Day 2
11 April 2011 | Out on the ocean
Bill Hudson
We've made it anther 150 miles again in the last 24 our period. We're now at 17 47.187N 109 20.950W with a good 15 knot wind from the North and a 4 to 6 foot swell which beats the 10-12 footers we had yesterday. We've taken a course of 240 degrees to get us to the ITCZ as quickly as possible at 10 degrees north but 130 degrees west where we will cross the equator.
I slid and fell yesterday while on deck while setting a reef in the mainsail. I took off a good bit of the skin on my right elbow but it's something a large bandaid can cover. I torqued my right wrist while I was at it so it's a bit upset with me.
The kids are settling in coming out of their sleeping spots to take care of personal business and then heading right back in to them. They don't wander around much.
So that's how we are so far--a bit grumpy and a bit groggy due to lack of good sleep but all in all, doing fine.
Tracy's take:
Day two was another raucus ride. Both Bill and I are seasick as well as the rest of the fleet. Yesterday, the sun was in and out of smudgy puffy clouds. They are all dark on the bottoms, I guess that means lots of moisture being brought up from the convergence zone.
The seas were tempestuous and beautiful at the same time. The colors of blue out here are stunning. It was rough enough that meals, real meals were out of the question. My stomach wouldn't have taken galley time at all, so smoked gouda on saltines for lunch and a small chicken caesar salad for dinner. I think I really made a mistake by not either buying or making most of our meals. Karen off Gigi bought or made 72 meals. Without a generator running, microwaving for us would be out of the question. Surely, someday, my stomach will settle down and life will get back to "normal".
Last night the bioluminesence was stunning. The moon is getting to be half full, we can actually see the sea state. I pulled out my iPod and watched The Queen then listened to music until my watch ended. Bill gave me an extra hour of sleep which was blissful, so I returned the favor. I don't know if he slept the last hour or not, but an extra hour of rest hopefully helped. I know he's not feeling very well after his spill onto the deck. Seeing him land with his throat against the lifeline scared me. We must be mindful off each step we take, it just let's you know how fragile life is.
Squid/flying fish total today: 4 flying fish and 2 squid. 2 Boobies hitch hiking with messes to still be cleaned up Forward head decided to backfill with nasty smelling liquid...tried to clean that up, but still have to disinfect the floor and sump under the floor, trying to ignore that until it calms down at bit. More in twenty four...