American Spirit II - Day 395; We Turn on the Engine for the First Time in Over 6 Days & Ascension Island Has Piranha Type Salt Water Fish; Thursday, February 5, 2015

Up at 5:45 AM. At 6:01 AM I turn on the generator, then relieve Jeanine who has been on watch from 3:00 AM to 6:00 AM. We were able to go two days without running the generator to charge batteries, which is good.

At 6:30 AM the wind is 10/11 knots and we're sailing at 5.3 knots thru the water and 5.2 knots over the land. Its clear out, with white, wispy trade wind clouds blowing east to west. The moon is full on the starboard bow, 45 degrees above the horizon; with Jupiter between it and the horizon, slightly right of it. Our COG (Course Over Ground) is 250 degrees; and its 274 degrees to Salvador. So we're 'off course' by 24 degrees. That's down wind sailing, especially with a spinnaker.

At 7:01 AM the wind is 10/12 knots and we're sailing at 5.0 knots thru the water and 4.8 knots over the land, with a COG of 251 degrees.

7:31 AM marks our 6th day of not turning the engine on. Probably the longest stretch in our circumnavigation.

The sun rises at 7:45 AM, but with clouds obstructing it there is no chance of a green flash. But its a pretty sunrise.

At 8:00 AM the wind is 12 knots and we're sailing at 4.7 knots thru the water and 5.2 knots over the land. Our COG is 236 and the course to Salvador is 275 degrees. Not good.

At 8:30 AM we dropped the pole and put up the spinnaker on the port side, so we're on a starboard tack. The boom and mainsail is on the port side, also. At least now we can relax, because if the auto pilot turns itself off now and we round up; so what. There is no pole out to break. Yeah! A LOT less stress now.

At 8:41 AM the wind is 12/14 knots and we're sailing at 6.3 knots thru the water and 5.7 knots over the land. We have a current against us, which has been very uncommon on this leg from St. Helena.

Joel and I discuss what to do when we put the tri-reacher pole back up again; and decide that he and I will split watches when the pole is up. We both have tons of experience in 'catching' the boat when the auto pilot shuts off; and Jeanine has no experience. So at night when the pole is up, we'll go back to the watch schedule we used when it was just Joel and me on the boat from Bora Bora to Fiji. I'll be on watch from 8:00 PM to 1:00 AM; and Joel will be on watch from 1:00 AM to 6:00 AM. Jeanine will be on watch with us from 3:00 AM to 8:00 AM. Then I'll be on again at 6:00 AM until 11:00 AM, then Joel again. We expect to be running the spinnaker a fair amount; and motoring when we get closer to Brazil; so hopefully we won't have to run that watch schedule too much. We come up with another option, which is to drop the pole during Jeanine's 3;00 AM to 6:00 AM watch; then I'll put it back up when I go on watch at 6:00 AM. That way we an keep to the same watch schedule, 3 hours on and 6 off.

Jon from Polaris hosts the 10:00 AM net.

We turn the generator off at 10:37 AM after 4 1/2 hours.

Breakfast at 10:40 AM consists of eggs; potato; bacon; chilled fruit cocktail; and brown bread for Joel and me; and bacon, oat meal and tea with honey for Jeanine. The fruit cocktail is especially good. Meaning, some countries make better canned fruit than others.

At 11:50 AM the wind is down to 7/8 knots and we're sailing at 3.8 knots thru the water and 4.0 knots over the land.

Our noon position is 14 degrees, 55 minutes South; 28 degrees, 36 minutes West; and we're 575 nautical miles from Salvador. We're 118 miles closer than we were yesterday; and we averaged 4.9 knots.

I nap from 1:00 PM to 2:20 PM. Jeanine wakes me at 2:20 PM to help Joel get rid of a 'spinnaker wrap.' We're successful; and didn't even have to drop it to the deck to sort it out. Good.

At 3:20 PM I put on my swim suit and try to hang onto the swim ladder at the transom for a dip. But even with the boat moving at a slow 3 knots, its too risky. I stick my camera under the boat and turn on the video to see if we have a visitor (a BIG shark) hiding under the boat waiting for a meal. None show up on the video.

We try to cook some kernels in a pot with oil, but the bag I open has tiny, almost invisible, weevils in it. So we dump the entire contents of the bag overboard. Those pesky weevils! And cook our last bag of micro wave popcorn. However, my friend Chuck from Tampa just send me an email that says its not good to eat popcorn from a store bought bag. His email reads:

Dr Oz writes about microwave popcorn. It's dangers are all over the web. I thought you might not know. There are much more detailed articles but this is the essence.

"The smell that first hits you when you open a bag of popcorn is perhaps one of the most satisfying, but it may be harmful to your health.

Dr. Oz explained that the smell is actually a chemical called diacetyl, a synthetic butter flavoring added to the product.

People who work in the factories developed a problem called “popcorn lung” from inhaling the gases with the diacetyl in it. Dr. Oz said even people who make it frequently can develop lung problems.

Another problem is PFOA, a chemical that lines the bag. Dr. Oz said that 20 percent of this chemical in our bodies comes from microwave popcorn. It can cause thyroid issues, high cholesterol and bladder cancer.

There is good news for popcorn lovers. Instead, put organic kernels in a brown paper bag and lay it flat in the microwave. After a few minutes, you'll have the exact same product without all the dangerous chemicals."

Thanks Chuck. I wish he'd waited until I got home to give me this information!

I took at shower at 3:30 PM.

At 3:47 PM the wind is 8 knots and we're sailing at 3.4 knots thru the water and 3.9 knots over the land. The wind picture and our speed is bleaker at 4:32 PM, with the wind speed now 6 knots and our speed thru the water dropping to 2.4 knots and 2.9 knots over the land. So at 4:42 PM we have to turn the engine on, the first time we've done so in 6 days and 9 hours. We set the engine at 1,400 RPM's, our fuel conservation setting. We're motor sailing at 5.3 knots thru the water and 5.9 knots over the land. Its hot out, partly cloudy. Looks like there might be a rain shower in store for us ahead. We'll see. Our COG at 275 degrees is on the rumb line to Salvador.

Joel goes down for a nap at 4:00 PM.

I'm reading a book called 'Lionheart, a Journey of the Human Spirit.' It a circumnavigation book by a 17 year old Australian boy who sets the record for the youngest circumnavigation, non-stop and non-assisted, in the world. He writes: "But more importantly, I learnt to take it easy and not push myself or the boat to the point where either may fail. That was the most valuable lesson I was able to carry through to my solo trip." Jesse learned this when sailing on someone else's boat from Belize to Tahiti, before his own circumnavigation. Joel and I have learned the same thing. We can often times sail the boat faster in higher winds than we do, but we elect not to because the change of breaking something increases the faster you go. We're cruising, not racing. For example, if we're sailing with a full main and jib out at 7.5 knots, but it doesn't feel comfortable or safe, we'll put a reef in, slow down and have a good time.

Dinner at 6:15 PM is spaghetti; garlic and butter for Joel and pasta sauce for Jeanine and me; plus instant garlic mashed potatoes; green beans; and brown bread. Jeanine, who is Italian, loves spaghetti. She'd probably kill for it.

Jon hosts the 7:00 PM net.

After dinner I'm reading a cruising guide called "Cape to Caribbean." In it, the author states: 'There are millions of small black fish in the (Ascension Island) area, a relative of the Piranha. These fish will clean the bottom of your yacht of weed and barnacles within minutes." So I guess that means the the bottom cleaning business in Ascension Island is non-existent. Ascension Island is 700 miles northwest of St. Helena, and three boats from our rally went there: Folie a Deux, Lluiton and Sweet Pearl. I'll have to ask Folie when we meet up again in Brazil if the fish will remove the hair from your body like a spa treatment does. There might be a business opportunity there.

From 7:10 PM to 7:36 PM Joel and I transfer 4 jerry cans of diesel, 20 gallons, into the main tank;using a siphon hose and screened funnel to filter the fuel. We figure we have 45 gallons in the main tank now; with another 6 gallons in emergency reserve. We can motor about 90 hours and go 500 miles with that amount of fuel,excluding our emergency reserve.

In an email I got from Rally Control, they said that they published our Whale Shark Photos in our web (log) pages; and that they posted only two of the pictures on Facebook. I mention this because someone sent me an email saying they could only find two pictures.

The sun set at 8:30 PM behind some clouds. What else is new? So no green flash. The wind is 8/10 knots and we're motoring at 5.4 knots thru the water and 5.7 knots over the land.

At 9:43 PM the full moon rises out of a cloud on the horizon behind the boat; due east of us.

At 10:00 PM the wind is 10 knots and we're motoring at 5.6 knots thru the water and 5.7 knots over the land. Its mostly cloudy, but a fair number of stars are still visible in the breaks of the clouds.

At 9:55 PM I can see by the light of the moon that we forgot to reel in our three fish lines. I do so.

At 11:00 PM the wind is 10 knots and we're motoring at 5.6 knots thru the water and 5.9 knots over the land.

At 11:45 PM I roll the mainsail out; and at 11:55 PM I turn the engine off. When Joel gets up at midnight we put the spinnaker up. The wind is 14 knots and we're sailing at 6.2 knots thru the water and 6.4 knots over the land. Its good to be sailing again; especially since we don't have enough fuel to make it all the way to Salvador.

Brian Fox