.

I then made some satellite phone calls myself before being relieved by Joel at midnight.

Brian Fox




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