Bluewaft Log Day 15
Sunday 4 December 2016
19°11’.839N 045°10’.198W
Only 1000 nm to go! Another good day’s sailing. The wind has shifted to
the East so we’re goose-winging with the Gennaker and Jib and the main on
the second reef. The wind has been between 10kts and 20kts, and started
from the ENE to clock to the E. We’ve also been dodging squalls at both
dusk and dawn.
We’re now over two weeks in to what is going to be around a three week
journey, and much of the focus is on preventative maintenance. ‘A stitch
in time saves nine’ has even more weight when you’re 1000nm from the
nearest chandler! In practice, this has entailed moving the Main and
Gennaker halyard a few cm each day, easing the point of sail for the best
ride,checking the mousing on all the blocks, using a preventer on the boom,
and to minimise ‘bounce’ we’ve reduced the main to the second reef.
We’ve also been doing daily checks of the bilges and motors, checking oil and
the tightness of the and checking the steering.
As well as the gear, we’re making sure that the crew is well rested, well
watered and well fed. After two weeks the initial adrenaline is well and
truly spent, and it’s all about getting into a sustainable routine. Tired
crew make accidents and have accidents. With two weeks gone in fairly
rough conditions the boat and crew are both vulnerable. To help this we’ve
adopted the most comfortable point of sail practical so everyone can get a
good night’s rest (even if it means a slight sacrifice in DMG). We’ve
shifted the ‘boat clock’ as we’ve travelled West. We’ve also gave people a
break from their watch for a night to ensure they’ve ‘recharged’ the
batteries, and added some variety to and treats to the meals (ice cream and
banana bread).
Unfortunately, despite the above, we’ve still suffered breakages. The most
serious was the coffee machine. Imagine 1000 nm without coffee!
Fortunately we carry a spare for this critical machinery. We also broke
(my favourite) fishing rod when a Mahi Mahi managed to break the reel from
the rod. Despite Marcus’s valiant efforts to gaff the fish he escaped.
Fortunately we were able to repair the rod with some water piping clamps,
so she’s back in action today seeking revenge!
We’ve also suffered some unreliability in both our FBB and InReach
satellite coms, with both systems not delivering all messages sent.
Hopefully this has past – but we’re being watchful.
Yesterday’s sun-downers were pina coladas followed by a dinner of Poisson
Cru and Seafood pasta watered down with a Rose…
And of course banana bread and coffee fro breakfast!
Happy sails.
P1000846