Headlines for Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Greetings from 020 16.785 N 064 48.698W. Average speed has been 6 knots. Wind is ENE 12-17. Seas are 5-7. Temp in the air is a very humid 85.4F. Water temp is 80.5F. We are 115 nm from our starting point in Tortola. It is Tuesday at 3:30 in the afternoon.

Michael and I arrived in Tortola Saturday night at 7:30 pm. The plane was delayed due to mechanical problems. As we taxied onto the runway, only one of the engines was spinning its propeller, and we worried that the mechanical problems were not fixed. We did take off with both engines running.

Sunday and Monday were filled with preparation chores. We installed a new red bulb overhead light above the navigation station. This is to enable us to move about in the cabin without destroying the night vision of the person on watch. Michael squished himself into the head and changed the sump pump switch, which had corroded into inoperable condition. Donna mounted the port lee cloth using five D-rings permanently affixed to the settee, each aligned with the grommets on the edge of the lee cloth. We changed the sheets to the staysail and jib, new lines courtesy of Jay. Jacklines were installed. One hooks a tether on a jackline. It permits you to go forward on deck underway, keeping you attached to the boat. We filled the propane tank, since we were running on the same fill since last November. The dinghy and engine were stowed. The canvas dodger was refitted over the frame. Michael purchased and then installed the missing inset screws in the dodger frame giving it a taut look. We checked lifelines, engine fluids, refueled with diesel, topped the water tanks off, installed an emergency overboard ladder and a latch for the companion way doors in the event we go over or turn upside down. The sweat literally dripped off of us, and the bay housing the marina was too filthy to swim in. We took multiple showers, and drank gallons of water and gatoraid.

We developed a long list of supplies to get, including a funnel, fuses, a padeye, and small block. We borrowed the marina’s truck to visit the marine supply stores. We spent hours combing Tortola trying to find two additional five gallon diesel fuel tanks so that we could refuel at sea if the wind disappeared for more than three days. We learned that some fellow on his way to Miami had purchased every yellow tank on the island, including used ones. Michael saw them all on the dock at Marina Cay waiting to be loaded. We had to settle for the light blue water tanks of the same size. Gas, diesel, and water are stored in different colored tanks to avoid mistakes, and apparently there is a Coast Guard regulation requiring this. We decided to take the chance. Michael spent much time lashing all four tanks to the port railing.

Food shopping was interesting. First, it was too hot to think about food. The grocery store was thankfully air conditioned. We pushed the cart up and down each aisle developing menus as we went. Michael had already purchased enough dried fruit, nuts and Zone Bars at home to see us through the summer. But, a sailor cannot live on dried apricots alone, so we picked up 16 gallons of water, two enormous containers of gatoraid, several types of cheese, a can of refried beans, two different types of rice, lots of crackers, long life milk, soy sauce, butter, bread, two types of peanut butter, two containers of strawberry jam, mangoes, bananas, a cantaloupe, apples, oranges, some vegetables, and all of the imagined ingredients that one would need to make muffins. Not that we had a recipe. We debated back and forth about baking powder or baking soda. Baking soda won out. It has other uses if muffins do not appear. Our experience on the last trip was that we were not often hungry, so this hodgepodge of items in our shopping cart seemed like it would keep us going.

There was no breeze either night spent at the marina. We slept on deck to try to keep cool, but were only kept clammy. We were serenaded by barking dogs, roosters and mosquitoes. When the mosquitoes took a biting break, the no-seeums acted as able substitutes. Neither one of us slept. Given how exhausting the trip will be with only two aboard, we were not happy sailors.

We did pick up one crew member, a Monitor wind vane. Walter and Vern had done the drilling and installed the frame. Michael and Donna thought through the lines going to the wheel, and finished the installation. The wind vane is designed to take over the steering in all but the lightest of air. Since it is mechanical and not run by electricity, it will work even if an autopilot or skipper is dead. We have spent most of the day tweaking the sails and wind vane to learn how it works and how to set it. The most critical aspect is to have properly trimmed sails. If the boat has a windward helm, you sheet off. If it is a leeward helm, you sheet in. The vane is pointed into the wind and when you go off course, it tilts one way or the other, and with a pendulum paddle in the water providing the power, it turns the wheel it the right direction. Of course, that is assuming the lines go through the correct blocks. I learned that one early on.

We left the marina at 4 pm yesterday. We stopped at Monkey Point, my favorite dive spot on the way out, and cleaned the waterline and propeller. We also took a short swim. It will be the last until Bermuda. We were fully underway by 6.

Our weather routing service, Jennifer Clark and Dane Clark, have sent us off the rhumb line to Bermuda to pick up favorable currents. This area usually has only very moderate winds. We are lucky to have so much today. All sails are up and full. The sun is strong. No waterlogged state of emergency here.

The stern of the boat looks like an advertising gallery. “Monitor” wind vane, “Simrad” radar, “Lifesling” hoist, “ACR” emergency beacon. No other boats in sight since we left, so the advertising is in vain.

Sorry to be tardy in writing. The hands are swollen and clumsy with the heat and all the work on the lines. It has been too hot to stay below writing for very long. This will change as we head north.

Cheers.