Hi
everyone,
First
off...we are doing just fine right now.
When
I left off yesterday I took a nap during Grandpa's afternoon watch. According to the weather map he was supposed
to have painfully slow near calm conditions.
Instead he had winds 16-22 kts with great angry black but isolated
squalls to dodge. He did a great job
tacking back and forth to avoid them. He
woke me near the end of his watch and I helped us sneak between the last two
squalls for the evening. I spent my 6-9 p.m.
watch working my way upwind to try and get us north to minimize the impact of
the storm to hit on Monday morning. Passed within a mile and a half of a large
ship headed East. We kept moving until
my second watch at midnight when the wind effectively died. I started the engine and we motored on till
morning to recharge the batteries and continue getting ourselves to the north.
Grandpa
woke me up just before 6. He was a
miserable sight to see. A cold misty
rain had developed and he had just sat in it and let it consume him. I was a bit upset because I wanted him to
save himself for the storm yet to come.
There wasn't much point in staying outside in the cockpit the entire
time while we were motoring...not to mention he soaked my mittens! I think he equates sitting on watch to deer
hunting...I just don't see the point of getting soaked until it’s necessary
which wouldn't be too long with the weather forecast we have.
Anyway,
I took over watch at 6 and the wind began to fill in at our backs. Soon I had the engine off and we were sailing
again in 5 - 6 kts. Not long after
though, the wind began to build and, knowing what was coming today, I wanted to
get the big main double-reefed ASAP! I had
to open the hatch and wake up Grandpa who was snug under the covers. He didn't complain though and got back into
his soaked gear and came out and helped us get reefed. Once Midwatch was in order he retreated to
his bunk and I got the old girl moving again under double reefed main and
working jib. The rain came in with a
vengeance and so did the wind. I ran the
best angle I could about (315º True) for a couple of hours with ever building
wind (22-27kts) and seas. Then the wind
shifted dramatically and I was able to veer to a north heading. Interestingly the sun came out and it was
actually quite nice. The wind and waves,
however, continued to build. About
9:00 PM Grandpa came back on deck. We
decided we would try three hour watches day and night until the storm was
behind us. Grandpa took over and I went
below to prep for more wind (putting loose articles in more safe places),
closing any unnecessary thru-hulls valves and made breakfast (last of the eggs
though I saved one to make brownies).
The
waves continued to build and Otto our autopilot decided he was ready for a
break and gave up. That put Grandpa at
the helm for the next hour or so. I have
decided that Grandpa is what you would call "a lake sailor". He is in the habit of using points on the
shoreline to steer for. Unfortunately
that does not work here and he has a tough time with it. In retrospect perhaps I should have made him
hand steer for a half hour at the beginning of every watch but that didn't
happen. After his hour at the wheel I
sent him down below to get more rest and settled myself in at the wheel. When Otto let go we furled the working jib so
we were running under double reefed main alone.
As
the seas continued to build, I think adrenaline kept my mind super active
trying to anticipate the next step.
Couldn't help but think about movie quotes like "she's comin' on
boys...she's comin' on real strong" or" we're really in it
now".
The
next step I figured I would need to make would be to round-up and heave-to into
the wind...the question is when? For now
I was making great time towards our destination and away from the main path of
the storm. If the waves get too big it
becomes a really hairy maneuver to try and turn the boat approximately 180º and
come to a stop. Fortunately I never had
to make the decision...with no warning the wind nearly stopped, but off the
port bow I could see a wicked wind coming but from a different angle so I
squared up to it and decided I didn't want to dance with it so I came about and
parked like a duck with its head under its wing. Within moments we were laid over with 35kt
winds. Midwatch took it but I don't
think she liked it. I retreated down
below with Grandpa. We watched the
anemometer for a while and took seasickness medication just in case. I closed another thru-hull and chose to melt
into the port settee rather than listen to the wind scream and watch the
portholes go under water. When I woke an
hour later the winds had backed down to the 20's and now they are all the way
down to 15 with gusts to 20 or so.
Grandpa
and I discussed the situation at length.
I decided to get more data before trying to make a move and Grandpa took
his turn at the bunk. It looks as though
it might become nearly calm tonight in our location and then flair up with
winds in the mid 30's again tomorrow (Round Two)! The rain has just set in again and we are so
comfortable that I am hard pressed to want to get back into pushing Midwatch
through these giant waves with not enough wind power, so for now we stay put.
44 59 N
28 37 W
Wind 19kts out of the northeast
Waves (really big)
spd 2.2 kts
Hove-to on starboard tack facing West
Course moving slowly to the south west
Thanks
for the clear, concise storm report from Ted LaDue, as our friend John Woodworth
(pilot) always says "you really need to visualize the BIG PICTURE".
I
am able to get very detailed but fairly localized weather info but I haven't
learned how to look at the big picture with the technology I have. So again thanks Ted and Kim as well.
FYI,
we still have lots of water and food.
Diesel is only being used for carefully thought out situations.
Power
with our new wind generator is a non-issue with the winds we have today.
Showers
and clean laundry...not-so-much!
Have
a great day,
Bob
and Bob
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