Hingeing the Two Hemispheres
February 27, 2019
Day 146
Noon Position: 46 43s 140 30W
Course(t)/Speed(kts): ExN 7
Wind(t/tws): SWxS 25
Sea(t/ft): W 7
Sky: Towering cumulus and squalls
10ths Cloud Cover: 5
Bar(mb): 1020+
Cabin Temp(f): 63
Water Temp(f): 55
Relative Humidity(%): 70
Sail: Working jib poled starboard, main out to port. Broad reach.
Noon-to-Noon Miles Made Good (nm): 146
Miles since departure: 20,117
Avg. Miles/Day: 138
Days since Cape Horn: 89
Miles since Cape Horn: 12,476
Avg. Miles/Day:
Longitude Degrees Made Good (degrees minutes): 3 32
Total Longitude Made Good Since Cape Horn (degrees minutes): 288 02
Avg. Long./Day: 3.24
Twenty-thousand miles sailed since departing San Francisco in October of last year, the equivalent of traveling that city to New York city ten times over. It seems a big number. Also, it seems *just* a number, one of many to be appreciated briefly as we pass.
—
Last night, I found Arcturus, a star I think of as belonging to the northern sky.
2am. I’m on deck launching the starboard pole for the working genoa. Winds are moderating and backing quickly; the sky is clear, and without her moon, dark, save for the pinpoints of pale, blue light.
Rare it is that I see such sights from the roaring forties. I’m on deck at night in all types of foul weather, but if it’s fair, I’m probably sleeping.
With sail trimmed and taut, I paused to inspect my surroundings. To the west, Orion was setting, and Leo had shifted into Orion’s start-of-the-night position. The Southern Cross tilted high above Mo’s starboard bow. Corvus hung in the sky to port.
And then there it was, a solitary bright light near the NE horizon. Arcturus, Guardian of the Bear.
It’s called that because of its proximity to the Ursas, Major and Minor, known by most of us as the Big and Little Dipper. This association is what makes Arcturus, for me, a northern star, for we follow the edge of the Big Dipper up to find Polaris, the North Star, and we take its handle down and around to Arcturus. “Arc to Arcturus and Spica” is the mnemonic.
From here, I have two paths to Arcturus. It is at the end of a line drawn from Procyon (found just off Orion’s Betelgeuse shoulder) through Leo’s Regulus and Denebola. Or I can use the small end of the constellation Corvus to find Spica and then move on to Arcturus.
It is this latter route that is the most compelling, for one can also follow the broad end of Corvus down to the Southern Cross, and thereby connect the two hemispheres using Arcturus as the hinge.
And too, there was the romance of seeing a star visible at that moment to my family at home. Joanna, I fantasized, could walk out onto the porch and gaze at a object I was also gazing at, though we are separated by over 80 degrees of latitude.
–
Nights have been busy of late, and sleep, erratic. Tonight will be the same. Winds will diminish and back into the south, requiring several sail adjustments in the wee hours. I’m running a bit on fumes, so tried a full-on, in-my-bunk nap this afternoon. Typically, I can fall asleep anywhere…except in my bunk during daylight hours. But I think today I was successful.