Sailing - Hooray!

Where Next?
Bob Williams
Fri 4 Sep 2009 10:56
Position: 41 09.1 N 009 34.2 W
Course: South 5 knots (hooray)
Wind: North, moderate breeze. Slight on a moderate swell.
Weather: Sunny, mild
Day's run: 48 miles

We are sailing again, Hooray! We had been drifting all day yesterday on a near oliy calm at times, the stillness only broken by the never ending swell. I made a new boom crutch out of a scrap piece if teak I had salvage from a dumpster during my travels. It used to be part of a name board for someone's boat in Annapolis. This bit has the port of registry on it, namely ANNAPOLIS. After I cut it up, put some hinges on it and bolted it on above the dodger it now reads:

ANNA

POLIS.

Shall I leave it as a memento of my long and many happy times there, or is it a bit too strange? I shall ponder this for a while. It works, that is the main thing for now.

The rest of the name board I turned into a book shelf, the boat's name was DREAMCATCHER, and seeing as the bookshelf is in the V Berth it seems rather appropriate. You have to take all the books off the shelf to see the name but it is still there catching dreams.

I was catching a few dreams last night, I had the alarm set for midnight but managed to sleep through it. I awoke, knew immediately that I had overslept, as I felt very refreshed, like I had just had a long sleep, and I also knew instantly something was different. What could it be, all was strangely silent and still - a little wind perhaps. It was 1.30 a.m., I stuck my head up out of the companionway. Yes, Yes, YES! A very light drizzle but also a light breeze, I knew it was going to strengthen, I donned foul weather pants and went on deck, did a small dance and raised sail. The wind was still on the light side but there was enough pressure to keep the sails filled with only the occasional slat. We were moving again! Towards dawn the drizzle had cleared revealing a big bright full moon, a myriad of stars and a few scattered puffy clouds - we were going to have a nice day. Mid forenoon the wind had veered from the northwest to the north, we were heading too far out to sea, so bore away and poled the jib to starboard, we are now running square wing on wing. The damnable swell is still running and even with this nice fresh breeze is causing us to roll a fair bit with an occasional loud slat from the mainsail. But we are actually making some miles, only 48 for the last 24 hours but all of them have been sailed in the last 10 hours, so with a modicum of luck in the next 24 hours we might make Lisbon by tomorrow night.

All is well.

Bob Cat:

Skipper Bob seems a little happier, about time. Maybe he will go delirious and give me some decent food. In my dreams I hear you say, you are probably right so, OK ... Zzzzzzz.