UTC/Local: 2009/1309
Latitude: 09 05.466 N
Longitude: 123 45.318 W
Conditions: (We traveled 110 miles from 2400 4-21 to 0000 on 4-22.)
The cloud cover this morning is 100%. With dawn came some rain. I felt is sprinkling down on me through the back hatch on the fan tail. We have our bimini over this hatch and it is pretty protected. The rain was so misty and not coming straight down but from just the right angle to give me a cool wake up call. I found myself completely sideways in the bed bracing my head and feet between pillows and cabinets, so that the rocking I experienced while sleeping was from head to toe, instead of roll from side to side.
Garyn and Russ managed through a minor squall last night. The sea and sky are grey. It looks like it should be cold, but it's 81 degrees and 86 percent humidity. The wind is consistently 20-25 knots this morning. We are on a beam reach with no mizzen, full main and a reefed jib, with a heading of 250, and are smoking along from 6.5 to 7.5 knots. The only thing that would keep this from being perfect are the 9 foot swells coming every 6-8 seconds from our starboard beam and stern quarter. The boat is rocking back and forth and when a swell runs under the boat and we glide down, a swoosh of white water rushes by and our speed over ground accelerates to 8 knots.
Yesterday evening, between the sunset and dark, we noticed fins in the water. Dolphins, little ones, were all around us. We could see them coming from our northeast. At any given time there were 30 or more in the water around us, leaping, jumping, surfing off the waves. Too bad it was too dark to take good photos. We understand from our whale and dolphin resource book, that often these Pacific dolphins (porpoises)will swim in pods of 100-500. We have also noted another little sea bird, other than the Booby. It maneuvers and skims over the waves, up - over - down, sideways. As the wave rolls up to 6 feet or troughs, the little bird is less than an inch from the water, occasionally dipping in its beak, perhaps getting a drink or picking fry, brine shrimp, or other miniscule goodie from the water.
This was a three - try morning. It took me three times to make coffee. The first two trys ended with wet coffee grounds spilling everywhere and Russ's hot chocolate dumping in the sink. Even pouring water in a thermos is a challenge with the waves so close together.
1:00 p.m. We have had an exciting morning. The grib (weather) files, indicated that our wind would begin to die around 11:00 a.m. this morning. Well it hasn't. The wind has continued to be between 20-25 knots, perfect for Worrall Wind. So we have made excellent time. Worrall Wind has been traveling this morning 7-8 knots, surfing up to 9.5. The boat is handling itself well. We are so glad we have Hydie our wind steering system.
Unfortunately, the swells are pretty awesome and have not settled down, so while the ride has been swift, it has been quite bouncy and rolly. Sometimes Hydie becomes overwhelmed with the waves and we need to help her out. I'm sure we have had a couple of small mountains pass under the boat or slap us on the side, sending rivers of water down our deck. All the ports and hatches are closed down tight. The rain has kept us in the pilot house all morning. The boat interior is warm 81 degrees (stuffy)and recording 96% humidity. We have our little fans blowing the air around and in between showers we open the skylight in the pilot house to let in some fresh air. Since 12:00 a.m. this morning, we have traveled 76 miles in 13 hours. Our little water turbine has been producing 6 amps per hour. Our solar panels are sleeping under the cloud cover. At some point today, we are going to need to run the engine or the generator to make up for the two days of cloudiness.
We are listening to audio books. We were getting tired of Fountain Head by Ayn Rand, so we decided to give it a hiatus and listen to In Sun Burned Country, by Bill Bryson. This one too is a bit long and rambly although the author has a great sense of humor and it lightens up the mood.
We are making good progress, everyone feels good, and the bilge is dry.
All is Well on Worrall Wind.
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