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Asteroid - Log 22nd May 2012



Well it is now officially day 7 of our Big Adventure. We left Bermuda
last Wednesday, all of the boats sailing beautifully through the St
Georges Town Cut. Thankfully Mother Nature provided the wind and we have
been sailing ever since. We went on port tack and only just changed on
Monday morning when we had to pole out the genoa with the main on the
starboard side. We are now on starboard tack and going along nicely.
The days have been spent watching course, adjusting sails etc., and
enjoying each others company with games of scrabble, cards, trivial
pursuit and reading. People take time to catch up on sleep and Jack takes
any available opportunity to play on either Manfred?s or Rodger?s I-pad
(Santa watch out!). Brian spends a lot of time on the SSB radio
participating in the ARC radio nets where each boat gives their position
and discuss any problems or highlights (usually the fishing, sighting of
dolphins or whales), getting weather from Chris Parker in the morning and
Herb in the evening. The weather is mixed ? some days cloudy and grey and
others blue sky and sea ? unfortunately the sun does not necessarily bring
the heat so the jumpers and long trousers are slowing making an
appearance.
During the peace of my night watches I have endeavoured to put to paper my
thoughts on the crossing so here goes:-
Day 4: Here we are ploughing our way through the Atlantic Ocean. I stand
at the back of the cockpit, hold onto the bimini, and gaze upwards. The
mainsail looks huge with the night sky dazzling and twinkling behind it.
Orian?s Belt, the Plough, Venus and a million other stars, galaxies,
planets all gazing back down at me. It is somehow a magical experience
and awe inspiring ? a stunning example of the wonders of nature. The
sound of the waves swishing by brings me back to earth and I return to the
cockpit to check our heading and the instruments ? all is well on
Asteroid.
Day 5: The fish out here are mighty strong. Both Brian and Billy have had
their fishing lines damaged. Brian had the line out from his rod with the
new lure purchased in Bermuda when suddenly the line started reeling out
at quite a speed. Even with the rod brake on the line just kept on going
with the ultimate result of no line, no lure and no weight. Billy?s loss
was just realised when he went to retrieve his line in the evening ? his
weight and lure were just ripped off with absolutely no warning from the
attacker in question. Jack is convinced that we nearly landed two marlins
and as we have no idea of the actual guilty parties we have agreed with
his prognosis!
We have had several visits from dolphins. Two lots of three dolphins
accompanied us when we were eating dinner and then we had about twenty of
them in the morning jumping up and swimming along side. Hopefully they
will continue to accompany us on our journey as they certainly lift the
spirits and give a very positive feeling.
Day 6: Up for my usual morning watch after an eventful night ? or so it
seemed from all the sounds on deck which are amplified down below. The
wind had changed direction and now we had the main to starboard and the
genoa polled out to port. The wind is soft ? only about six to eight
knots so it is a very rolly ride. Sitting here surrounded by the vastness
of the ocean it is hard to imagine that there are other boats out there
doing the same crossing. And presumably they too are surrounded by an
empty horizon. It gives you an indication of how big the ocean is as you
imagine all the boats, each in their own little universe, dealing with
their own brand of current, wind and sea conditions. And none of them
even spying another boat on the horizon until the welcome sight of the
Azores. Occasionally we meet up with a container ship or tanker. If
they are close we would call them up to ensure they have seen us. This
sometimes lead to a brief conversation with the person on watch ? who we
are, why we are here etc. And sometimes they call us up just to have a
talk ? it must be very boring for them alone on watch for hours on end.
Again a reminder of the varied experiences being lived out on the ocean
And so it goes on Asteroid, rolling side to side, ever moving towards our
goal ? Horta and a welcome bit of time away from the see-saw before
heading for home. Musings aside, the practicalities of completing the
normal day to day activities of living while crossing an ocean can be
quite difficult. In conversations with other crews prior to leaving
provisioning and cooking was right up there with what course you planned
to take. Food is a really important aspect of putting to sea. And cooking
at sea? Well imagine preparing and cooking a meal with your body
constantly braced against the see-saw motion while fighting to keep all
the kitchen equipment and food from falling. The angle can be quite
severe at times. The cooker is gimballed so it and the sinks provide the
most secure place for anything not in a press or tied down. If only boat
designers could make gimballed galley tops ? this would make the cook?s
live a little easier. But the current galley layout makes for interesting
meal preparation times and sometimes the language is as colourful as the
food!
Now it is day 7 ? and another attack from the killer fish ? Brian just
lost another lure! And it was the first morning where I was reluctant to
get out of bed to a cold room ? this one provided by Mother Nature and not
the mechanics of air conditioning! We are certainly heading north. I
remind myself that the weather is always colder at sea ? mind over matter!
We had more dolphins yesterday evening and instead of the usual flurry of
jumping and ducking and diving they seemed content just to swim alongside
at our speed ? a good chance to see them up close.
The weather is blue today and we have passed our half-way mark so good
mood all round. Just have to decide what to do for dinner ? again! I may
even attempt to make some bread!
Just realised I have not mentioned the kids ? for grandparents and other
concerned parties ? they are doing fine. Adjusting really well to the
motion ? I think only the first few days brought queasy stomachs. Both
Ciara and Cliona stand watches and Jack ? well the trick is trying to get
him to shut up ? he has a constant audience and when not playing on the
I-pad is constantly talking ? Manfred, Billy, Tracey and Rodger are
showing great patience! I think they are all enjoying the trip.

Lunchtime and the galley calls! Talk to you soon. Loretto

PS apologies to sailors who are looking for a bit more nautical
information ? you will have to corner Brian to get that!




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