Today was another cold, windy day with scattered showers.
In the morning, Eric upgraded the software on our website. And, of course, a host of things stopped working. So he wound up spending most of the day fixing the problems. When everything was finally working again, he Continue reading
Day 3
It was another relatively warm, sunny and beautiful day. At 1000, all was still status quo. The only change was that sometimes the wind would move to starboard aft corner for a while, but it usually stayed on the port aft corner. The wind speeds are consistently between 7 29 knots apparent, though they sometimes sit for a while at the higher end of the spectrum, and sometimes stay at lower end of spectrum for a while.
The waves were still big and lumbering, coming at us in long intervals, hitting primarily from the port aft quarter, which makes that terrible corkscrew motion. The waves definitely feel worse when the wind kicks around to the starboard, and the seas become mildly confused. It is still hard to Continue reading
By 0100 yesterday morning, the wind and seas were steadily picking up and it officially became uncomfortable. The waves are steep and sharp, which is not a pleasant motion to start with, and they are incredibly close together. So, the boat will be riding over three or four waves at a time, making the boat move multiple directions at once. It is constant and not good. On the bright side (literally), the moon is half full and giving off a lot of light, making visibility good.
By 1000, it had gotten a little better, but no much. Winds were down to 7 10 knots real on the nose, but the waves hadn’t calmed down as much as the wind. But that little bit of improvement made it more tolerable to be aboard. It was sunny and bright out.
At 1300, we passed the Prime Meridian. We are now back in the western hemisphere. Another milestone indicating we are getting closer to home.
The wind didn’t change much for the rest of the day. The seas slowly but surely got better all day, and when we say slowly, we mean it. By 1900, the ride was actually pretty good. By midnight it was very smooth. Thank God.
By 0300 this morning, the wind had shifted to our rear and was down to one knot. The ride was fabulous, like floating along on silk. The moon was half full and vibrant, the light brightly reflecting off the smooth water to make visibility excellent. About 0315, the moon set. As it got lower in the sky, it went from white to gold to a yellow orange as it dipped into the water. It was so beautiful. Once the moon was gone, millions of stars lit up in the sky. They reflected on the water, and the bioluminescence was sparkling like diamonds. It was pretty spectacular.
By 1000, the wind had picked up to 3 – 8 knots real and shifted to our starboard beam. Our magical ride was gone, but the waves are small and following, so it is still a good ride.
By 2000, the wind had Continue reading
Yesterday was a nice day in terms of weather. It was a little bit warmer than it has been, and there was no rain or wind. As soon as we got up we started our “get ready to go to sea” routine. We planned to leave shortly before sunset. Eric worked at getting things ready to go on board while he waited for the Simrad repair guy. Christi went to pick up fresh fruit and bread for the passage. Conveniently enough, there is a supermarket directly across the street, right next to the restaurant we like. And, from the fancy awning and red carpet, it looks like a nice one.
It wasn’t open. Odd, since it is normal business hours on a weekday. She went and peeked into the windows and realized it is a nightclub, named “Supermarket”. Oops. She set off Continue reading
Yesterday we had a low key day. Since we were leaving later in the day, we took our time with our get ready to go routine. We pulled out of port at 1600.
For those of you that asked about marina specifics, we have found that the front of the boat moves an awful lot being secured only to one mooring line instead of two. The marina is also not super flat. Rolly may be too strong of a word, but the side to side movement combined with the gentle swell activity is certainly noticeable enough to make someone sensitive to motion not feel good.
Anyway, when we pulled out, the winds were moderate. Seas were Continue reading