As forecasted, we lost the wind so we motored most of the night. The wind picked up a little bit at dawn but the rain arrived too. We had the gennaker and main out and Karma Wins drifted along at 2-3 knots. The sun came out and it was very calm so Barry and I did some rust-removing and polishing. Per took the fuel gauge to pieces and now it sometimes works. The speedometer has taken on a life of its own and this afternoon, when we were putting up the main it said we were doing 75 knots! The dual wind-water turbine, now known as Genny for the electricity she generates, and the solar panels were producing too much power so we had to use a towel on the solars as a manual charge controller. A few days ago poor Genny managed to pick up a piece of netting which wrapped round her..sod’s law the whole ocean and she picks it up!
Karma Wins now has north-easterly winds so the sails are on the port side and we cannot see the ARC flag to read the wind so Barry has put up a little green tell tale on the shroud. On night watch we have to keep turning on the wind-up torch to check the wind and Per has worked out it takes 200 revolutions to charge it. One way to pass the 3 hour night watches.
Life is full of surprises. Last night we caught a fish on my watch. I landed the ugliest fish ever, very long and thin with 3 very vicious teeth. Having had very little wind it picked up as soon as Per went to bed, and as I was hauling the fish in, I did wonder how I was going to land it on my own, if it was a big one. Fortunately it had died on the way in so I left it on the back steps for the morning. Barry turned out about 7 am just in time for the wind to pick up more and I set about filleting it. We think it was some sort of barracuda and there was very little meat on it. The bones were all on the outside so the meat fell apart too. I managed to cut my finger on its teeth even though it was dead.
Then, over the horizon, a fishing boat appeared and, when Per radioed them to ask if they had nets out the back and if it was ok to sail behind them, they offered us some fish. It was a Portuguese crew on an Ecuadorian boat and two of them whizzed over in a little speed boat. Per got the fenders out and I quickly hauled in the fishing lines in case they went behind us. I had just made some bread rolls so put them in a bag as they approached. They held up a huge wahoo, maybe 14 kilos, for us but it wasn’t easy to get it as the wind had picked up and Karma Wins was flying along. I threw the bread rolls into their cockpit and snatched..just ..the fish. They then held up a 12 kilo tuna and insisted we had that too. I was really worried I’d drop it in the sea as we were all rocking and rolling and it only had a short tail. Once that was aboard they held up a dorado but we had more than enough so refused and they shot off back to the fishing boat. The captain did call us up to thank us for the rolls but I’m not sure they were the best. It all happened so quickly it was only afterwards we thought of things we could have given them. Barry was convinced they were going to rob us so was downstairs hiding his computer and wallets; he now has to dig them out before he forgets where he hid them!
So Per and I spent the morning tackling the wahoo and from now on it will be fish 3 times a day as the freezer is still on strike! Barry did email the rest of the fleet and invited them for dinner! We had some for lunch and it was delicious and now we are doing 9-11 knots in winds of about 18 knots and it is pouring with rain and we have about another 306 miles to go. Karma Wins has the full main and genaker up and the seas aren’t too big. We will have to tackle the tuna when it stops raining and no doubt the wind will drop as well
It poured with rain for at least an hour and Per had a nap. Barry sat in his pilot’seat, the wind picked up so we were flying along which was quite exhilarating for him even though he was soaking wet. I butchered the tuna and Barry and Per took down the genaker which didn’t go quite to plan as the sheet got loose so, a little bit of chaos, and the half furled genaker spent the night on the deck. Per cooked the most delicious pan-fried tuna steaks for supper with carrotless coleslaw, just cabbage, olives and raisins…highly recommended. We’ve had wahoo for breakfast and lunch and it’s tuna again for supper. Barry had quickly de-frosted one of the fridge freezers so we have managed to cram some of the fish in.
Today is sunny, the genaker and main are out,we are doing anything from 4-7 knots in variable winds but the Marquesas aren’t so far away now, about 177 miles. The chart plotter was taken over by aliens again in the night as, apparently, we did a manoeuvre which looked a bit like my attempts to tie a bowline. It certainly has a mind of its own and often the direction line is pointing in a different direction to where we are going. The milometer is working better since Barry evicted the creature which had wrapped its tentacles around the wheel. Barry is now doing his washing which has been soaking in his bucket of rainwater since yesterday’s deluge.
Regards from the overfed fish-eaters Chrissy
The catch of today