A Day of Firsts

April 9, 2019

Day 186

Noon Position: 28 42S  22 01W

Course(t)/Speed(kts): NExN 5.5

Wind(t/tws): NWxW 10

Sea(t/ft): NW 2

Sky: Clear, but big cumulus ahead

10ths Cloud Cover: 0

Bar(mb): 10-18+

Cabin Temp(f): 81

Water Temp(f): 77

Relative Humidity(%): 82

Sail: All working sail full; close reaching on port.

Noon-to-Noon Miles Made Good (nm): 144

Miles since departure: 25,549

Avg. Miles/Day: 137

Leg North Days: 20

Leg North Miles: 2,599

Avg. Miles/Day: 130

Good wind overnight and until early afternoon when our luck finally ran out.

The day had been utterly clear and sun-soaked, and a cooling northwesterly riffled the water, sending up silvery sparkles from the cobalt surface. But ahead was a wall of towering cumulus whose towers did not lean but billowed straight up. That was a pretty clear sign we’d come to the end of what has been a long stretch of solid sailing wind.

We’ve averaged about 3 knots since entering squall territory.

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A day of firsts:

-This is the first it’s been over 80 degrees in the cabin since day 30 of this Figure 8 attempt. That was on November 3rd of last year; we were in the South Pacific, our position, 22S and 128W. The next day we would sight Henderson Island.

-The first flying fish since the Pacific tropics was sighted today. Actually, two were seen. Now we see the occasional Gadfly petrel and smaller, brown petrels, but still only one or two at a time.

-The first tropical squalls of the Atlantic were encountered today. Some rain. Not much wind.

-I changed out of my long-legged under-layer fleece and into short briefs today. I’d been wearing that fleece since…well, hmm…long enough that I don’t recall how long, long enough that they had an earthy tang worthy of its on space on the aroma wheel–somewhere between, say, moldy truffles and spoiled sausage and very close to disgusting. The change represents some of the most fun I’ve had in weeks, partly because the briefs were not just fresh, they were NEW out of the bag. What luxury!

-First day of fresh air everywhere in the boat since the Pacific, as I finally put all the dorade vents back in service. I had covered them with a stainless steel plate to keep overwhelming southern seas from pumping water into the cabin. The plates were on the boat when I bought her–an essential item for a boat headed to southern high latitudes. I had also stuffed a rag in the ceiling hole of the dorades, and when these came out, an aroma of long unwashed wet dog filled the cabin such that I had to spend an hour on deck pretending to chat with Monte. Wow, what a smell! Thankfully, it flushed out after a bit.

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The cloud-sky is lovely and complex. But it means we’ll be very slow for several days and until we can reach the trades.