Day 12....rockin'the night away!
17:57.7N 54:39.2W What a night…the good news is that we had 22-25 knots and made good speed, wing-on-wing…the bad news is that NONE OF US got any sleep, as we rocked from port to starboard over, and over, and over…from about 20 degrees heel on one side to 20 degrees heel on the other side…several times I thought I should just get up and join the watch in the cockpit, where I could at least look at the stars…at one point, I timed the frequency of the roles as averaging 8 back and forth roles per minute….every role was like a wake-up jab….just no way to “sleep”… but we all know that sleep deprivation is part of the challenge in extended sea passages…so onward we continued! Today, everyone is moving slowly….well it is Sunday….and should be our “day of rest”…and we needed it! We now have 2284 miles behind us, and 423 left to go…we hope to arrive late Tuesday night, or certainly early on Wednesday morning…either would be a “14+ day crossing of the pond” …. We expected closer to 3 weeks! We are already making early preparations for coming into St. Lucia….updating “chips” in our GPS’s and electronic navigation for the Caribbean charts, checking procedures and passages for rounding St. Lucia and going into Rodney Bay, preparing Boat checklists of various sorts for detailing “to do” items, and already preparing for Cap, Scott and I to leave on Thursday morning for our sail to the British Virgin Islands (BVI’s)…about 325 miles further…and the final point of this passage for “Arbella”! But, for now, here is a little more ATLANTIC HISTORY…The Atlantic Ocean has always involved and always will involve…sea food, and trade…these are the two foundations of everything that seems to have happened…good and bad! So as sailors sought to venture longer and farther in their voyages, how did they assure adequate food…especially protein…enter the “Atlantic Cod” … I have gained a new appreciation for cod…protein rich and almost fat free! It was the Vikings who first figured out how to “dry” this wholesome white fish and thereby make it available for long periods of time…they would gut the fish, dry it until hard as wood, keep it in a cool place, then rehydrate it when they were ready to cook and eat it. But this did not work in warmer waters as the fish would rot quickly….but then came the Basque in northern Spain…they did the same thing BUT also coated it in salt which was available to those countries on the Med, but not those to the far north. This “salted Atlantic Cod” would keep for months aboard sailing vessels, was all protein, and provided what sailors needed to sustain themselves in a long voyage. It was also the Basque who had perfected whale hunting, which was picked up by the Americans of the early 18th century, and became a trade that they dominated for quite some time! Sea food and trade….the two pillars of interest that underpinned much of the history of the Atlantic Ocean! Final thought….he crew is eager for “land ho”!!! |