June 5

Althea
Tue 8 Jun 2004 14:26

I am writing this entry by the light of the almost full moon, it is somewhere around 2am and we are somewhere around 7 degrees latitude north. The sky is so vast it contains nearly all the cloud formations a meteorologist might name, the moon lights up a shimmering golden path one is tempted to follow after so many days of atrophying leg muscles, there are silhouettes of sea birds gliding silently just above the surface of the waves, and the air is dense, hot and sticky. It is actually a relief to get out of your berth at 2am and come above board. There is one other detail to add to this pastoral ocean scene, a 24 horse power diesel engine blaring away as we power our way through the Doldrums.

Yes, folks, we have finally arrived at the dreaded Doldrums, no wind! If we are lucky we come upon a squall and have a burst of wind power anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours. We are also experiencing our first rain, lots of it when it comes. Rain means all the hatches must be shut and there is only about 2 square inches in the cockpit where it stays dry, so we mostly hang out below in the growing heat and humidity sweating over our books, and contemplating when we might have our next ration of Coke over ice (this treat is a truly indescribable pleasure). The weather guy shows us pulling out of the big D by 5 degrees latitude, so a couple of more days and we will be back to our constant trade winds that lift our spirits and our sails.

Anne