Domestics and Comment Questions Answered

December 17, 2018

Day 74

Noon Position: 45 01S 19 46W

Course(t)/Speed(kts): E 7

Wind(t/tws): W 16 – 20

Sea(t/ft): NW 6

Sky: Overcast. Sun broke out for five minutes today.

10ths Cloud Cover: 10

Bar(mb): 999+, rising

Cabin Temp(f): 57

Water Temp(f): 47

Relative Humidity(%): 80

Sail: Twin headsails poled out full. Running.

Noon-to-Noon Miles Made Good (nm): 151

Miles since departure: 9916

Avg. Miles/Day: 134

Would that all lows were like that one. Just the right amount of wind for a broad reach with a heavily reefed headsail (28 to 36 knots with touches of 39) and all in the right direction. We’ve been making steady and fast easting for two days now.

News: the sun came out mid morning. The deck of gray burned off above us, and it looked like we were finally sailing into the clear. This lasted just long enough for me to wonder if I should take a sun sight. Then the sun was gone, the gray deck reestablished. We’ve had 10 out of 10 cloud cover with drizzle or rain since December 9th.

Mo is in desperate want of sun, too. By now all our rags and towels are damp or downright wet. I’m out of dry things to dry with. As it did not rain today, I put out some dish cloths to beat in the wind a bit. All I can say is that they did not get more wet.

A day of domestics. We are flying the twin headsails poled out, and so Mo is more or less level (when not rolling), which makes some tasks easier. The head and galley got a thorough cleaning as did my head and beard. The water for this latter extravaganza came from the bilge under the mast, which catches a surprising amount of briny rain water.

Two days to the next low, which looks to have winds in the 30s and 40s. Six days to the next Rio Low. It’s one after the other this year.

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As stated earlier, my wife occasionally sends me your comments. Thank you all for your Cape Horn congrats, for following along, and for engaging in the comments section, which I enjoy reading.

Here are some answers to recent questions:

John asks:

I see that you have some plastic material over the original windows that appears to be bolted into the original frames. Can you tell me what this material is and how many bolts hold it in place?

–John, the material is a polycarbonate plastic, available at places like Tap Plastics. As you say, it sits on top of the aluminum window frame and is bolted in place with four bolts per window, one in each corner. The windows are sealed with silicon, so they not only act as impact protection but also as double pane windows.

Michael asks:

It’s fun to follow you on the tracker but since that’s real time and your posts are delayed, I’m left with guessing what’s going on, like figuring out why you took that big jog to the north. So far one I’ve pretty well, and that’s fun too, but why is there a 4 day delay?

–Michael, the jog north was because I got stuck on the back side of a low pressure system. I had gale-force southerlies for a couple days and had the choice of stopping or going with it. Re the delay, the Figure 8 shore-based team is two very busy people; they’re working on getting the posts moved forward very soon.

Rob asks: What is the gimbaled unit in the video with Handel?

–Hey Rob, it’s a compass. See photo.