Of Thunder and Lightning
Kahia
Paul and Catherine Davis
Thu 17 May 2012 22:20
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9:44S 136:21W
At dinner last night, we were reviewing our trip so far
and expressed the relief that we had not been in a Tropic Thunderstorm.
Well the night had it prepared for us. Paul had observed electric discharges at
the horizon and we secured loose electronic gear in metal protections (i.e. the
oven and pots) but the real thing arrived on my watch. Rain and
unsettled wind (not too bad, gusts of Force 7 and then next to nothing)
kept me alert but what set me off praying was when the lightning and
thunder was all around us.
Poor Paul only managed to sleep 2 hours solid. The
hissing, as flashes of the lightning stabbed the sea around us
and the tearing crack of thunder above our heads left us
suspended in the mighty forces of mother nature. The good captain got up at one
point, put his arm around my shoulders and I wiped my tears off. There was
nothing we could do but sit tight and relax into feeling vulnerable. At least we
were together. We sit so until it was time for breakfast and the
weather seamed to move away. After our delightful pouched eggs, beans
on toast and freshly brewed Arabica Coffee, just as I was clearing
things away to wash up, another lightning bolt ripped open the sky as the
thunder clapped simultaneously above us. Awesome. We felt the static in the
air. I did laugh as I got up of my instinctive crouching position in the
galley and lifted my hands off my head. What protection did that give
me? The second move, like Paul's, was to look at the instruments... they worked!
What a relief.
Dawn arrived and it was easier to discern the cloud
formations and grey weather fronts around us.
After 5 hours of tension, the lightning
withdrew and Paul was able to return to a more relaxing sleep. Our beings
now filled Kahia with a sweet sense of gratitude, lightness and
happiness.
The wind has dropped, we are currently motoring
(at 5 knots SOG), the sea is flat and the sun is trying to break
through heavy clouds.
We look forward to arriving in Atuona, Hiva Oa sometime
tomorrow, only 153 nautical miles to go.
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