"Original Portraits" -- every day!!

Wallace's Sailing Adventure on "Arbella"
Mike and Vicki Wallace
Sun 9 Nov 2014 08:00
21:55.9N 65:02.3W    Good friends, good food, great venue….with some challenging "rock and roll"!  Sunday night dinner was "Bratwurst Night"….Ralph prepared phenomenal brats, with onions, and Guinness, and let them simmer just right!  For that occasion, we leveled the boat and enjoyed dinner in the cockpit all together…a modest glass of beer or wine was part of the fare!  Vundabar!!!  But the night was "hot and sweaty with continuous rock and roll…and I do not mean music".  We were motoring as close to southeast as we could (about 150 degrees M) while keeping the wind a few degrees to port….the 6-9 foot sees were from the east and produce the incessant rock and roll!  And we did not run the air conditioner, since we were still in the "fuel conservation" mode.  So here is the answer to the quiz from yesterday….. 580 liters of fuel, burning 11 liters per hour, producing 8 knots, with 400 miles to go to port, DO WE MAKE IT?….YES…with 21 miles to spare!!  So that is cutting it too close….for safety reasons, we always need some fuel for Man over Board recovery (one of our most serious safety considerations), and to maneuver when in port.  So we recalculated several times during the day yesterday, emptied our last 5 gallons from a jerry can into the tank, reduced speed to burn less than 7 liters per hour…but all that meant we are close to not getting to port in time for two crew members to make their flights on Tuesday morning at 9:30am.  The Captain updated data and calculations and the crew discussed best tactical approach to meet all of our objectives (fuel for emergency, and getting crew off for airport on time, while fully meeting Customs requirements on arrival).  The last objective is now our focus….Graeme at CYM, our main contact in Tortola….Ted and his team watch over Arbella while we are back in the U.S….has contacted the head of Customs  on Tortola, BVI, to seek special permission to make landfall directly into Nanny Cay, fly the "Q" or quarantine flag (that means we stay on the boat until we clear Customs), take a taxi to Customs in Roadtown at 8am, then get Cap and David to the airport for their 9:30am flight, a 40 minute taxi ride!  So this is all "nip and tuck" but it seems likely to work.  The recalculations on fuel show that we have just enough to meet our objectives, slowing fuel consumption, and thereby speed,  such that we will arrive after dark on Monday night!!  And now about the "Original Portraits"….Vicki has the great saying "every sunrise and sunset on the ocean is an Original Portrait, by the ultimate Grand Master Painter, that will never be seen again"….sometimes they are just breath taking….no noise, no buildings or traffic, full view of horizon…and it unfolds slowly.  The pictures show the crew and sailing yesterday, with some of the waves breaking along the side…but then a sequential series of 7 photos, tries to capture the SPECTACULAR SUNRISE at 5:30am  eastern this morning (remember we re quite far to the east)….the pictures do not do justice to the real thing, but they hopefully convey why we put up with sea sickness, and rocking and rolling….moments like this are truly awesome, inspiring, and spiritual!!  Captain Mike

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