Amokura - Arrival Day St. Lucia

Triskaidekaphobia.   Appropriately enough the ARC ended as it had begun.   Remember the start? As the gun sounded, ARC control announced that there was a squall coming upon the fleet. And we began fashionably wet.   Our finish:   Early AM Friday the 13th. Approaching and rounding Pigeon Island, white out squall in 32 knots ofwind. It went flying by, then another less intense hit us. Then another.   As we changed sail configurations, and pinched toward the finish line, thefourth squall came through. Our conversation at the start......wouldn’t it be funny if we had to getour wet weather gear on for the finish? We learned. Never make suppositions with the sea.   Then the rain passed. The seas calmed. The ARC welcoming committee guidedus to our berth. Can’t say. read more...

Amokura - Amokura Day 19

Final thoughts as we approach St. Lucia.   Sunsets:   The recipe is this.Slightly tumultuous seas and a clear western horizon. As the sun sets, the reflection paints all the wave caps a spectacular goldalong the sunlight path from boat to ocean’s end.   Night sky:   With all the apps available, finding the constellations can beentertaining. We have noticed, however, that Ptolemy seems to have names quite a few ofthem. And given their appearance with the name he chose, one wonders what kindof night he was having at the time. On this crossing, we have decided to name our own sets. First, everything looks like the big or little dipper. Must be about 10 ofthem in the sky. Second, pick a category. Not fair to have everything be a stick or a pairof eyes. One time we would. read more...

Amokura - Amokura Day 15

Rockin’ and a rollin” Rockin’ and a reelin’ Yes I am (apologies to the Beach Boys)   Confused seas. Shifting winds. Almost downwind course. Overcast and blustery. A little unsettled weather which also brought a double rainbow (I think St.Lucia was at the southern tip).   All and all, a very good set of circumstances for shaking the boat. And for us to keep the boat “ship shape.”   This kind of motion tends to keep people up in the cockpit where we swapstories and wish lists (end of night watches, more fresh fruit, welcoming drink, fixing the“little” things that inevitably occur, phone calls and emails (with pictures)from home.   Dinner is in staggered courses as befits removing oneself from a galleyheated by the cooker. Pasta with a mixture of leftovers. We ate it. read more...

Amokura - Amokura Day 12

Beautiful sunsets. Ocean view. What philosophical questions have we?   To keep our perspective and down-to-earth center, we ask each other:   What time zone are we in now? Or rather, when should we turn the clock back, and whose watch will that beon?   Easy when you are on land, someone has drawn the line even if not exactlywith the 15 degrees markers. Which is why there are some places in India that are 1/2 hour ahead. Andwhy Las Palmas (our starting point) was still on Spanish time. There is no particular rhyme or reason.On board our boat though, we all just agree with the captain. Law of sea, Iguess. However, the new electronic devices are rather skeptical. They want to knowwhy you would like to be in a time zone that is inhabited by only one littleisland. As if we. read more...

Amokura - Amokura Day 10

Dancing with the Squalls   A quiet but very rolling night. Downwind with next to none.   Today began the dance. Slight breeze, gennaker up. Squall on the horizon, winds up, gennaker down.   Back to slight breeze. Gennaker up. Rinse and repeat as necessary. Smoother sailing and sail changes to mix up the pattern of the day.   So we revert to time worn boat patterns:   Food. Yes the gigantic three days’ worth of potato, onion, egg, and celerysalad. Luckily (?) we still have enough potatoes to rebalance the boat ifnecessary. and Superstition: What can we blame for the fickle winds? A crew member leavingthe cockpit. Perhaps the inquiry into what the synoptic weather mappredicted. A dinner suggestion. Laundry. A random comment on how well things wereprogressing.. read more...