Position: We have sailed a couple of days South West, just below the equator, into the South Pacific. Our position is:
01 30.97S 102 34.62W
*Note: I am told you can copy and paste these coordinates into google earth and it will show you where we are.
Mileage: 2339 – 2221 nm= 118nm
Number of miles to go: 2221nm to go of approx. 3850nm. We are still about a third of the way to French Polynesia.
Fish count: The count remains the same. 4 Mahi Mahi, 2 Cero and 6 tuna. One Marlin that we were happy got away! Sea state and full freezer have put fishing on hold.
BYE BYE LIGHT WINDS
In the early hours the winds picked up. We have put a few more reefs in (shortened the sails) and are now sailing comfortably at just under 5-6 knots to wind. Yes, back to sailing to wind again. And of course the waves have increased in size with the increase in wind. Light winds were never going to get us to French Polynesia quickly, but they were a welcome change. The female human had a rough start to the day. Just as she sat down in the cockpit, with her morning coffee, a ‘bad ass’ wave slapped up the side of the boat and dosed her is cold salty water. GOOD MORNING! Did I mention she had just washed all the salt out of her hair the day before.
WHAT IS IT LIKE ABOARD THE BOAT?
We have spent a few weeks now sailing to wind. I thought it would be interesting to bring you aboard and describe what it is like ‘living’ and sailing for a long time on this tack.
First you need to understand what the sailing conditions are like:
Understanding how a sail boat is pushed along down wind is easy enough, but you have to read a bit about aerodynamics to understand how a sail boat can move forward with the wind ahead of it. Maybe the topic of another blog entry? But for now, believe me a ‘sail boat can travel to wind, but it can not do it directly into the wind. It has to point about 30 degrees off to keep up momentum. This makes the sail boat lean a little away from the side the wind is coming over. So when you sail to wind the boat heels (leans) over. With the wind on the forward quarter (front section) of the boat you will also get wind driven waves hitting the boat here. Depending on the size of the waves they will hit the front of the boat, slow it down and often send water and spray over top of the boat. Lots of people fit a ‘sprayhood’ onto their boats. A windowed shield, to protect the cockpit (helming section of the boat) from the brunt force of this spray.
What is it like on the top deck of the boat?
At least one of my humans has to be on ‘watch’ at or near the helming position at all times, especially as any squalls come through. Their job is to make sure the boat sails well, that no big waves knock the wind out of the sails or direction changes cause the sails to back. They also look out for any hazards including other shipping traffic. If it is raining, despite the binimi top, they will get wet. If the wind and waves are up, even with the sprayhood, they are likely to get a blast of sea water spray them. The whole boat is tilted, in our case to starboard (right side down). So even sitting in the cockpit the whole area is tilted. If you sit on the low side of the cockpit, you have more sprayhood protection from the wind and sea spray. But everything is tilted and it puts a strain on your back and neck. Now do not forget that the boat is moving forward over the waves. This also means the boat is bucking up and down and a little side to side, as waves are not lovely even surfaces. So walking around the deck is a little like being drunk. You put one foot in front of the other and work your way from one hand hold to the next. While you are doing this you hope that a wave will not break over the front and blast you with salty spray. Most sail adjustments can be done from the safety of the cockpit, but the humans have to go out on deck to reef the main sail. They have life jackets with connection points and the humans use ‘life lines’ and straps to attach themselves to the boat deck in case they trip.
Thankfully my humans are very nice to me, and slow the boat right down, or heave to (stop the boat), to let me do my doggy business twice daily. They love me! They use these calm times to do a full rigging check and most adjustments. Besides this, reefing and fishing, when top side the humans stay in the safety and protection of the cockpit area.
What is it like down below?
The boat is heeled over so the world is all tilted to the right. Moving about below is a little like climbing a steep hill. You fight your way forward grabbing hold of anything to keep yourself steady. If the waves get ‘frisky’ you can add bobbing and rolling to the motion down below. Sometimes, as you sail up and over a wave, you can feel your stomach drop. If you look at the lay out of our boat on the ‘About the boat’ page of the blog you will see there are a few problems when the boat is on a port tack. It means that both the galley (kitchen)and the head (toilet) are ‘up hill’. Who ever is working in the galley has to constantly fight to stay up hill. The stove is on a gimble, but the wave motion makes it swing. You have to strap down pots in rough weather so they will not come flying off with their hot contents. The head is a bit funny. You have to close the door, climb onto the toilet and use the door and frame in front to brace yourself so you stay on the loo if a big wave comes by. And big waves do bash against the hull and try to send whom ever is down below to the starboard side of the boat. Of course all the food cupboards are on the port side of the boat. Every time you open a cupboard the contents try to launch themselves at you.
BUT OTHER THAN THAT, IT IS NO PROBLEM SPENDING WEEKS SAILING TO WIND.
Where are those darn trade winds?
END
