We have stars again! The moo is interfering with visibility somewhat but not nearly as much as the clouds were. We had great sailing weather today and it continues tonight. We’ve got 15-20 knots fairly consistently out of tune SE and are able to hold the rhumb line with the wind at 120 degrees.
Joe told me today that the conditions are good for flying the spinnaker but that he’s too tired to deal with it. The gennaker is not nearly as high maintenance- more of a quarter horse to the spinnaker’s thoroughbred. Also, we’re happy with how things are going. We’re consistently in the 10-knot range which is quite acceptable.
Sure, it would be nice to gain on Nica (the beautiful green German racing boat currently in the lead) but it’s also nice to enjoy the trip and not be stressed about sail changes, etc. So our strategy is to go as fast as we can, without sacrificing much in the way of comfort.
Joe got another opportunity to prove his wonderful-ness. I’m willing to bet he would have foregone this chance if anyone else had spoken up. This morning, Cobin posted an “Out of Order” sign on the door of the head on his side of the boat. I thought it was just a flushing challenge that I was unwilling to deal with until I had finished my breakfast.
Joe went down to look at it and that started a succession of tools moving down the steps. First the plunger, then a screwdriver, then the vacuum. Then a very sweaty, unhappy Joe asked very direct questions about peoples’ bowel habits and gave a lecture on flushing protocol (at least 10 seconds) before disappearing again. He emerged victorious a short time later and said he could positively identify the owner of the blockage due to the person’s unique snacking habits. I will spare you the details but those that had their innocence proven were greatly relieved.
After that followed a stint of slowing the boat down so we could make water. We took turns babysitting the water maker (photo of Cobin taking his turn) and now have 2 nearly full tanks. I was a poor babysitter as the sound the water maker makes is apparently very soothing to me and I kept dozing off during my turn. But the water maker did its thing in spite of my neglect so I may be asked to do it again.
I am the chief water user on the boat, with all the cooking and dish washing that falls under my area of responsibility. I also take the most showers ;) so I probably should be more active in water making. At least I stay awake on my watch!
For those interested, we have 4 people sharing the watch schedule. Since I do most of the cooking and child maintenance, and am prone to sleeping, I only do one shift, from 9 pm to midnight. Joe, John and Sunil take the rest of the shifts. They are 12-2 am, 2-4 am, 4-7 am, 7 -10 am, 10 am - 1 pm, 1 -4 pm, 4-7 pm, and 7-9 pm. They rotate through these shifts so no one does the awful shift all the time and every third night, they get a decent block of sleep (from 9 pm to 4 am). During the day they nap or read or help with boat tasks when they’re not on watch
Everyone gets their own breakfast and I make lunch/dinner one day and the crew does lunch/dinner the next day. I make the meal plan so they don’t get a lot of freedom but that way, we know we have the supplies for the rest of the trip.
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