Rolly Day
It had been a rocky and rolly night with winds up to about 22 kts. We had reefed down for a quieter night but when I got up for my shift it had been a bit slow, so we decided to make some changes.
We got out more main and then the full staysail and soon we were skimming along between 7.5-9 kts. We had time to make up. However, the sea state was not very kind and we continued to roll from time to time and wash was coming over the bow. Watching the waves was mesmerising and not boring. It is a bit like sitting next to a roaring fire. The waves were quite large(2-3m) and loomed up with quite crests breaking so there was an array of blues and whites. Some of the waves would roll under the boat and others would lift and roll her and some would get a slap by the bow pushing plumes of water over the deck. There were also growlers (type of waves) which try and get you in the cockpit. Just as you felt comfortable by the wheel and had been lulled into a sense of security a growler would slap the side of the hull adjacent to the cockpit and give you a shower. Quite fun really and Keith Watson took a big one for the team. However he laughed it off well.
The day passed as we sped and rolled along with the crew in good spirits with lots of chat, naps, reading and eating. Unfortunately for some the rolling took its toll and there were some green gills, but this did not stop them doing their shifts
which we were now well into and were working well.
I decided to do some astronavigation and dug out my notes and it took me a few hours to remind myself of what to do. I prepared to take some star sittings in the evening shift when the sun went down and the early morning shift as the sun came up. The books help you work out which are the 7 easiest stars for you to identify for your given position and it is a little complicated to say the least to work it all out. However, we had plenty of time and that is the advantage of these log trips, that if you are not on shift or sleeping you have time on your hands. Quite refreshing as one is not distracted by mobile phones as you have no signal.
We all had supper together – chili beef with noodles which was warming and quite spicy and garlicky. We not have alcohol on these trips so just drink water to keep our heads clear and to minimise the risk of falling asleep. We can then look forward to a beer or two on arrival.
I tried to do my best on the star sights but it is not easy using a sextant as the boat rolls 20 degrees each way and more sometimes with a big wave. The night came after a nice sunset ad we were still flying and rolling along at some speed and we were beginning to catch up on our average speed. However we still had over 400 miles to go and only managed 154 miles in our first 24 hours. Quite a challenging day as you have to deal with the constant roll whether you are cooking, eating, sleeping or being on watch. However that can be what ocean sailing is like from my experience.
If you have any questions, comments, suggestions – do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com