Hummingbird Blog 2 Dec 2024
So we are putting the 'Humming' in Hummingbird, the rolling quartering seas and Force 5 wind on the stern has all given us a midterm exam on helming. While a challenge, it has been a welcomed exercise to hone some desired skills. Even as I type this blog, our two galley chefs are playing beach volleyball with bowls of tuna salad on each wave. Hummingbird was built to race, this morning we gybed in the hopes to achieve a more manageable direction of the sea state. For those of us with our 30 to 40 feet sailboats, the running rigging is more complex on the 60ft clipper. Patrick continues to explain the finer aspects of setting the sails. The twin sheet on the foresail with pole to hold the Yankee elicits many 'Well, I be . . . that make sense.' I finish the blog to go 'catch' my lunch as it flies past my head. We continue to 'hum' along at 8 knots of running, surfing with every wave.
Chip Haskell
Hummingbird Blog Tuesday 3 December 2024
Overnight sailing was a challenging mix of F8 winds and big rolling waves, giving us a boat speed at times as high as 12 knots. What started as a squall soon changed to a consistent blow, moving us up on our course of 2650. Weve now crossed the halfway point at 1400nm and estimate our arrival in St Lucia to be 11/12 December.
On the domestic front, there is confusion of the cutlery, and which spoon is used for what, so Chip had asked for a 'British' Masterclass in cutlery etiquette to be delivered by me and Chris. (we'll knock these Americans into shape) I guess we need to follow this with a masterclass in the art of tea making too.
Lunch is smelling really good and being prepared by Doc and Chip today. Breakfast seems an age away, so looking forward to it.
That's me signing off for today
Chrissy