moonlit night and to our starboard on the horizon I could see a bank of
darker clouds and rain coming our way. We had mainsail 1st reef and
genoa the same. I thought about our options and waited for the squall to
hit us. First sign of it getting closer was a slight change in the swell
getting progressively bigger, but not radically so. At 1am it got to us,
I took over the helming from the autupilot and my first option was to
run with the storm, taking care not to gybe, a nautical term meaning we
don't want the wind to get on the wrong side of the mainsail on a
downwind run. The wind picked up quickly starting from about 15kts and
quickly worked her way up to 25kts. Before she got to 30 kts I decided
to turn into and through the wind bringing us to a hove to position. An
excellent storm tactic as long as you are not to close to land. The
mainsail and headsail then works against each other and the boat stays
upright and standing steady against the onslaught. Steven peeped through
his hatch and asked if I wanted a hand and soon afterwards Nick and
Eduan was also out. We set the headsail at a perfect angle for a hove to
position and the rain increased substantially while the wind was now
building up to 30kts+. We all remained calmed, operated swiftly and soon
we were allk set and enjoying the rain, taking the boat through the
boatwash. Steven joined in, grabbed his shampoo and had a refreshing
shower in the rain in the dead of the night. There was no thunder and
lightning, just thick sheets of rain driven by a fairly strong wind.
Half an hour later the rain had moved over us, which is one of the
advantages of the hove to position, the storm passes over far quicker
than running with it. The wind still remained strong and decided to drop
the mainsail and carry on towards the Caribbean with a bit of headsail
and some motoring to charge our batteries a bit. Afterwards I made coffe
and tea for everyone and we enjoyed the experience of learning how to
navigate a storm like this. I could have dropped the sails before the
storm hit us but then none would be the wiser, certain things one can
only demonstrate when the situation is upon you. After the bit of
adrenaline rush everyone went back to their cabins and an hour or
so later Nick took watch over from me. I decided to keep on motoring
with the headsail only, loosing some potential speed in the process, but
also timing our equator crossing for daytime and gave Nick the
instructions.
At about 7am this morning we were close to the equator and woke Eduan up
to get ready to swim across with Nick. At 7:15am the boys were in the
water and crossed the equator in grand style. How many people can say
they have swam across the equator. Making memories is part of this
journey and they will look back on these days as some of the best days
of their lifes. At a slight cost ofcourse. Being away from there loved
ones, giving up their comfort zones, learning how to get on with people
in close quarters over extended periods of time, having to prepare food,
learning the science and art of sailing and so on. In turn they get a
lot of time away from mental pollution(tv); time to read, to think, to
assess, to re-assess and to grow as human beings, being closer to nature
than they have ever been before. Becoming one with the motion of the
ocean. And hopefully this will stand them in good stead when they have
to weather the storms of life and face the challenges that the future
may bring. Being mariners for a while and dealing with uncompromising
beauty and potential danger and teaching them awareness and
responsibilty.
'Lay of the Land' is the nautical term offered today. to study the lay
of the land is to make an initial inspection, a first step. Making a
landfall a sailor studies how the land 'lays' along the horizon to see
whether he can recognise any prominent features that would make it
familiar or if it promises landing facilities, shelter and so forth.
Another expression with the same meaning is 'see how the land lies'.
We have crossed into the northern hemisphere and our position at 10am on
our boat, UTC - 3 or 3pm SA time is 00*08'N/043*13'W. We are about 130nm
from the nearest land and 200nm from the Amazon river mouth. The wind
has changed direction to SE and we now have both headsails up again,
going a bit slower than before and seeing our chances of arriving at
St.Lucia next Friday slipping away a bit. And so be it then, for
whatever reason it is so destined.
Trust that you are having a good weekend
Captain Paul
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