22:53.22 N 35:07.40 W
California Blue
Mark Bashforth / Jayson Bashforth
Sun 2 Dec 2007 18:34
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Blog nr. 7 from California Blue - One
week out and counting 2/12-07
Hello Everyone,
It's hard to believe that we are over 1 week into
the ARC already.
It's Sunday afternoon around 17:30 and we are all
sitting in the cockpit reflecting upon the happenings of the last 24
hours.
Some of our readers have indicated that we seem too
laid back and not enough action focused on board. So in an effort to keep our
blog followers content this issue is dedicated to ACTION.
The action onboard started pretty early today.
Around 04:30 UTC, shortly after starting my watch, the wind completely died and
left our Parasailor dangling in the air. Vic was still awake from his watch and
we started to get ready to retrieve the sail. I went down to wake up Jayson and
before I got back the wind had shifted and impaled the Parasailor in the rigging
- especially around the spreaders. And then out of no where the wind picked up
to about 10 knots making retrieval impossible. The only way to resolve this
issue was to send Vic up the mast to untangle the sail so we could pull the sock
down and stow it on deck.
So Vic got his harness and chair on and Jayson
hoisted him up 20 meters of mast as we bobbed around in the middle of the
Atlantic Ocean. After about 15 minutes we managed to get both Vic and the sail
safely down before being drenched by a squall. Not sure what your idea of action
is but given the circumstances it was fairly intense. Unfortunately all crew
were tending to sail and helm so we don't have any photo's to share from this
experience. I did promise Vic though that if he has to go up the mast again
I will take a photo for his mother :) - Special thanks to Spencer for waking up
early to take the helm while all this mayhem broke loose.
By 05:00 UTC we were back under way albeit under
engine for about 1 hour until we got the Parasailor raised again.
Finishing out my watch I got some amazing
sunrise photos before starting our morning routines.
Today's routines included making water - 300 liters
of fresh water from salt water. And it tastes great. Our water maker can produce
200 liters of water per hour without breaking a sweat so consumption is not a
big issue for us. Afterwards we washed down parts of the deck that were already
show signs of extreme salt exposure. All the deck cleats were rusting so they
were washed and polished and now look like new. We also broke out all our
fishing gear having two poles going in the attempt to catch the big one but so
far we have been unlucky.
After the chores were done, Jayson and the boys
played hangman for several hours and Spencer tutored Elliott in
math.
The weather and wind have been fantastic today. Not
only did we manage to avoid all the squalls in the area, but the swells
were quite small allowing us to venture out of the cockpit and hang out (secured
off course) on deck. Elliott, Spencer and I dipped our feet into the lovely warm
Atlantic ocean - relieved that it was only our feet going in!
Blue kangaroo had an action packed day too. As the
photo's show he was busy changing his outfits and acclimatizing to life
onboard.
Tonight's dinner is pizza. With the exception of
garlic all our fresh produce is now gone. Fortunately we have a freezer and
fridge full of the essentials. Looks like it is canned or frozen vegetables and
fruit for the next week. Hope we don't get scurvy in the meantime.
We have now sailed over 1200 nautical miles and
should reach the halfway point (1350 nm) by tomorrow evening. We have a
cold bottle of champagne waiting especially for the occasion.
Our current SOG (speed over ground) is 7.3 knots in
10 knots of wind. We are heading on a course of 250 degrees. Our average speed
over the last few days has been over 7.2 knots per hour.
This afternoon we saw our first boat in 5 days -
but this lasted only about an hour as she was sailing on a more southern
heading. No chatter on the VHF and no response to any calls or radio checks we
make. It seems our route which favors the well known middle route to the
Caribbean places us between lots of cruisers to the south and racers to the
north. I expect we will see more boats next week as the routes start to
converge.
Spencer and Elliott have now got into the habit of
joining Jayson on his night watch from 20:00 to 00:00 UTC. Over coffee, hot
chocolate and various goodies they enjoy hours of chatting with each other while
taking in the unique experience of night sailing together.
We that's it for today. It's time for
pizza.
More action promised for tomorrow.
Take care,
Mark and the crew of California Blue
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