Slowing down for a daylight landing window

Harmonie
Don and Anne Myers
Fri 18 Apr 2008 06:22
13:12.141S  143:18.179W
 
The wind hasn't completely cooperated, so we definitely won't make it to our destination on Friday in daylight.  Instead we've reduced sail area to slow the boat down and are targeting the next good landing window, which is Saturday at 10:30 am.  The passes through the coral reefs that surround each Tuamotu island can be treacherous if you don't hit them at precisely the right time.  When the tide is moving in or out, the current through the passes can be very nasty and cause you to lose control of your boat.  So, per the instructions in our guide book, we will go through the pass in the coral reef surrounding Kauehi Island 1 1/2 hours after low tide, when the current should be close to zero.  Lady Kay is there already and reported no trouble when they navigated the pass at the appropriate time earlier today.
 
This delay means we'll have to endure one additional night watch beyond what we had planned.   In preparation for this, we have compiled a list of our favorite night watch tactics and our least favorite night watch hazards:
 
Favorite Night Watch Tactics:
Don:
Coffee - best if consumed at the beginning of each watch such that the effect wears off in time for sleep three hours later.
Puttering - This includes the thought process that takes place in preparation for puttering as well as the act of puttering itself.  Puttering includes any small task that requires a few minutes of attention and if enough puttering takes place, the three hour night watch passes by quickly.  Examples of puttering include, but are not limited to:
    Fussing with the sails - this is a constant addiction of any sailor
    Checking radar - there's nothing out there because we are in the middle of nowhere
    Contemplating the puttering schedule for the following day when some serious puttering can take place in daylight
    Reflecting on our fishless state and making plans to construct new and more interesting lures
    Checking our position on the electronic chart hourly - doesn't change much when the scale of the chart is hundreds of miles and we only progress about 5 or 6 miles each hour
Don would like to give credit to the Master of Puttering, Bill Maloney, from whom he learned this particularly useful method of time management.
 
Anne:
Eating - preferably something with caffeine - like chocolate for instance.  Unfortunately our emergency stash of m&m's has long since been depleted and we are down to chocolate chips, baking chocolate (not to be eaten by itself) and a few leftover brownies.
Reflection - This includes the thought process only, no danger of puttering here.  Examples of reflection include, but are not limited to:
    Where we've been and where we are going
    Topics for the next and future blog entries - like night watch tactics and hazards
    Calculating - How many miles left to go, how many hours left to go if speed is constant at 5, 6, 7 or 8 knots, how many liters of water are produced in an hour, how many more meals to be prepared throughout the rest of the passage, how many more night watches, how many dollars tossed into the sea per hour when motoring, on and on.  I blame my father and oldest brother for this affliction.  They both count and calculate things on a regular basis.
    When boat movement is at a peak - reflection time is used to mentally walk through all movement planned for the short term.  Example:  if it is time to fill in the hourly log, the long trip down the companionway stairs is planned in advance as well as the stance to be used while hovering near the chart table and filling in the log book.  Not to mention the mental preparation work that goes on before a trip to the bathroom - mostly in an effort to avoid becoming the dreaded toilet sandwich (when the toilet seat lid smashes down on your back as you are sitting).  
 
Hazards of night watch:
Don:
Random phrases that pop into his head completely uninvited and interrupt puttering, resulting in major time loss while an attempt is made to determine the source of said random phrases.  Examples include but are not limited to:
    'Just like that, and Bob's your uncle.'
    'An apple, a pear, a plum, a cherry - every good thing to make us all merry.'
    'Balls!' said the Queen, 'If I had to, I'd be King'. And she had two, and she was King.'
If any of you know where these odd phrases came from - a song? a play? a musical? a book? a movie?, please let us know so Don can putter in uninterrupted bliss during his next night watch.
 
Anne:
Show tunes constantly running in the background of my head through every minute of every three-hour night watch.  Sometimes it's a single song, sometimes it's a medley of three or four songs from the same show, sometimes it's just a single phrase from a single show tune.  All result in a touch of insanity.  Examples include but are not limited to:
    'Cell Block Tango'  Chicago.
    'Roxie' Chicago
    'All I Care About is Love' Chicago
    'Matchmaker' Fiddler on the Roof
    'Miracle of Miracles' Fiddler on the Roof
and more from Mama Mia, The Sound of Music, Showboat, etc.  Endless.
If any of you have a remedy for this show tune malady, please let me know.  I will be forever grateful.
Tonight we listened to the sound track of the Blues Brothers movie.  I'm dreading a never ending run of the 'Rawhide' TV show theme in my brain tonight.  'Rolling, rolling, rolling, keep those doggies moving, Rawhide!....'
 
Anne