Day 1,
Destiny and crew are still trying to get comfortable working with each other and learning... We have some issues that need to get ironed out, hoping it will settle down as we get accustomed to having a crew member, and as he gets used to being in our world with all that we are throwing at him to remember. It doesn’t matter how well or long you have known someone, all bets are off when suddenly thrown on top of one another in a small space for weeks at a time. The slate starts clean, and he has to learn to work with us both in a cruising environment rather than a racing one. We know this is not easy for him but he must earn our confidence and trust by learning how to trust & respect us both as Captain and First Mate. I’m sure he is like a horse at the starting gate, and is frustrated.
On passage we will each be taking 4-hour watches during daytime, and then beginning at 8:00 pm, the watches drop to 3-hour shifts. This rotates our times in a way that is fair for all, and gives each of us a longer night watch every third day.
Dolphins escorted us for several miles after departure until our speed dropped and we were no longer a viable playmate. About an hour out of Puerto Mogan, we were hailed by a Spanish warship that was conducting live weapons exercises nearby. They kindly asked us to stay at least 4-5 miles away from their starboard side. No problemmo!
Captain and crew raised the gennaker, with some effort as the seas are unsettled and the job seems to have become more complex than I remember since the last time Frank and I sailed it, It has been a few years since we have been in a situation to fly it. This is a treat.
We sailed with it until dark, and then fearing uncertainty with a waning moon, replaced it with the genoa over night. With just a headsail it was an uncomfortable and noisy night, difficult for sleeping. Everyone got tossed about. In fact I got thrown out of bed and slammed my shoulder into a handhold on the wall. I’m already getting bruised and sore all over. I know the men must be as well.
After dinner I heard something knocking around in the galley sink and discovered the sink faucet had broken right off! This darn thing is fairly new only used for about 6 months, but we found the parts are all plastic...so much for “marine-grade”, right?! Luckily we can still use the extender hose until we make port in Mindelo.
Day 2,
Crew posturing continues but we’re remaining hopeful we can get to a point we can begin to relax and have fun. There is a battle of egos (that we have encountered before), and I’m sure it will subside over time. This is normal but this endeavor should be an exciting and enjoyable passage for everyone; Destiny deserves that as well. It can’t be easy for Jim to suddenly step into our world and adjust to us any more quickly or easily than for us to get accustomed to having him here. It’s coming together slowly. We are trying to get comfortable working together deploying & setting the kite and taking it down as well as working with the pole. We are hoping to leave the gennaker up throughout the night. I’m in a more passive roll than normal and am not required on deck as much but rather at the helm during these exercises and having the view from here is a bit nerve jangling watching the guys struggle on deck with the crazy waves we are encountering. I want them back in the cockpit safely. It’s surely nice to have three people on board for these maneuvers, and to have the safety beacons on all of our vests.
Day 3,
Night watch last night was awesome for me personally. The moon rises very late, in fact not until the wee hours of the morning, so the stars are brilliant! Several are sparkling in technicolor reminding me of our nights in the South Pacific. The phosphorescence in the water is back, giving off such lovely splashes of sparkle that I find it hypnotic.
Nearing the third hour of my 5:00 am shift, the tack line on the gennaker suddenly snapped, throwing that big kite up into the air. Fortunately, Frank was sleeping in the salon and heard me yell “I need help! Wake Jim!”. Frank was up here in a heartbeat with Jim soon behind. Thank God the sky had just lightened. After quite a struggle, the guys had the thing secured, and we got the headsail back out. We can pole it out but without the use of our Mainsail, we can’t fly wing and wing. (Because t’s much too much to go into, I didn’t mention that while in Marina Rubicon, Frank noticed the mainsail furler bearings in our mast have begun to drop out, we can’t get this fixed here and probably not until we get across).
This has been a hard day - not a bad day, but exhausting for the men, and emotionally and mentally fatiguing for me. We are still sailing without engine assist, first with the genoa (aka: headsail), while Frank re-rigged the kite (aka: gennaker or chute), then after several modifying attempts the kite went back up. We are sailing faster and more comfortably now and pray this continues.
Frank and I were down below when the wind began to build to a point the kite was bucking hard, and then suddenly something, a rogue wave?, hit us hard. Frank flew up the companionway asking Jim what he had done because it felt like we had turned and the sail backwinded, slamming and jerking the sheet hard against the block. The sound from below was like that of a massive bang and an explosion! At this very time the autopilot quit, and I’m not sure what else was happening or had happened because I had my own hands full with things below while Frank spoke to Jim at the helm. I do know that Frank directed Jim had to hand steer for a while, whilst Frank rebooted the system. It was hard going with big seas and no way to manipulate the big kite until Destiny was back under control. It was a tense hour or so. With the autopilot back up and us back on track, we felt it best to drop the kite, and it’s a darn good thing because the modified tack line wasn’t long for this world and would have snapped within the hour. With that secured we raised the headsail, now settling for a rougher and slower ride with the building and erratic seas. Eventually, before dark we got some dinner and I’m praying for a fair night.
Days 4 & 5
The night passed fairly well, although hard for sleeping, all is well. We are averaging a good speed in spite of these confused seas and are still able to sail mostly downwind. We’ve tacked only a few times and are managing to get better at teamwork. We are getting into the rhythm of our watches and individual roles. Jim is a conscientious crew member, and is adapting to being on Destiny, and similarly we are adapting to the presence of a crew member aboard. He is earning our confidence that we will be a well-oiled machine for the two week crossing to Martinique. Not much happening in the way of extraordinary events today.
The night was awfully rough again, no one is getting much sleep but we continue to sail. Frank and I discussed trying one more time with the kite and decided to go for it but when they were almost ready to deploy, Jim alerted Frank that the halyard (damn new halyard we had built last season - grrr) was fraying and a large portion of the inner-coil was exposed. There will be no kite until we replace the halyard in Mindelo. We get regular reports from the boys on Kundalini who left two days ahead of us. They now call us Mom, Dad and Uncle Jim. We adore them as well. They have made port in Mindelo and have caught a very large tuna. We had something large snap our steel leader, so who knows what we might have caught.
I’m so tired and sore all over I think my mind is bruised. The wind is too light now for the headsail and since we can’t fly the gennaker we have had to turn on the motor. We will arrive early Morning day morning. We are slowing Destiny so as not to arrive in the dark.
Day 6
It’s now Monday morning. I’ve only been asleep for an hour but want to be fully awake on arrival. Seeing the port is tonic to our souls and a wonderful sight. There are many yachts gently swaying at anchor and several in the marina. We chose a good spot to drop the hook, debrief and rest before heading ashore.
We’ve all certainly witnessed some divine intervention the past few days. Undoubtedly Angels are on this passage with us, foiling a couple of near major upsets. Thank you God, and may you stay with us for the duration of this Sailing season.
No comments:
Post a Comment