Pirates of the Caribbean

Alize
Mike Somerville
Tue 11 Dec 2012 12:24

15:45.125N 51:45.049W

Yesterday morning we got a 100% soaking - hours of monsoon conditions.  Off watch crew sensibly stayed below, inaugurated our TV/multimedia centre and watched Pirates of the Caribbean.  We forgot to microwave the toffee flavoured popcorn; next time!

Ventilation of the boat in continual heavy rain needs some much more canny solutions than we have right now.  With hatches closed we have had Turkish bath conditions below, fuelled by tropical air and sea temperatures, wet clothes and now wet everything else.  So we acquiesce and open a hatch  (‘it has stopped raining now hasn’t it?’, ‘actually duh.. no it hasn’t).  More rain enters - or worse the opening neatly catches the slop from a rogue wave.

Mike L made our new “Alize” spoon wear range out of a plastic egg carton using scissors, a file and a lighter as his toolset.  Ingenious.  We now have egg holders with tabs as our new “spoons”, later proven over dessert.

A respite from the rain mid afternoon sun brought a mass of oilies and bedding to dry on deck, and conditions have since improved a tad. With lighter winds (12-20knots, sadly no surfing)  Alize has started some heavy rolling as the Atlantic 3-4m swell comes through ,  especially noticeable under our prior goosewing (Gib one side – Main the other) arrangement. By the evening we are now on a starboard gybe with all sails set on port, much more comfortable.

Magical moments on the night watch.  The sea and wind calm down and the clouds clear to reveal a zillion stars of which a few were shooting.  iPods are back in action so we can lie on deck, switch on the entertainment and gaze into the far beyond.

 

Regards,

Mike, Tim, Barbara & Mike