Position Update N23:06.48 W58:30.6
PASSEPARTOUT
Christopher & Nirit Slaney
Fri 27 Apr 2012 21:11
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From Nirit.
It's now Thursday night and I am on watch. It's a good
time to put some thoughts into writing for the blog. We slipped our lines at St
Maarten on Tuesday and have made 300 miles since the. Ever so slowly everyone is
becoming accustomed to the routine on board.
Yaely realises that she does not suffer from sea
sickness after all, which is a relief to the rest of us and an end to her
worries. Her body is adjusting to the motions of Atlantic swell but she still
prefers to sleep in the cockpit. In this way she feels the wind and sees
the stars from the moment she opens her eyes.
Shmulik, after fighting a losing battle with a Marlin,
has become more relaxed about fishing. This suits Chris who doesn't want to
added headache or lines and lures dragging behind us in high seas and lively
winds. He's promised Shmulik fishing can resume as soon as we shake out the
reefs.
In general Chris is finally calming down after a very
hectic couple of weeks spent preparing Passepartout for this voyage. So many on
board systems collapsed and had to be replaced that it was as if the boat
refused the idea that the time had come to cross back over the pond and
head for home.
And me, sitting on deck at night under a red moon hiding
behind clouds and the big oceanic sky I enjoy so much. I spent a lot of time
wondering what this part of the voyage was going to be like. Would
the weather gods be kind to us? Will Passepartout take good care
of us again? We surely did our best getting her ready for the trip.
So far all is going well. We are sailing close
hauled NNE and unable to follow the rhumb line to the Azores; but this was to be
expected. We hope not to get pushed so far northwest that we have to put
into Bermuda for fuel and water. By not fighting against the trade winds we hope
to be able to head east once their effect diminishes as we get into
northern latitudes. As I write, the wind is firmly in the SE and forecasted
to stay that way for a few days.
By the time we get back into the Mediterranean it
will be two years since we started out on our adventure. Two years crammed with
excitement, problems, solutions, ups and owns and lots of special moments. We
have crossed oceans, made new friends, called in on some old ones, explored
the whole east coast of the USA and had two wonderful seasons in
the islands. We have invited new sailing friends to come and visit us at
home, it will be interesting to see who comes.
And of course I am also wondering what my life will look
like in a few months time. I have become so used to living in nature, leading a
simple life, exploring new places and seeing mostly a sea horizon, will I be
able to adjust to city life again?
The wind is picking up. Time to rouse Chris from his
bunk and put another reef in the mainsail. Yaely will likely wake up from all
the racket and it will soon be Shmulik's time to start his watch. Action on
board Passepartout! I shall save the rest of my thoughts for another
quiet night.
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