Slowing down for a daylight landing window
Harmonie
Don and Anne Myers
Fri 18 Apr 2008 06:22
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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
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