Emily Morgan - Day 13 - Things that go thump in the night

Friday 3rd December Noon position (Ship's clock) 18 degrees 03 minutes North; 045 degrees 03 minutes West

With the furling genoa reduced to match the two reefs in the main, the night's passage was less frenetic than previously. Although we still experienced some squalls with gusts of F9, the boat's motion was less intense. We sailed a course slightly off direct downwind to minimise the boat's motion. There was no moon but a star studded sky lit the ocean surface. The bow wave threw back a swathe of white lace sprinkled with glittering diamonds of phosphorescence. It was magical. The sudden onset of a squall sent flying all the objects on board that were not tied down, including people, and created a tremendous clatter. Glass jars and plastic tableware loose in cupboards, winch handles and metal water bottles falling on floors, and yelping people hitting off corners are particularly noisy especially at night. Snug in their berths and cocooned behind their lee-cloths the off watch crew ignored the thumps but offered murmured sympathetic platitudes.

By morning the wind had shifted. Anna appraised our position and the weather forecast. Another gybe was required to alter course for St Lucia. But first was breakfast, tidy Friday and showers. While we continued to sail, the engine was run in neutral for two hours to heat the water for cleaning. Emily Morgan had several energy sources to power up the various electrical appliances (water heater, fridge and freezer, device chargers) and instruments (chart plotter, radar, AIS, SSB radio and YB tracker) on board. The main source is the alternator on the diesel engine which is backed up by solar panels, a wind generator and a hydro generator. It transpired that one of the night time thumps was the wind generator shearing off at the base of the stainless steel shaft. Bones, in grief, witnessed it disappearing into the briny. He had spent the summer refurbishing every moving part of it. He was cheered by the notion that he could get a new improved version to play with.

The gybe procedure is a lengthy ten step process beginning with removing and transferring the boom preventer, centering the mainsail, rolling in the staysail, furling the genoa, changing the fore and aft guy, moving the pole to the weather side, changing course, gybing the mainsail and resetting the genoa and unfurling the staysail.

During the day the sea-state became more regulated. We still rocked and rolled and pitched but it felt calmer. The swells and white topped waves were gentler. The sun shone in a blue sky and the clouds had the distinct flat bottoms that signalled steady trade winds from the east. The change in course had the desired outcome, we were heading directly for St Lucia and now we had less than one thousand miles to go!

Elizabeth
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