Dancing Whale

We are 50 nm south of Bermuda, with winds SW 15-20 knots. Seas are 5-7 feet. Our average speed now is around 6.5, but for the trip it has been 5.9 kph. It is a cloudless day and the sailing is superb. All sails are flying and the wind vane makes us happy. Michael is much better at tweaking it than me, and it forces us to pay attention to the minutia of accurate sail set. We have the larger wind vane paddle up, and the boat is very well balanced. Our position is 31 33.372N 64 44.010W. Our bearing is 21 degrees. The temperature is 80 F. The barometer reads 1016, haven fallen from 1018 over the last two hours. This does not bode well for the weather tomorrow, and indeed, a review of the Bermuda weather charts indicates rain with increasing wind and waves. We will be sitting in Saint George Harbour by then, damply awaiting the opening of the Yacht Reporting Center. We expect to anchor in the harbor sometime around 1 a.m.

We are definitely getting used to life at sea. We both spent time at the spa yesterday, otherwise known as the head, taking luxurious showers with the hand held sink spigot. We ran our first 40 gallon water tank dry after six days at sea, and switched to the second tank. We drink bottle water, and have been going through 2 gallons each day. While our sleeping time is limited, our sleep seems deeper, and we feel fine with the new sleeping patterns. Food consumption has improved. Last night we stuffed ourselves silly with salt and a little popcorn on the side. The moon did not rise until 2:07 a.m. and appeared as a red crescent. Without clouds, the stars were lighting the way. We checked the radar for traffic, and with no other boat visible for 24 miles, we cut our running lights. As our eyes adjusted, infinity opened before us. The rigging makes strange noises as the wind passes through it. Two nights ago, it seemed to reverberate with the Bee Gees. Last night it was Abba. The steering seemed to be crying out a deep slow Aloha. If only our hallucinations were a little more sophisticated.

This morning, Michael spotted a breaching whale. Its whole body leapt straight out of the water. Michael could see the white stripes on its underside. I managed to see the splash as it fell back into the water. There was definitely a pod ahead of us. We spotted heads and spouting spray of the whales as they took breaths. When we got too near for comfort, we altered course. It was only a minute or two that they were in our sight, but it was the sort of event that will stay in our memories forever. The best guess based on the field guide is that the breaching whale was a Bryde’s Whale.

The bilge pump has been going on every few minutes. After checking that it was not back flow from the bilge out take hose, I was content to let it work. It does not take much water in the bilge to set it off, so I adopted the Alfred E. Newman approach of Why Worry. Michael prodded me out of my stupor today, and we went down into the engine compartment for further exploration. There is a small but consistent leak between the rudder post sleeve and the rudder post. We tightened the bolts and screws that we could reach, but could not slow the leak. I will crawl further back into the compartment after we reach Bermuda and can safely remove the engine battery box to make room for me. If I cannot fix the leak, I suspect I will live with it until haul out this Fall. Ka-ching.

We will call our weather routing service tomorrow to try to determine if a fair weather window will open for our cross through the Bermuda Triangle and over the Gulf Stream. We would like to leave Wednesday. But are prepared to leave Tuesday or later in the week, if necessary. I have an absolute deadline to be back in New England by June 1. My Dad is getting married, and I want to be there. The way the Gulf Stream looks now, we may have to shoot across is below New Jersey and then sail up the coast. This will mean not only a longer trip, but more shipping traffic. Those risks will be worth avoiding the potential turbulence of the Gulf Stream.

Cheers.