Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Becalmed - Day 12

We beat all our other records yesterday by clocking 36 miles on the odometer but arriving only 4 miles west of our previous daily position! We hove to at 11am and then took the sails down altogether to save them from slatting in the 15-20 degree rolls. There was a brief discussion about motoring for a day but we decided against it for aesthetic and practical reasons.

One gets used to being tossed around after a while but occasionally it takes one by surprise. As it did to Chris when he went to tie the preventer on the boom. A sudden jerk and he was hanging with his legs dangling in the water! Luckily he still had the sturdy line in one hand and was able to grab the stanchion at the gate. I would not have been able to pull him up with my puny muscles and weak wrists. Thankfully, as the boat came down on the next swell he was able to pull himself up. Ladybug was sailing around 3.5 knots at that time, so it is a good thing he did not fall off completely. The only injury was a scrape on his shin on the way down. On the plus side it was a good excuse for a hot shower and a glass of brandy. It was also a reminder to keep the gate closed at all times (we keep them open as they interfere with the jib sheets).

The afternoon matinee on Ladybug was "A Serious Man" from the Coen brothers with their trademark black humour. I would give it 3 stars.

Gulf Harbour Radio's forecast for the next 3 days was for light wind conditions, so we did not worry about being caught out in anything nasty while bobbing about out here. We enjoyed a glorious sunset, undulating hills of molten gold under a spectrum of red, gold and blue streaks in the sky.

Our 0745 position this morning was 31 05 S 177 14 E.

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