14:17.67N 49:01.55W
Tioram 4
Tina & Tony
Sun 6 Dec 2009 12:55
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Sunday 6th December, ungodly o'clock in the
morning!
Sorry for the lack of a blog yesterday, but I did
write it several times but with the motion we were experiencing it got deleted
several times so gave up. Also we've all been trying to survive on less
than 4 hours sleep in the past 24, so patience was not in abundant supply,
hopefully this will be recharged with a calmer Sunday.
Like you all I thought that Saturday was a day for
rest and relaxation, but obviously the Atlantic thought differently and decided
to test the good ship Tioram and its merry crew to a less than enjoyable day! I
say less than enjoyable as it included high winds (close to 40 knots across the
deck), big waves (9-10m) in a cross sea, squalls and a breakage or
two. Before the action kicked off, yesterdays blog was going to be
fairly mundane and uneventful and even be called "Cigars and Shooting Stars"
after the relaxing Friday night we all had, but the period from 1am through to
mid afternoon was fairly non stop! Saying that something hasn't broken yet
onboard a boat should be as taboo as saying Macbeth in a theatre, as if it can
break, it will, as was the case on Saturday morning!
Backpeddling to Friday, which now seems an age ago!
We had a really good day in great conditions averaging well over 7 knots in the
right direction (always a bonus). Relatively calm seas allowed all onboard to
recover after several days of energy sapping conditions and the good ship Tioram
was turned into a Chinese laundry with everyone deciding to take the opportunity
to freshen up the wardrobe - I'm sure we managed an extra 2 knots boat
speed!!
As dinner was being prepared, Tony, Mike, Pat and
myself decided that we would have our celebratory halfway cigar (an event that
had been planned almost as soon as Tina and Tony had announced they were doing
this trip) and whilst we sat on deck puffing away, Tina and Moira couldn't help
but laugh from the companionway as all they could see four glow
sticks swaying in the complete darkness!
Night watches of late have been getting warmer and
the last couple have allowed us tto forego the usual foulies and most of us were
out in shorts and t shirts, a nice change and also allows you to cool down
enough in your 4 hour stint to be able to sleep down below. The first two
watches on Friday night went without too much incident, apart from one squall
which came across just as Skipper decided that he'd make a cuppa for this watch
and wasn't seen until it had passed...some would say convenient timing, others
just Skipper's perogative!! We came up ondeck at 4am relatively rested, but
still looking forward to our 6 hours off at 8am after cooking the other watch a
much promised and hyped up fry up after their similar offering several mornings
below, little did we know that our hopes for another quiet one be dashed. Most
of the watch was calm, monitoring the radar for squalls and watching another
sunrise behind us. Saying that one of our party was still extremely sleepy and
during one visit to the heads didn't return for some time, the two of us on deck
knew she was still on board so didn't worry and just thought she'd taken the
opportunity to update the log, make us a cup of tea or even have a sneaky 5
minute shut eye in her bunk, little did we know and only on her return some time
later found out that she'd actually fallen asleep in the heads......never heard
that one before, but it did provide us with a good laugh!!
Oh joys......Bear with me, a squall is approaching
so have to go back on deck..........
......ok back again. That was fun, it was probably
8 miles long and 4 wide and we just couldn't avoid it.....cold wet and
windy...brrrrh. 30 knots surfing down the waves (it is almost better in the dark
as you cannot see how big they are!), but the cold wet rain was torrential and
continued for about 20 minutes, so Mike, Tina and myself are soaked and cold. At
least there is only an hour til watch change and the always warm bunk (we'll be
glad of it tonight!).
In the last (official) hour of our watch, the
squalls seemed to intensify and we just saw them lining up from 24 miles out and
just knew it wouldn't be an easy morning, so much for that breakfast and sleep!
In anticipation we put in a gybe to put us at a better angle to accept the
inevitable hit. Just as the boom went across we heard a loud bang and the reefed
main go up the mast by about 2 feet......the main halyard had failed but luckily
not fully, the main was still up. The squalls brought us some interesting
action, close to 40 knots of wind over the deck and very crossed seas with waves
probably topping 9-10m, it was quite a sight and challenge for the helm to keep
any degree of control and for a good period of time we were just running on a
small amount of gennie and the stacker pack but still making 5-6
knots.
By 10am the seas and winds had calmed sufficiently
for us to regroup and the new watch finally took over from us. Despite
this, it was still our turn to cook breakfast so Moira and I embarked in
cooking french toast, bacon, scrambled eggs and beans, no mean feat with the
boat still rolling and pitching violently. After the events of the morning, the
offering was certainly well received and the clear up could begin, not just of
the galley! A new halyard was rigged within a couple of hours and the main
rehoisted to a round of applause.
The rest of the day was spent resting as you could,
normally with no success. Spirits were high, but you could see that everyone was
showing signs of fatigue and the thought of a double night watch just filled you
with dread, how would you get through it!
Now we're in the early hours of Sunday morning and
the seas are calming down marginally. We'll put in a gybe and head slightly
north before the end of this watch and you never know it may help the sleeping
conditions below, although as Mike and I have just said wherever you fall
tonight you will sleep withour question as I think we've all nodded off for a
second on watch in the last 3 hours.
More fun and games tomorrow. Enjoy your Sunday
roasts, not sure what we're having today but am sure that it will be up to the
normal gourmet standards, after foregoing dinner last night I'm sure we'll all
eat well.
Love to all at home.
Al, Mike, Tina, Tony, Moira and
Pat
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