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American Spirit II - Day 463; A Great Day of Sailing and the Auto Pilot Acts Up Again; Tuesday, April 14, 2015



One year ago today:



"Day 101; Laundry, Drift Snorkel in Passe de Tiputa , How to Climb Back into a Dingy and French Dinner Ashore; Monday, April 14, 2014. Steve up at 6:30 AM. I got up 7:00 AM. Early breakfast because Stephen, whose handle is 'The Diver,' had an 8:00 AM dive today.



After dropping Stephen off in the dingy at Top Dive, I dingied over to Follie a Deux and then Nexus; planning today's activities. Made a run to the grocery store on Follie a Deux's dingy, where I bought beer and junk food; and filled up 2 five gallon clear plastic containers with 'cistern' water from a hose at the grocery store. An employee in the store drove our beer and some groceries to the dingy dock located about a block away. The 10 gallons of water I got was not going to be used for drinking but for doing laundry."



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At 2:10 AM Joel turns the engine off; which wakes me up because I sleep next to the engine in the aft cabin. A change in the noise level, either up or down, sometimes wakes me up.



During Joel's watch the auto pilot turns itself off, when Joel is in the head. He says he made it up to the cockpit with his pants...I'll let you imagine that picture in your own mind.



During Darlene's 3:00 AM to 6:00 AM while on a pretzel hunting mission in the main cabin, she was bounced from the starboard side of the cabin into the navigation desk on the port side by a wave. That's what 'rocky and rolly' means when I say the conditions are 'rocky and rolly.' Its ugly. At any rate, she violated a boat cardinal rule: always have one hand on the boat when moving around in the cabin or up and down the steps. A bruised rib is the result.



I relieve Darlene at 5:50 AM. The wind is 17 knots and we're sailing at 5.6 knots thru the water and 6.4 knots over the land. The sun is rising, and breaks thru the clouds on the horizon at 6:15 AM. So no green flash sunrise.



At 6:37 AM I see the cruise ship Carnival Liberty passing our port side heading southeast. Its 958 feet long and even though its 9.4 miles away, its looks much larger because its so big. It appears to be one of Carnival's newer ships, due to its design.



At 6:40 AM I roll the mainsail and jib full out. The wind is 9 knots.



At 6:53 AM for the 2nd time in the last 5 hours, the auto pilot turns itself off. This is really irritating. I hardly notice because the boat is sailing perfectly on its own, only 2 degrees off the course I had set. Because the boat was perfectly balanced is why, in case you're wondering.



At 6:59 AM the wind is 9 knots and we're sailing at 5.0 knots thru the water and 5.9 knots over the land.



I turn the motor on at 7:26 AM. We increase our speed from 4.6 knots to 7.0 knots. But at 7:44 AM I turn the engine off as the wind is now 15 knots and we're sailing at 7.0 knots thru the water and 8.2 knots over the land. Storm clouds are behind us, but it looks clear ahead. Good!



At 7:58 AM the wind is 15 knots and we're sailing at 6.1 knots thru the water and 7.0 knots over the land. The wind is gusting to 18 knots, so I put a reef in the mainsail and jib. It looks like the wind is building. Then the wind speed drops again, to 12 knots. Go figure.



At 8:55 AM a ship, the UAL Bodewes, a 390 foot cargo ship, is 9.7 miles on our port side going southeast. Its an AIS contact only, as I can't see it.



At 8:58 AM the wind is 12 knots and we're sailing at 5.2 knots thru the water and 6.3 knots over the land.



Breakfast at 10:30 AM consists of bacon, 3 eggs, potato and cinnamon bread.



At 11:02 AM the wind is 17 knots and we're sailing at 6.9 knots thru the water and 7.3 knots over the land.



Our noon position is 16 degrees, 22 minutes North; 62 degrees, 58 minutes West; and we're 150 miles from the British Virgin Islands.



We turn the generator on at 12:05 PM to charge the batteries. Five minutes later I hear an unusual noise, like 2 AC compressors. We forgot to turn off the breakers for the air conditioners! Oops.



I nap from 12:10 PM to 2:15 PM; then Darlene naps at 2:30 PM and Joel follows her at 2:45 PM. Because I'm the only person in the cockpit, I wear my harness and am tethered to the boat.



At 2:55 PM the wind is 13 knots and we're sailing at 6.6 knots thru the water and 8.3 knots over the land. The sky is blue; but its still a little rocky and rolly, with the waves just aft of the starboard beam.



At 4:23 PM the wind is 16 knots and we're sailing at 7.3 knots thru the water and 8.8 knots over the land. Cloud cover now is at 50%;and it feel cools out.



I turn the generator off at 4:29 PM. We consume .3 of a gallon of diesel when running the generator.



Dinner at 6:10 PM is freeze dried Beef Stew; corn-on-the-cob; left over mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables.



The sun sets at 6:20 PM into a cloudy horizon; so no green flash.



I nap from 7:30 PM to 8:25 PM, but couldn't sleep.



I relieve Joel at 8:25 PM. We take the canvass insert connecting the dodger and bimini out before he goes below. The sky is full of stars and taking the canvass out means you an see more stars on watch. I'm betting it won't rain. That's a bet I WILL lose.



At 8:40 PM the wind is 14 knots and we're sailing at 5.1 knots thru the water and 6.3 knots over the land.



At 8:44 PM a meteor, the length from my forefinger to my thumb, passes by astern with a duration of maybe 1 second.



At 9:01 PM a 49 foot sailboat named the Trismic, is 4.8 miles to my port, heading south. I get its name and length from the AIs. Its easily visible with its masthead light lit up.



At 9:44 PM it rains heavily. Taking out the canvass insert is now a bad idea. When it stops raining I try to put the insert back in my myself, but its too windy to do so and one of the zippers won't cooperate.



At 9:57 PM we pass a BIG shoal by to starboard. Part of the shoal is only 15 feet deep. Not good. We missed it by only a mile. Worse, I didn't know it was there until after we passed it.



At 10:28 PM I roll the jib in to the first reef; and put a 2nd reef in the mainsail. The wind is up and I wanted to slow the boat down so we don't make landfall during

Darlene's watch.



I delay waking Joel for the midnight watch because we're passing by a shoal area that has me nervous, to our port. I had to point up the boat 15-20 degrees so the apparent wind is up. I put another reef in the jib.



Brian Fox






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