16.18.957N 032.01.734W
Ayesha II
Mon 2 Dec 2019 18:22
Thought it would be good to describe a typical day out here:
With 4 of us ( we have our dear friend Nigel with us who sailed a number of passages on the Oyster World Rally and Andreas who is a professional yacht delivery skipper and this will be his 14th Atlantic crossing!)on board we have split the 24/7 watches into 3 hours on and 9 hours off
David (Captain) 6-9 am and pm
Leslie 9 - 12 am and pm
Andreas 12 - 3 am and pm
Nigel 3 -6 am and pm
In the morning around 8 am I am up to have a cup of tea and breakfast with David with Nigel and Andreas up and dressed usually by 9.30am. We are having bespoke weather/routing guidance from a forecaster we have used before and trust and each morning Andreas downloads what are called "GRIB Files" for another weather source through our satellite email system and the ARC organisers send out a daily forecast. Andreas analyses all the info and then we have a team meeting to discuss options as in sails set up, route any likely changes etc to plan the next 24 - 48 hours. We all have lunch together and then dinner in the evening around 6.30pm/7pm, I have pre cooked a number of dishes and frozen them but also have an amazing supply of frozen meats from the butcher at Las Palmas Market and plenty of fruit and veg of a similar quality from his friend with the veg stall! Of course you only hand over an order and do not actually pick the items yourself so consequently 4 steaks are the equ
ivalent of at least 8 at home, the cabbages are so enormous I can barely lift them and we will still be eating them in the New Year! The fruit and veg have their own bunk and are packed in plastic crates with sides air can get through and newspaper with another pile of salad veg in the fridge, we are not going to go hungry! We also supplement the food stocks with fresh fish caught by DNJ but unlike some only catch enough for a couple of meals, it is always exciting when the lines go off mostly they are absolute monsters and it is a relief for all on board when they break the line and do not get landed!!
Many people who do not sail ask what we find to do all day and don't we get bored? Once we are into the routine of life on board time just goes, it is a surprise to realise we are already into our 2nd week at sea! In between watches we are obviously sleeping particularly during the night times but also naps during the day, the pace of life slows down, we have been blessed with relatively calm seas so do not get thrown around down below - yet - which is very tiring and makes the smallest job a challenge, trying to shower whilst chasing the water around the cubicle and not loosing your balance as the sea rocks the boat does not come automatically! Our beds are all put into sailing mode whereby they are basically turned into cots with leecloths hung up to stop us rolling out and lots of pillows etc to jam us in. We are also keeping up with correspondence over the satellite email system particularly with Holscot which is going so well and very busy.
During the day the watches are a bit more informal in that although the nominated person is still responsible for keeping a lookout and checking we are on course most people are up and about. This enables me to cover the domestic side on my morning watch from cooking to washing clothes (we have a tiny camping washing machine, well more of a washing agitator that can be run in surprisingly strong weather and sea conditions) with the guys having the challenge of hanging the washing out! Everyone though does their share of keeping Ayesha spick and span above and below decks.
At night, once the fleet split up more there is fortunately nothing going on, the sight of the odd fishing boat can be the highlight of the watch. We are always in our lifejackets and safety harnesses (permanently clipped on to the yacht)monitoring the course and wind angles and how sails are performing etc. We also monitor the electrical power consumption of all the systems on board and from time to time must put the generator on to boost the batteries and enable us to run the Watermaker whereby we make fresh water from seawater so we can have our daily showers etc.
It is though a privilege to be out here at night with a black sea barely lit by the new Moon and the most amazing display of stars, they shine so brightly, the phospherescence in the spray of the sea as Ayesha powers through is like sparkling diamonds, just beautiful. When we tire of this it will be time to stop sailing.
Leslie
2.12.19