Today is slow going and most likely it will be for the next 24 hours! We’re in the doldrums STIiLL! But we keep sailing and keeping the sails happy! It’s also difficult to point to the Marquises as wind angle and speed is not optimum. Good thing I love it out here!
At 09.40: South 03*12 West 131*01
COG: 150* SOG: 4kn
Coffee, Swim and some wine later just cause’!
Seemed like we had to go through some kind of a gate to get out of ITCZ as we had a wall of black clouds loaded with downpour and wind. Locked and loaded, we blew through the gate and it seems we now are in the trade winds! No wine today, brains needed to be sharp and ready to make quick decisions today as squalls had fun with Sarantium!
We are inching our way with so little wind… days are long and sun is intense here at the equator.
Lovely night… trying to decide if I am ready for land or just want to stay out here forever!
Weather routing, below, looks good as winds kick in this evening!
Creeping through the doldrums😔
Morning-dip-routine starts the day off, just right!
Ps. The name, ”Gooseneck” barnacles derives from the mid-evil naturalists believing that geese were hatched from the barnacles. Maybe we will have a goose for dinner or just gooseneck stew?
Now the pointing to Hiva Oa begins!!! Hmmmm, we had wind now we don’t! Today, we hardly moved but wind is supposedly showing up this evening and last for three days! It’s been a quiet day, no whales, no birds, just big waves and scorching sun! Crossing the equator felt monumental and so today was a day to reflect. Looking forward is exciting as it feels like new beginnings!
We have only sailed 55 NMiles since we crossed the equator… in 16 hours, not a lot😔! Maybe Gaia didn’t get enough Rum!
We crossed the equator at 02.25 while going 2.7 kn! The night didn’t bring much more wind and sails were slapping! I woke up around 08.00 and jumped into the water! The hull has accumulated a ton of gooseneck barnacles! Did I buy shit paint in Guaymas? Or is this normal? After one month of sailing… I’m a bit disappointed!
I woke up 30 seconds before equator crossing! Funny how nature speaks to you!
At 11.45 we entered into the land of zero degrees latitude. By midnight, Sarantium will be sailing in the southern hemisphere and I’ll be inviting Gaia, Neptune and Poseidon to share some Rum, swim and dance with me! Perhaps some fresh bread and cheese too!
The moon, the stars, the wind, the rolls of the waves brings me to sleep and when I wake up, Sarantium has moved another degree closer to the equator! Goodmorning! TGIF! Haha! I Still don’t know what timezone I’m in!!!
But I do know that 13.40 our coordinates are N02*26.98 W129*34.96
Wind is settling and is becoming more even, however it is still on the nose. I keep waiting for it to change angle so we can atleast be on a beam reach. It’s slow going and equator is soooo close! Another couple of days and we should be there!
Our sleeping schedule is better as I get 5 hours of sleep, 03-08! We kept 3-4 knots all night. During my quick dip yesterday I noticed that the button of boat is covered with some kind of mollusk. What a drag, literally! I’m surprised as it was spic and span 2.5 weeks ago while I inspected it. I guess we will have to scrape the bottom next calm day at sea!
At 8.30: N03*59 W128*35
COG: 230* SOG: 4kn
We had the wind deliver gently all day on the nose. By the afternoon the wind slowly shifted to a beam reach.
Almost full!
Today, was a good day to clean and organize below deck, as waves are gentle although still quite massive. I also needed to rescue the sourdough starter and kombucha. Since baking has been sporadic lately, as well because of the increasing room temperature the sourdough starter is struggling. The sea water temperature is 29.8 degrees Celsius.
We re-wired the running light as it’s been out because of corroded wires. The boat is fairly clean from the squalls, so no need to wash deck fittings etc with our precious fresh water.
I organized my stateroom and had a short nap in my own ”actual” bed!
Our speed is getting slow, and cleaning the bottom needs to take place soon! Maybe tomorrow!
Goodnight World!
Ps. Another shark was spotted today! They seem small though, maybe 5 feet. My guess is that they’re not reef sharks…and they do not look like Great Whites 😳
Although we didn’t make much progress in regards to latitude last night, we sure set us up beautifully for today’s sail!
Last night I was at the Helm until 04.00. During my shift I must have tacked 4 times as neither the east tack or the west tack was bringing us closer to the Marquesses. Sometimes it’s just about setting up for the future sail leg. Sailing west seemed favorable over sailing east, however dark clouds filled the western side and I wasn’t in the mood for endless dodging lightening and thunder (Sandis would agree)! I chose to go east and unfortunately slightly north loosing gain we had just achieved. Around 03.00, I couldn’t stand looking at our boat heading north east so I tacked… Sarantium had deposited enough ”money in the bank” so she now pointed straight to the islands of Marqueses! I went to bed at 04.00 and woke up at 09.00.
I opened my eyes and immediately knew, as I felt the boat flying, that last night’s patients (and frustration) had paid off and we were in the south trade winds!!!
I wish I understood the behavior of clouds 😳 Last night I sat and watched for hours the clouds move around and their sparatic light show. I was tracking them on the radar to see how they were moving. Towards us or away from us???
I wonder how they will perform tonight!
Towering thunder clouds are lurking behind some low lying ones…
Sailaway Sarantium 