In the time capsule
28 May 2009 | North of Middleton Reef
John and Shauna
So far the passage has been pretty nice - low swells with a good long period (about 12 seconds) and light breezes. We are needing to use the motor more than we'd like, to keep the progress good (and anyway, if the boat slows to the point of not making more than about 2.5 - 3 knots, the motion becomes a bit of a wallow, which is uncomfortable and the boom, sails and gear flail around making a racket). The sky is a lovely clear blue, the water is sub-tropical crystal turquoise and there are a few light, fluffy cumulus clouds scudding along with no ill intent. The days are starting to blend into one another, which is when you really start to relax - it's a great feeling. Our overnight watch pattern is to eat early and start at 7 PM, and finish at 7 AM. John does 7 to 11, then Shauna 11 to 3, then 2 hours each until 7 AM, when we have breakfast. In daylight watches are more informal. During the morning Shauna has a nap then John rests late afternoon. It's not quite enough, but we manage and unless the weather is lousy we can grab a snooze randomly during the day. It's obviously important to have someone physically on watch at night - although on this route you just don't see any vessels at all - certainly no commercial ships, maybe the very occasional yacht - not so far this time for us. Cheers to all, Us PS: Just remember the time and date stamp on the posts is UTC (GMT) rather than local time here. Our time is 10 hours ahead of UTC.