Excuse for a Slow Night and a Note on Cheese

November 17, 2018

Day 44

Noon Position: 42 56S  111 29W

Course(t)/Speed(kts): SSE 6

Wind(t/tws): WxN 15

Sea(t/ft): SW 10; some much larger, but old.

Sky: Clear

10ths Cloud Cover: 1

Bar(mb): 1013

Cabin Temp(f): 64

Water Temp(f): 51

Relative Humidity(%): 66

Sail: #2 genoa and main, broad reach. #2 poled when wind comes aft.

Noon-to-Noon Miles Made Good (nm): 126

Miles since departure: 5618

Avg. Miles/Day: 128

A poor night for speed. I misread the forecast and thought I’d need to make sail changes overnight, to launch the poles when the wind came round. So, at sunset I flew just the #2 genoa, the smaller of the two, as a stopgap. Then I set the alarm for two hours and started sleeping. I slept well past the alarm and the wind did nothing but diminish ever so slowly as the night wore on. By the time I noticed we were making only five knots, it was 3am, and my desire for speed, I found, had cooled, while the bunk, I knew, was warm. I did not make more sail until sun-up.

All day a big, clear, open but cold-looking sky. The blue above is almost white and the horizon is blurred by a gray haze. The sun is warm, and appreciated for it, but pale. The blue of the sea, however, is as rich and royal as ever.

Wind has freshened in the afternoon and is now a steady 25 – 30 but has failed to veer north as I’d hoped. My sail plan bets on such a shift and is out of sorts. So, it’s back on deck for me after these notes.

On the way by, a shout-out to skipper Les Parsons, on whose boat I crewed the Northwest Passage in 2014. Les found revolting the idea of peanut butter and jam on bread, but thought peanut butter and *cheese* on bread a real delicacy. Well, at least reliable rib glue. He was right in that latter opinion. Made a good lunch today.