Wednesday 16th June – Day 10 At Sea (Lini’s Jour nal)
Brindabella's Web Diary
Simon Williams
Wed 23 Jun 2010 16:58
my mind: I suppose only experience will improve my fear of storms. My
first dreaded night watch was absolutely fantastic! We already had two
reefs in the mainsail and furled another reef in the headsail before
Si went to bed so I had no worries about having too much sail up
(unless things turned really wild): They didn’t. In fact they only
picked up to F5-6 and we galloped joyously along in much less bumpy
seas than I’d predicted.
When the elements permit I often fall into the most vivid, bazaar
dreams at sea. My excuse for having to be woken to relieve Si on watch
was the strangest dream about night watches, alarm clocks and running
very fast in search of suitable clothes for my next watch. Bells rung,
I ran, with no idea as to what was real and what was in my dreams.
Clipped on in the cosy shelter of the spray hood I closed my eyes for
a second and OH NO! I was instantly transported back to Whacky Land! I
thought it best to keep my eyes VERY widely open.
We have now travelled 1000nm since Bermuda, alas not exactly on a
direct course for Flores, but it matters little how long our journey
takes if there is wind to sail. Zooming out on the chartplotter we are
in the centre of the Atlantic; always an odd feeling to be so very far
from land. We have seen few other ships although AIS info shows on the
chartplotter occasionally. This morning I nearly leapt out of my skin
when interrupting a melodic duet by waves and wind, a loud voice came
over the VHF: It is nice to know there are people out there however.
We have now changed course further north in an attempt to slip
between two areas of low pressure heading east but avoid the calms
that lie between them. The winds on my second watch had increased a
little now gusting F7, but coming from aft of the beam still gave a
pleasant ride on calm seas. I watched a burning ball pass through a
soft orange slit in cloud before instantaneously the skies were
engulfed in darkness. The shower was light, brief and immediately
followed by blue sky and cumulus clouds. Surely that couldn’t be the
front passing already?................
Of course not: No sooner had I thought it never mind write it, a
grey blanket lowered over us and there commenced a lively day. The
wind increased to a good F6 gusting F7 and 8 at times, heaping up the
seas and making it impossible for Humph to steer a straight course:
Waves broke over the boat and rain showered down as we sheltered under
the sprayhood. It’s rarely we both go below and leave gadgets galore
in control, but today we did and inside cosy Brindabella we sipped hot
chocolate peering out at wild waves through the side ports.
I juggled vegetables and flying knives in the galley making lentil
soup for lunch; it was a lentil soup sort of day really. Si’s heart
must have sunk when the rolls I made yesterday were produced to dunk.
I don’t know why I can’t make good bread any more, perhaps the yeast
is stale, the flour certainly varies place to place, but his roll had
all the qualities of a discus; hard and flat with the weight to
catapult it miles with enough muscle: He wouldn’t dare! Dinner today
required no more effort than throwing two bags of my vacuum packed
curry and a bag of rice in boiling water carefully sealed in the
pressure cooker in case it was flipped off the stove. While it bubbled
we dropped the thrashing mainsail and gybed the headsail with the seas
remaining big and bumpy despite the wind calming and shifting to our
stern.
At change of watch after another wind shift we hoist the main
again. Poor Si had a busy night helping me reef during an unexpected
blow during my watch and investigating clunking noises at the mast
during his watch. As expected the wind slowly dropped to a F3 through
the rest of the night and things were very calm on my dawn watch for
Si to catch up on lost sleep.