|
Friday, 09 May 2008 |
|
Wind E 10 to 15 knots, Course N, Speed 3 knots, Position 36° 02' S by 166° 59' W
After almost a month I have the main sail back on and up. The job was a lot more difficult and time consuming than I thought, but now it's back up and it sets well. Since it is so weather beaten I don't know how long it will last. That makes me feel a little insecure, but I do trust my ability to keep repairing it. All my sails are weather beaten because they have had to work so hard month after month. Before I got the main sail up I noticed the stay sail was beginning to tear in a new spot. This time it is the fabric giving way rather than the stitches and that is a bad sign because I was hoping it was the thin thread breaking down rather than the fabric. The staysail is now inside under repair and the working jib is balancing the front of the boat so we can beat against the easterly winds. Rather than be forced south where it's colder and windier I'm taking a tack to the North. I still want to sail more to the East before I sail North to the equator. There are issues, but most of the other ship's systems are still holding up and I'm keeping my routine. I remind myself, “All's Well”.
Reid
|
|
|
Day 382 Red Sky In The Morning |
|
Tuesday, 06 May 2008 |
|
Wind NNE 30 knots, Course ESE, Speed 4 to 5 knots, Position 36° 42' S by 168° 55' W
This is our second red sky in the morning and our only glimpse of blue sky in two days. A heavy cloud blanket darkened the days and the nights. I was glad I only had up two double reefed foresails and the working jib. Normally I would have the staysail up rather than the jib because it's smaller and easier to handle on a boom, but the jib was up while the staysail was under repair and I've left it because it's doing such a great job and the wind is not to heavy. I spend my days sewing and doing what I have to do to keep the schooner going. I'm up through the night with a couple quick cat naps in the day and one day moves into the next. I'm almost like an animal without thoughts, like an albatross dipping and rising above the waves.
Reid
|
|
|
Day 380 Paul Revere Rides |
|
Sunday, 04 May 2008 |
|
Wind WNW 10 knots, Course ENE, Speed 3 to 4 knots, Position 35° 41' S by 172° 22' W
A light gale with waves from the west picked up and the NE waves from the five day storm kept coming. It was a wild ride and a good thing I had double reefs in both my foresails when the squalls came through. I felt like Paul Revere with a mission and a message as I rode through the night and waved appreciation at the patches of stars that showed up through the ragged clouds. Before dark I was geared up and moving around the schooner and studying her from different vantage points, so from the pilot house during the night as I heard different noises, I felt confident we weren't breaking things. Before dawn the cresent moon floated like a boat above the eastern horizon. In the morning I did feel like a horseback rider who had ridden through the night catching snatches of sleep on the run. As I checked the deck before coffee I patted my foremast on the brow and said “You did good”. The first thing I saw was a rainbow behind us to the west and our first Pacific flying fish on deck. The Schooner Anne gallops inexorably onwards knowing there's no stopping. Both of us are nursing a little fatigue, pulled reigns and sore muscles and the migration of the yearning is longer than we have experienced. We ride great forces of nature through time and our timing and positioning are still good, thank goodness.
Reid
|
|
|
|
<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next > End >>
|
| Results 1 - 4 of 317 |
