5.5.22 (1100) Day 3
It’s our third day underway. We are eager to get to the trade winds. We’ve been dealing with a counter current of two knots as we deal with headwinds and lumpy seas. We were met with thunder and lightning on the first night but thankfully we were able to keep our distance from the squalls. The last few days have been thankfully overcast and given us relief from the hot sun.
My watches are midnight to 2, 8-10am, 4-6pm. When we’re not on watch we sleep, eat, and play Legos with the youngest crew member, who is almost always ready to play Legos. We also have been learning a bit of French but with the lumpy seas we’re all kind of just dealing and hoping for more favorable conditions.
The motion of a catamaran takes some getting used to. Having two hulls instead of one makes for sometime awkward movement and loaded down with stores, water and fuel, we’ve been encountering some boat slap common to catamarans. But the space and relative flatness of a cat is pretty awesome.
The kids handle everything in stride as they are by now seasoned veterans. Last night the jib clew pulled out of its stitching. This is where the sheets attach to the sail so it can be adjusted. This is something we hope to repair tomorrow when the wind is supposed to let off a bit. Currently we have about 16 knots from the southwest, waves about four feet and a temp in the upper 70s, with overcast skies.
Just before bed on the first evening, we were treated with dolphins on the bow, lit up by photo luminescence. Glowing dolphins and their glowing wakes looked like little spaceships.
Otherwise, all is well as we make our way south hoping for the steadiness of the trade wind
The ocean feels amazing today. Incredible to look in all directions and see only blue water and blue and white sky. No land, no boats. Just us.
There are daily posts from Ted on the tracking website (see previous post for the link) and if you want to send us a text or email message to the sat phone, we enjoy them, you can reach us at: 786-776-2388
noonsun@myiridium.net
5.6.22 (Day 4)
What a difference a day makes. The seas have calmed, the winds have died and the incessant banging of the hull has stopped, there’s no longer lightning in the distance and the rain and drizzle have stopped. Repairs have been made of the ripped out clew using some spare aluminum, cut in half to sandwich the sail, a plastic cutting board and a bunch of little bolts to bolt it all together. It’ll be tested out soon – fingers crossed.
We’ve also taken care of another rip on the jib and did some minor sewing on the main. The crew is recovering – some faster than others though the five year old never felt a thing and was playing legos most of the day when he wasn’t pretending to be a rockstar – meanwhile the 10 year old seemed to have spent more than 24 hours curled up on one of the deck cushions with the noise canceling headphones on.
The ocean feels amazing today. Incredible to look in all directions and see only blue water and blue and white sky. No land, no boats. Just us.
There are daily posts from Ted on the tracking website (see previous post for the link) and if you want to send us a text or email message to the sat phone, we enjoy them, you can reach us at: 786-776-2388
noonsun@myiridium.net
The day finished with home made black bean burgers and the whole crew up on the “trampoline” for a star lesson complete with green laser pointer – this might have blown the 5 year old’s mind. He is really into light sabers and we have three on board that make sounds. He wanted to know immediately if it would hurt you if you were hit with it. He was also quite impressed with himself today as he was able to fix the hyperdrive. He was so cute messing around with the handle of the sewing machine/hyperdrive. Apparently it was a problem with two wires.
Well, off to get some sleep before my midnight to 2 shift, where I’ll keep lookout, monitor the winds, look at the stars, complete my celestial navigation work and write in my journal. Beautiful sunset tonight. Sorry I can’t send pictures! My best to you all!
