8/18/08

The front that gave us wind and rain over the past two days has broken down resulting in lower seas and reduced winds. Compromise rocks gently moving at 4-5 kts with winds blowing 10-15 out of the W. We are set up wing-on-wing ready for the winds to shift out of the SW. At 70.9 degrees, water temperature continues to drop.

On a day so gentle, the crew's priorities change. For the ladies, that means time to wash your hair and get a pedicure. I don't know what to say about this so I will let it speak for itself. For Matt, it means pulling out the tackle kit and dropping a couple lines. Matt was reluctant to fish when we passed through the high pressure system. Warm waters could result in a 45 lb. tuna - 5 lbs of which we eat and the rest overboard. Not wanting to offend the gods who have given us such a wonderful ride, we pass on dropping lines until we reach colder water temperature (smaller fish). Water temperature has since dropped 10 degrees so Matt dropped a couple lines this morning. The set up has 3 parts: a heavy line with a rubber "spring", 150 lb leader, and a very interesting lure. I was amused by the warning label on the cedar plug lure. I am amazed the other 49 states are unaware of this . . . .

WARNING: This product contains LEAD, a chemical known to the state of California to cause cancer and birth defects and other reproductive harm

8/17/08 Port Tack

We have been on a very long starboard tack. That means the wind is coming from the right (starboard) side of the boat. The boat leans (heels) to port as the driver tries to maintain course without rounding up into the wind - something the boat naturally wants to do. Consequently, your right arm carries the majority of the load at the wheel. Drivers typically balance themselves by placing their left foot on the bench to counteract the heel of the boat. We have been doing this for 1500 nautical miles.

Enter port tack at 20:00 on the 16th. Matt drove for the first hour while I cleaned up the lines and watched the moon rise. When it came my turn to drive, I instinctively/reflexively/whatever placed my left foot on the port-side bench. On port tack, the wind comes from the left side and the boat heels to starboard. Leaning in the same direction as the boat is heeling is not a very stable position. You smile at yourself and reposition. Then other things crop up.

My favorite administrator was Ethel Murphy. About 15 years ago, she came into my classroom (I was teaching 6th grade then) to conduct a scattergram of my attention to students. She drew up a matrix representing my classroom then placed a dot in a cell corresponding to the students I called on, answered a question for, or otherwise engaged (Mitch! Put away those Pokemon cards!) Her scattergram indicated I heavily favored or paid attention to the right side of my classroom. On starboard tack, the swell comes from the right which I always seem to have half an eye on ready to dip Compromise and ride the crest of the wave into the trough. Dip left with the swell then right into the swell riding the crest then dropping into the trough while maintaining course. Lather, rinse, repeat. Waves usually come in sets of three

The swell moves in the same direction as the wind. On port tack, that means the swell comes from the left and caught me unaware, the side Ethel Murphy's scattergram demonstrated was a blind spot for me. Ok, I know they're there so I dip left then right – nope. Swell's on the opposite side now so reverse the dance. Dip right (with the swell), then left (into the swell) then ride the crest to the trough.

We have been moving at 8-9 kts all day. Winds have been blowing 15-20 trading off with 20-25. Current position is lat N 37 49, long W 133 58. We have maintained a course of 070-080 throughout the day. Skies are cloudy with patches of blue. The picture attached to this posting is of Dave T at the helm and Matt after tightening the steering quadrant.

Kaneohe harbor from the mast

Sunrise over the high

Wave Trains

8/16/08

Woke up at 07:00 to the sound of the watch crew furling the jib and reefing the main. The frontal system Sandy has been tracking caught up to us and has had us all day. Whereas squalls are fast and furious with their wind and rain ending as suddenly as they began, frontal systems are large, deliberate and tedious. After an hour of rain, I saw how our weather life has changed. Then the rain abated but the skies remain darkened by the clouds all around. Greenhouse effect takes place in my foulies so I strip them off in favor of shorts and a t-shirt. Foul weather jacket comes on and off through the 6-hour watch as rains come and go.

Mini fire drill at 14:00. The wind has shifted so we needed to jybe the main to maintain our course. I went to the foredeck to move the preventer to the starboard side. Lorraine noticed that a batten was sticking out so I lowered the main from the mast as Matt worked the halyard in the pit, stopping at each batten and checking. All fixed, main hoisted, preventer attached and I go to sleep.

I am attaching an image to this posting which has been heavily compressed (12 MB to 3K) to meet the sailmail standard for size. I hope this works. It is a shot of the placid waters of the high.

8/15/08

Position: lat N 37 40, long W 140 39
Heading (Course): 060
Winds: 18-19 out of the SE
Boat Speed: 7-8 kts
Water Temperature: 77.5 degrees (and dropping)
272 nm SE of AP5 where we will turn and head due East as we make our way back to San Francisco.

We Be Reachin'!

Our 04:00 – 08:00 night watch ended with a downpour of rain and winds blowing 20-25 kts. That crew came on deck to take the over then Matt went forward to reef the main while I worked the pit. Dropped dead in the quarterberth for a couple hours sleep then started reading about sail trim. So much to know.

Our current watch schedule has three 4-hour night watches (20:00 – 24:00, 24:00 – 04:00, and 04:00 – 08:00) and two 6-hour day watches (08:00 – 14:00 and 14:00 – 20:00). The schedule is on a 48-hour cycle so everyone pulls all the watches mentioned above in a two-day span of time.

I was somewhat dubious about the 6-hour watches when we exited the high sailing wing-on-wing on a broad reach. My wrists were sore from the wheel. Muscles strengthen, sails get reconfigured, and now we are reaching again which is a whole lot more comfortable. I started sailing by compass alone, gradually adding wind direction as I gained confidence at the wheel. Now I look straight ahead occasionally checking my heading and wind direction. My little trick is to find something in the sky (cloud, sun, or star cluster) to align with a fixed object on the boat. Things move so I check my heading from time to time then choose a new object. I try to avoid choosing birds.

Stuff I "get" now:
I hear a lot of phrases in the sailing community and like I wrote on the blog, I smile, nod my head, then shrug my shoulders. I mean, who is this Weather Helm anyway? Is she distantly related to Meredith Weathers? Here at UC Compromise, experience makes it real.

Weather Helm: I was at the helm on the 04:00 – 08:00 watch this morning. Rain kicks in big accompanied by winds blowing 20-25. The boat wants to round up to starboard so I plant my left foot as I EASE the wheel to port. Takes a lot of strength.

Round Up: see above. I always thought rounding up and down was just a bad thing that happened at a race.

Reef the Main: Relief crew came on deck. After turning over the helm, I assisted Matt from the pit while he went to the mast to take in a reef. So many lines (not rope, no sirree).

Shake out the Reef: No cannabis here. This is what relief crew hopes to do once the wind eases.

Reaching: That's my favorite!! No doubt about it, I'm an upwind driver. It helps that upwind driving is an easier more comfortable point of sail. Plus I get to do the "Compromise Curtsey" over the swells and that is fun stuff.

Sloop, Cutter, Ketch, Yawl, Schooner: Jeepers – I can tell the difference between these types of boats now. I still don't get the wishbone design. But I have time.

And so much more . . . .

For dinner last night, Matt barbequed hot links and hamburgers. I don't think we will be barbequing again soon as the seas kick up and a frontal system moves into place. Probably have some beef stew tonight. We moved all the food from the cold storage to the refrigerator. All dry ice is gone and the food has nothing more to do than defrost, warm up, then spoil. So now we charge the house batteries 3 times a day so we can run the fridge and keep the food cold. Our fuel management has been working out well so the 3X a day charge cycle should work out well.

We have all settled into the comfortable rhythm of life on board Compromise. Catching winks of sleep has not been a problem nor has it been a problem to keep track of time. I take medication nightly and do so before the 1st night watch – regardless of whether I am on or off. We are currently on Anchorage Standard Time. Sandy said we will shift to Pacific Daylight Time tomorrow which is a good thing – now all

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