So far, we’ve had both a lovely crossing as well as one full of small frustrations that have kept us on our toes. In between little shots of anxiety/adrenaline we’ve also enjoyed our family time together: cooking, eating, school work, drawing, paper-plane-flying contests…some of us started the new Netflix series “Wednesday,” (Can’t wait to get to land and download more episodes!)
We’ve enjoyed the full-moon light at night, illuminating even the interior of the boat with incredible intensity. When partly cloudy skies clear, they boast a clarity of starlight as well. While the Atlantic crossing was so dark we could see the Milky Way spray against the sky, the stars were slightly out of focus due to moisture particles in the air (bigger seas and waves). This week they are in focus, seemingly closer.
Night 1 we had to pull down the Code Zero after it got tangled…but felt very good about ourselves the next day when we got it relaunched smoothly.
The evenings of Day 2 and Day 3, the autopilot decided to take a break, leaving us to pull two all-nighters in a row, refining our hand steering skills. That second night, we also discovered something off about the port rudder which put us into a higher alert mode. We were comforted by the fact we could count on a supportive fleet, the nearest boat Pachamama standing by in case of need of assistance.
Day 4 brought a flurry of emails and possible problem-solving…resulting in an autopilot who was on duty all night, but may be drunk and a bit hysterical (randomly deciding to change course or alerting of immediate danger of collision with an object that doesn’t exist). We will figure it out in Colombia.
Day 5 dawn is breaking and it feels like it’s going to be a great day today. We have some baking to do, some preparations to take care of for our arrival tomorrow, some school work to finish.
How quickly these days have flown by!
- Annie, for the Maroro Crew
Photos:
1) Paper-plane flying off the deck, Kai’s turn
2) Hand steering by a moonlit path (the course was on track of the sails were aligned with the light..was more fun than using compass as a guide for a bit)
3) Simon getting ready to check if the port rudder and something wrapped around it (nothing was)
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