We are beginning to daydream about getting to Ireland and have been checking out cottages and car rentals.
Bob seems to be getting into the groove with his writing, we are all enjoying his reporting! -Kim
P.S. It was not 10 pounds of Broccoli!
Bob's Friday email:
Yesterday
was a bummer for us: we blew out big blue.
Hopefully it can be repaired in the Azores or beyond but it is currently
a "no can use". We think it is
probably mostly operator error combined with the fact that it is flat out
delicate. Unfortunately, we also chafed
nearly through our new halyard as well.
We have spares but it is hard to lose new stuff. Mostly what we seem to
do out here is break stuff and try to repair enough to carry on. The ocean is unforgiving to man-made things
period!
We
have seen either one boat or one plane
every day for the last three days but expect to have that end soon. We
passed Bermuda last night. We have heard
them on the radio talking boats through the reefs day and night. That radio chatter seems to have ended now. The
decrease in boat traffic into Bermuda may be partly due to the pre-frontal
southerlies that are hitting us now. We
have been decreasing sail area with a reef in the main around midnight and then
another at 3 a.m. After a cup of coffee
this morning we dropped the genoa and raised our working jib. This little gem is getting its first real
workout and "workout it is".
We are driving as hard as we dare to the east as best we can to try and
get as far out in front of the front approaching from the states.
Grandpa
has been getting a real workout...I have to get him to calm down and work
slower...he can be a bit of a rammer but he has been doing well. Amazing how well he takes loud constructive
criticism from his son out in the middle of the ocean. He has developed a real appreciation
for" heaving to". I think he
still thinks it’s a bit of magic so he hasn't learned to get comfortable with
the fact that the boat will take care of its self and we can work without
worrying too much about it, he's always looking over his shoulder like the boat
is going to take off and run out from under him. His real strength is his ability to
sleep. He hits the rack and one second
later is out. Had to turn the lights on
to get him up at 3 this morning. Kind of
like what he did to us to get us up to go whitefish fishing as kids. That reminds me...a big fat flying fish
creamed the windshield last night.
Miracle it didn't break. Grandpa
got to learn "first hand" how stinky they are.
Today
the wind has been increasing from the 16-20 kt range to the 20-25 kt range and
the seas are building. We are doing lots
of stuff to try and prepare the boat for storm conditions with this approaching
front; like putting all items not in use down below. We even took the lures off the fishing rods
so nothing can get free and get chewed up by the wind generator. The best news of the day is that there is
enough wind that we are actually charging the batteries and can use all the power
we want and have excess. We closed the
through hull valve that drains the sink as we are getting sea water in the
bilge from it through the bilge pump line that is plummed to it. I need to rearrange that ASAP. In the meantime it’s just closed. I also secured the cookstove as we are rolling
past its gimbal with a crash every few minutes.
We
each took seasick medicine this morning as a preventative measure. Probably our biggest weakness is the lack of
interest in cooking. We are trying to
finish fresh foods but we don't know what to do with things like the 10 pounds
of broccoli that is turning brown. Don't
tell Kim, but that might go over the side.
We have been drinking milk for our power and it has stayed good and cold
so far.
Well
this typing down below is starting to make me feel sick even with the medicine
so I better wrap it up.
We
are currently at:
5-24-13 12:45PM
(we think, not sure what time zone we are in)35 51.251 N
63 10.605 W
Heading 75 Degrees doing about 6.3 kts
Wind is 22 kts
Seas, 6-8 feet and building
Double reefed main and working jib (close hauled as we can get with this jib) Sunny and upper 70's
Love
you all,
Dad
and Grandpa
No comments:
Post a Comment