Day 11
20 April 2011 | Out on the ocean
Bill Hudson
Another 24 hours gone and making progress across this BIG ocean. With the wind out of the Northeast and the swells out of the North, it continues to be a rolly and rocky ride. One minute you're healed over to 30 degrees to port and the next 25 degrees to starboard. Over and over and over all day and all night. Side to side with a bit of bow to stern action thrown in for fun. You lie in bed(if you can) with your back up against the side panels that hold the mattress in place and put a pillow in front of you and hold on. Or, if you have more guts, you lie on the port side settee cushion(only about 19 inches wide) and rock and roll there. Most of the movement is toward the port side so it may keep you on the cushion though if a really rough roll comes in, you are out of there and on the floor. Boy, sailing is fun! We did just 3 hour watches last night instead of 4 as conditions required you to be watching constantly for wind changes where it could throw Zephyr in the wrong direction.
We're currently at 10 42.510N 123 08.304W on a course of 250T. We're going to gybe and change course in a couple of hours to put us on a more southward course toward the equator. The wind will be over the port side but the wave will continue to plow into our stern. We've made good time over the last 24 hours covering 138 miles. Not bad at all. We've done 1330 miles so far out of the normal 3000 to get to the Marquesas so we are almost half way in 11 days. Another day or so and we will be half way. At least another 5 days just to the equator. The swells are at about 5-7 feet so we go up one side and down the other continually being hit from the stern. Man, let me tell you , it gets OLD!!!! You hang on to anything and everything to move around the boat. I've got the cuts and bruises to prove what happens if you loose your handhold.
Tracy's two cents:
I've thought and thought about what to do in this particular entry, so we're going to go into the galley (kitchen) and I'm going to let you know what works and what hasn't worked. It has been rough enough that really involved cooking just isn't going to work. I made up a meal plan, breakfast, lunch and dinner for four weeks. I look at it and laugh...what on Earth was I thinking???! I had down really involved meals that require lots of pots and pans. How dumb (or naive) was I?
I brace myself against the wall opposite the stove. This gives me access to the stove and the counter that houses the refrigerator. Bill made up a board (made of a plastic cutting board) covered with drilled holes and then made pegs to go into the holes where ever I desired, so I can put all the ingredients of a dish on this board so everything doesn't slide all over. It is my extra hands. This board fits over the sinks, so if anything spills, it doesn't matter. I use the pressure cooker as my "pot" of choice. It has steep sides, so nothing sloshes over and if I boil any water, I just put the lid on and twist it to lock it so if it does leap off the stove I don't get burned. I have found that dinner has to be really a simple affair. Try and not use more than four or five ingredients. My spices are in racks from Cost Plus that fit my spice bottles exactly and they are within easy reach just behind the refrigerator. That way, I don't have to get into the spice cabinet under the companionway stairs. I made lists of where all our food is in the boat, but if I had it to do again, I would have put all ingredients together for any given meal. Just going under the settee cushions is an ordeal and I've found that I'll do almost anything not to have to spend more than the absolute minimum time having things fall into the hole just created by moving a bin of food. I do try to have all my meats in one spot and all the fruits and veg in another dedicated spot.
One thing that has worked for me is a wire basket about 15X8x7" high. I have it right next to the microwave. This actually came out of our wine refrigerator in Denver. In it I put often used things,like our insulated glasses (Costco), tea bags, garlic bulbs, fresh ginger, etc, just to keep them handy. I put some no slide fabric under and it does an admirable job. The key is to stay out of the cabinets as much as possible.
Doing dishes...I heat my water in the teakettle and then put 5 sec. worth of boiling water into the left sink with a squirt of detergent then count to ten with the cold water faucet into that sink, just the right temp for washing dishes. All the dirty dishes are piled as securely as possible again the fiddle rail next to the stove. I put the clean dishes, but not rinsed into the right sink. I then empty the left sink and put the remaining boiling water into the left sink then cool the water down with cold water. I gimbal the stove and put my collapsible dish drainer on the stove, I then rinse the dishes and place them into the wildly swing drainer. It is hard to think that the stove is always level and you and the rest of the boat are not, but nothing falls out and it is easy to dry the dishes. I store our plastic take out dishes in the microwave. These have worked out really well, no breakage. Applebees and Chicken Teriyaki places and BIll's favorite--Tokyo Joe's have wonderful bowls and covers that we use as plates.
Anyway, that's a peak into the inner working of a galley slave.