We are fortunate to have had good strong weather for quite a while now. It
keeps us on our toes, sailing close to the edge of what we consider safe.
A constant 30kts of wind coming from the side and sailing on a beam reach,
we at times had to fight hard to aim for our next waypoint which was at
the shallows close to French Guyana. The wind and swell kept on trying to
push us closer, and we kept on fighting back. Fortunately we never really
had to beat into the wind, that is sailing against the wind. Not right
against the wind, but at a sailable angle of close to 45 degrees is about
as close to wind as we can sail.
To prepare for potential stronger squalls I have also taught my crew what
it takes and what to expect when you turn straight into an oncoming spell
of strong wind. We mostly just bear off a bit and run with it when a dark
cloud comes over, but there may be times that it may not be the best plan
of action as we are sailing with our mainsail up. I have had 65kts of
squalls and you don't want to run with those if you have mainsail up. It
really is about anticipating and having everything at the ready should you
quickly have to turn the boat into the wind. The headsail or genoa, the
sail on front, you have to furl in as you turn into the wind. And you
don't want it flogging, ever. When you turn into a squall, it soon blows
over. You can then back on your course and wait for the wind to settle
again. When you run with the squall, it takes much longer to blow over.
Generally it gives us a good turn of speed and we normally prefer that. We
haven't had any serious squalls, they are normally formed by cumulus
nimbus, huge clouds that tower up high and flatten off at the top, shaped
like an anvil. Normally they also bring with them thunder and lighting,
and yes, it is sometimes very frightening. And just as an extra bonus,
they can sometimes also throw some hail at you :) In the clouds we read a
lot of what to expect from the weather.
Close to French Guyana a seismic research vessel radioed us and requested
that we alter course to 270*T sailing due west. They were dragging 5nm
cables behind them and on our course we would sail straight across their
cables which would damage our props and our rudders, and probably their
cables as well. I have encountered these vessels on previous occasions,
and we are always thankful that we were warned in time. We probably kept
our course of 270*T for an hour when they radioed again and informed us
that we are now safe to change back to our original course. A cargo ship
also approached us from astern a day or two ago and had a nice chat with
the captain, who were simply enquiring how we are, where are from and
where we are heading. They were from Argentina and Venezuela was their
destination. We shared some maritime experiences and it was interesting to
find out that the navigational systems on our yachts are for more modern
than the system on most of the older ships.
With the more demanding weather we don't have much time to practise poi,
but we are keeping up our French classes. Small but interesting little
things we learn. How to greet in French, count, the different colours, and
we are certainly making nice progress in that regard. During the rougher
patches we still have flying fish taking off and being blown back onto our
yacht, and whenever we see them or hear them we frantically search for
them and help them back in the water. One night we must have saved at
least two dozen of these amazing little creatures between the three of us.
Poor creatures with their big eyes and gulping mouths, really a blessing
to return them back to the ocean alive. We cannot save all of them, and
every morning we walk around the deck and return the dead stiff bodies
also to the ocean. They sometimes land in places where we don't see or
hear them.
The last day or two the current turned north east and we were slowed down
quite a bit. But as always, I know it will change, just have to sit it out
and keeping doing the best we can. Same with the wind. We are currently
aiming for St.Lucia and the wind was blowing from the north east for a
while and once again we had to aim a bit lower than where we wanted to go.
But knowing that the wind will back to ENE, ExN, and eventually East, we
just follow the wind and trust that it will change, which it has done.
Should it not have changed we would have a tough beat up to St.Lucia, but
yes, finding a good balance between speed, safety and comfort is always a
challenge under these conditions. And the currents and wind always keep
you waiting in anticipation.
With the bit of slower speed we had yesterday due to a cross current, and
nice weather, I decided to put a pink lure out and wished for a dorado.
Stuart reckoned a longfin tuna or dorado, I insisted on a dorado. Probably
the tastiest fish and even better when fresh. The lure went out at about
10am. I suddenly noticed the bungee cord pulling tight. We were sitting
enjoying our evening meal and chatting and Stuart and Thibault was
wondering what was going on as I suddenly jumped up doing a tribal dance
shouting whoop whoop whoop whoop as I moved to the back of the boat. I
pulled the bungee cord, got hold of the line and felt the fish pumping
trying to get loose. After gaining a few metres I gave the line to
Thibault so he could also feel the fish fighting while Stuart was putting
on leather gloves. Soon the fish was close to the boat and was lifted on
deck. A beautiful dorado, not to small, not to big, just perfect. We
quickly subdues the fish and watched with a tinge of sadness as the
colours on the body changed while the fish was dying. Also a huge tinge of
thankfulness for the gift bestowed upon us.
I gave Stuart the honour of filleting the body, and showed him exactly how
and where to cut. His first fillet was a bit zigzag, but his next fillet
was perfect. I also showed the guys how to remove the skin with least
waste or damaging the tender flesh. Thibault also had his turn at de
skinning one of the fillets. The meal size portions were cut, placed in
hand towel paper, slipped into Jiffy bags, an vacuum sealed by sucking the
air out with a straw. Two meals were placed in the freezer, one meal in
the fridge that we will have for supper tonight, and a few smaller
portions that we will have as sushimi in the next hour or so. Wasabi,
pickled ginger, soya sauce and fresh lemon juice all waiting and ready to
be enjoyed.
We are 280nm from St.Lucia and expect to arrive there on Thursday morning
for a quick in and out. Our current position at PM 03:00 UTC is
10*17'N/057*34'W. Our time on the boat is now AM 11:30. Take good care and
we promise to do the same.
Paul
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