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American Spirit II - Day 415: We Get Slammed by a Sunrise Squall; Wednesday, February 25, 2015



One year ago today:

"Day 53; Charles Darwin Breeding Center & Summary of M/V Fragata 5 Day, 4 Night Cruise; Tuesday, February 25, 2014. At 8:00 AM we met our guide on the public dock and walked to the Charles Darwin Breeding Center. Once there we observed giant Tortoises and Land Iguana's; and the home of 'Lonesome George' before he died. George was the last of his species from Pita Island."

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I was lying in bed at 5:40 AM starting to get concerned about the boat motion and sounds when all of the sudden the boat laid over an extra 10-15 degrees and I could hear howling wind and rain beating the fiberglass hull like a thousand marbles were hitting it at the same time. Up the stairs I went to the cockpit in my cotton shorts, followed by Joel in his cotton cloths. A large squall was upon us with 30+ knots of sustained wind. We rolled up the jib right away and then the mainsail. Then I went below and got ready for my 6:00 am watch. Joel took his cotton shorts and long sleeved non-cotton shirt off and went back to bed. Jeanine, in the cockpit, was 100% soaked. We were all soaked, what I call 'jump in the pool soaked.' We were that wet. One of the bad things about squalls is that you never know wether the one you're going into is a bad windy one or just a wet one.

Before coming up on watch I put on my foul weather pants and light jacket.

At 6:50 AM I rolled out 70% of the jib and the mainsail to the 2nd reef point. We're motor sailing at 1,600 RPM's. The wind is down to 14 knots and we're moving at 6.0 knots thru the water and 7.8 knots over the land.

At 7:58 AM the wind is 16/17 knots and we're motor sailing at 6.8 knots thru the water and 7.6 knots over the land. The sky is clearing behind us, the direction the wind is coming from. But there are still a lot of rain showers and squalls around us.

I take off my foul weather gear at 8:20 AM as the sun, AKA 'blow torch,' is back . I'm starting to cook. Sand dunes are visible 14 miles away on shore off our port beam. BIG sand dunes.

Joel hosts the 10:00 AM net,with Civetta II and Merlyn of Poole both checking in.

Breakfast is at 10:20 AM and consists of eggs, left over freeze dried dinner of Chicken with Noodles, chilled pineapple slices and brown bread...for Joel and me. Jeanine has some of the left over's plus a pineapple slice and an orange. Two large ships pass us by as we're eating breakfast; one on each side of us, both going south. One of the 600 foot ships had no AIS. Wow! That's rare.

I lifted up the bilge board where I keep the non-refrigerated eggs and it was full of water. Upon closer examination I realized that the automatic bilge pump was not working. The manual switch worked, but the float switch did not. Not good. And because the boat is so heavy in the stern with all of our spare parts, extra anchors, etc. the bilge isn't draining like it should. So I remove all the eggs, about 30, and throw them overboard; then use a 2 gallons bucket to empty the bilge water into the sink. Joel says I look tired and that he'll finish up the job. Thank you Joel. I take a nap from 12:45 PM to 2:10 PM.

Our noon position is 5 degrees, 18 minutes South; and 35 degrees, 13 minutes West.

At 12:38 PM we pass an anchored ship called the Delia, a 610 foot cargo ship, to port.

At 2:10 PM its mostly sunny out. And from 2:15 PM to 2:25 PM we see a string of long line fishing buoys. A blue and a while 2 gallon size buoy are tied together. We pass about a dozen of them, the last one having only one blue 2 gallons buoy visible, marking the end or beginning of the string. We miss these by under 50 years. Close. Easy to hit at night. The lines are in 174 feet of water along a contour line on our chart where the water depth drops to 2,000 feet. So later during the evening 7:00 PM net we will give the coordinates of this string to the other boats and suggest they stay further east to miss it. I also open the center dodger window so I can see the buoys more easily.

Joel checked the water hose that disconnected itself yesterday and finds that it is 1/3 on the way off again. He uses some ties to temporarily secure it until he can use metal clamps when we get in to Fortaleza.

At 3:22 PM I see 2 dolphin swim by the boat to jump in front and under our bow. The wind is 16 knots and we're motor sailing at 6.3 knots thru the water and 7.5 knots over the land.

At 3:30 PM I turn 10 degrees left as we're starting to round the northeastern hump of Brazil. Once we clear some shoals to our west I'll turn another 30-40 degrees left.

At 3:46 PM a ship, the 738 foot Austral, is visible on AIS and will pass us in 47 minutes at a CPA (Closest Point of Approach) of 1.3 miles. The AIS says its headed to Vitoria, Brazil. I visually see the Austral at 4:02 PM on our port bow, 9.2 miles away. And at 4:10 PM the ship changes course to pass us port to port instead of starboard to starboard. I go starboard 15 degrees to facilitate a smooth passing. There is no need to call the ship as we can both see what each of us is doing. The ship passes us port side at 1.5 miles.

At 4:52 PM the wind is 16/17 knots and we're motor sailing at 6.2 knots thru the water and 7.6 knots over the land.

We have an early dinner at 5:15 PM. Freeze dried Spaghetti with Meat Sauce for Jeanine and me; and Beef Stew for Joel. Plus brown wild rice; butter beans; and chilled pineapple slices for dessert.

The sun sets into a cloud bank around 5:30 PM.

At 5:45 PM we jibe from starboard to port tack as we finish our turn to the left and towards our waypoint off of Fortaleza. We're now 202 miles from our next destination. At 7.5 knots we'll be there by 10:30 PM Thursday evening. Another night landfall.

We get a light rain shower at 6:45 PM.

I host the 7:00 PM net, with Civetta II and Merlyn of Poole joining in.

I nap from 7:25 PM to 8:45 PM, then relieve Joel for the 9:00 PM to midnight watch. There are 3 fishing boats visible and one AIS contact in front of us. But for the previous 1 1/2 hours Joel says the fishing boat activity has been sparser than usual. Good. There is a half moon showing, so the clouds around us are lit up nicely. Big white clouds, with black bottoms. Typical trade wind clouds with rain in them.

At 9:36 PM the wind is 20 knots and we're motor sailing at 6.2 knots thru the water and 7.0 knots over the land. The waves aren't bad, at 3-5 feet; with an eight footer every now and then. We're surfing every few minutes when a larger set of waves comes by. This makes the propeller cavitate and vibrate the boat. All is OK, but I don't like the feeling and the sound.

At 10:08 PM the wind is still 20 knots and we're motor sailing at 7.0 knots thru the water and 8.1 knots over the land. The sky is clear behind us. No clouds visible for a while. Good.

I have an AIS contact at 10:30 PM, the 679 foot ship 'Aldebaran,' a cargo ship moving at 17.4 knots. It will pass our starboard side in 12 minutes at a CPA 4 miles. This might be the fastest ship I've seen on our entire circumnavigation. Most ships we see are traveling at 11 or 12 knots.

I call Janet at 11:20 PM on the satellite phone. During the call the 1/2 moon sets, so its really dark out now. The stars just explode into view. Wow!

At 11:42 PM the wind is 20 knots and we're motor sailing at 6.7 knots thru the water and 8.2 knots over the land. There are 2 fishing boats to port and one ship to starboard on AIS.

I see a shooting star at 12:02 AM on the port side of the boat, dropping straight down form the heavens. Joel points out Orion on the port bow, which is about to set; and Scorpio behind us, as its rising. He says that when he went to a planetarium when he was a 'wee lass,' someone told him you could never see both of these constellations at the same time. I tell Joel that maybe that's the case in the northern hemisphere and not the southern hemisphere. I then have a glass of port wine and then go to bed.

At 3:30 AM the boat motion and noise wake me up. I go to the cockpit and Jeanine says that the wind is 24 knots. I put a double reef in the mainsail and then go back to bed. 'Reef early and often.'

Brian Fox





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