BattPack Log Day 11 - Dec 5th - I am on the sunrise
shift and turn to face the back of the boat and watch the sunrise in it's
entirety. A real delight. Preceded by the sliver of the crescent moon appearing
as a smile behind our boat.
Ok, so today is the day! The calmest sea that we have
had so far and a mighty 5,000 miles deep - time to swim!! We took the sails in
entirely, but even so, the forward momentum of the boat, just on these
'calmer'waves was 4kts! It was definitely a case of face and embrace your fear
for each and every one of the crew. Jago was the most keen, which at 8 years old
is impressive to say the least. Liberty on the other hand, had no interest in
going in whatsoever and remained absolute. The rest of us, approached the
opportunity gingerly. Jason bravely led the charge. I have a vision of him sat
at the stern, looking out at the sea and the loop rope that he had made to hold
us, assessing how wise a prospect this was to invite his entire family to swim
in the deepest seas that we have ever encountered.....Then he was in, head
under, vitalised! Jago was next and Jay stayed in the sea as the safety net.
Jago was thrilled by the experience! Rex and Ruby followed suite and both
whooped in jubilation at the exhilaration! Then, my turn......having been a Jaws
child (ie: saw the film as a youngster and have heard the der d, der d, der d
der d der d der d music in my head when swimming into the unknown ever since) I
never thought I would dare do this swim. I surprised myself by throwing care to
the wind and actually relishing the moment! The most peculiar sensation was the
amount of drag caused by the forward momentum of the boat, it was as though the
sea was trying to suck you in! My Dad was next and he let out a roar and then
dunked his head under - much to the kid's delight. Alex was last, saying that he
"had put it off as long as he could" as he stepped down the ladder - his face
said no but his body said yes and he was in! Afterwards, we sat drying in the
sun, revelling in our encounter with the deep blue.
The wind blew up throughout the afternoon and we varied
between our two sail configurations. We switch between twin headsails when the
wind is directly behind us and our Gennaker for slightly lesser winds which
gives us a bit more leeway round to a broad reach. This sail combination has
been perfect so far for the combination of winds that we have experienced. We
have covered 179 miles in the last 24 hours.
Rex spots the glimmer of a rainbow off the stern this
afternoon and it slowly expands to the most incredible rainbow that we have ever
seen. It is a full arc of magnificent intensity. It melts into the sea, almost
looking like a full circle of glorious light! The kids and I are so excited,
no-one can believe how gorgeous it is! Then a second arc develops above it. I am
literally in heaven. Rex's polarised lenses on his sunglasses intensify the
colours beautifully - I need these sunglasses in my life! Rainbows area sure
sign from my lovely Mummy who died nearly 14 years ago - they are love from
above. Even more perfect today because on my watch last night, with my head in
an excellent book called 'The Universe has your Back', I was reading about signs
from the Universe and that you can ask them to appear. Considering our current
adventure, I wanted to know that the rest of the journey would go smoothly and
we would arrive in St Lucia in one piece. So I declared my wish to see a sign
out loud. Lo and behold, the very next day I get the most
supercalifragilisticexpialidocious rainbow possible! A definite blessing on our
journey! Oh happy day!!
With a rainbow comes the rain and in this case our first
squall which came in thick and fast. Heavy rain, high winds and crazy seas.
Squalls usually push through in about 15 minutes but in the wake ofthis one,
strong winds remained throughout the night. It was my night off duty but the
boys were up on deck in their wet weather gear, braving the elements. Sails were
reduced and the wind rarely blew above 30kts, but it was a helluva ride for the
night.
Before bed, Jay checks the forecast and there is a
message from the ARC saying that one of their boats has hit a whale,their rudder
is damaged, they have steering issues and are taking on water. They issued a Pan
Pan emergency call. What a shock for them all, and the whale - Liberty is
concernedit might have a headache! Theyare pumping the bilges to stay on top of
the water intake and another boat is in close propximity to them to be of
assistance when & where required. We are sending out blessings to them that
they are all ok.
BattPack Log -Day 12 - Dec 6th - I awoke at 6:00 to
crazy sounds in our bunk, I was on immediate full alert because it felt like the
wind speed was way above 30kts and I wanted to let my nephew know that I was
awake to help if he needed it. He was in control, pretty chilled, it hadn't
blown over 30kts and said he could handle it. What a dude! On my way back into
the boat, my bare foot stepped on something slimy, urgggh a flying fish -thank
god it was a light step and slide vs heavy step and squish!
I snuck back to my bunk and marvelled at the sounds that
the crew sleep through. The best way to describe it is a high intensity
crashing, clunking, sliding, bashing, whacking, snapping, slam-dunking kinda
ensemble! Many noises that would ordinarily make you jump right out of your
skin, we have become practically immune to. Earplugs help for sure, but the kids
don't use them and they have been sleeping like babes! Case in point, Jay and
Rex have just emerged from their bunks and Jay said "Hey, that was a noisy night
Rex eh?" and Rex replied "Was it?!"
Alex and I were chatting today about how we had both
underestimated how big a mental challenge this Atlantic Crossing would be. There
is a healthy mix of fun, fear, excitement, boredom, and vastness of sea which
can either feel liberating or interminable! It is definitely a case of mind over
matter. The days are long, the awkward motion is constant and we are living
within a microcosm of life. At the same time, we are cut off from our lives at
home and miss the rest of our nearest and dearest. Whilst I had dreamed of this
trip, I recognise that my dream is my creation of how I thought the trip would
be. In many ways the dream lives on but in reality it is more of an endurance
test and I attempt to reconcile the two. Also I recognise that the element of
the 'grass is greener'. How I had longed for the escape on the sea and yet, at
this stage, the idea of a simple walk sounds like a heavenly proposition. Our
bodies want to move, we are generally fast moving creatures and have necessarily
had to slow right down on the boat. This brings with it both relief and
resistance. We are used to much doing and surrendering to much being. In general
the overriding feeling is one of surrender. We are aware of it all and watching
with interest, soaking up the joys onboard and relieved that land is only days
away.
Dad played his guitar this afternoon, strumming through
some classics as we sang along happily. I have such fond memories of this as a
child and it is wonderful to share with my kids too.
174 miles covered in the last 24
hours.