10/07/2009, Underway to NZ
The photo is of a pending cold front about ready to slap us with some hefty winds from behind. When giving one's position and current weather on a sailor's SSB radio net, we say, "Oily ocean". Amazing how it can be totally boisterous, giving us a full-on amusement park ride, to becalmed and flat in just a day's time. At this point, it's noon NZ time on Thursday. In just 6 hours, we'll be sailing again, with 25 to 35 knots behind us, surfing us directly towards our mark.
Life onboard goes from boring to awesome. I am not complaining one bit about being bored. After all the built-up anxiety about this ocean passage, boredom is totally welcomed. Last night, Tom watched a movie or two and I played some solitaire while night watches transpired. There were no boats in sight and the double-reefed main and jib caught whatever wind there was, letting the engines do most of the hard work. During the afternoon, an unexpected awesome experience was had, when Tommy spotted a huge bird coming up from behind to check out Zen. Yes, finally, the long awaited albatross visited the Burgess Family. We had hoped to see these massive birds while touring the Galapagos, but to no avail. Our trip is now complete having been accompanied by the global aviator, who gracefully skimmed above the water, looking over at us, and then continuing on his/her way without ever flapping a wing. There's some kind of folklore about sailors and the albatross. Don't know the details, but I am taking this as a good omen.
Our weather details just came in. Tonight is going to be a major surf session. Tom's out on deck rigging the outer blocks, pulling in the awnings, and putting a storm cover on the dinghy. I will clean up after a breakfast of homemade French Toast on coconut white bread with cinnamon, nutmeg and real vanilla beans. Don't know what tonight's rock and roll menu will be, but it's time to hang ten for sure.
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Comments [2]
10/06/2009, Underway to NZ
Zen is currently motorsailing on a southwesterly course. The winds are dying and the waves are still big rollers, kicked up from the bucking bronco ride last night. And speaking of last night, I swear I heard the tell-tale whale fog horn song while we were flying at 9 knots. Our starboard daggerboard makes a humming vibration sound when it goes through the water at fast speeds. We could have been in a whale-traffic-lane. Were they hoping we were a female? Or were they beeping their horns for us crazy drivers?
Weather says winds will fill in from behind us in about 24-36 hours. That will send us zooming directly toward Whangarei, NZ. So...in the meantime, we wait, charge the batteries, huddle in the main salon (it's flippin' cold), and watch the puffy white clouds roll by. There's 6 other boats around us, all heading to NZ. Funny, we see them clearly during the day, but nighttime comes, and everyone puts on their cloaking device and disappear. This morning's radio net revealed that we are still about 10 miles ahead of Miss Molly. But, she rolled in her headsail when the winds came in our face, turned on the iron jenny (engine) and started blasting at 8 knots on the rhumbline to NZ. She'll eat us up today. Maybe when the winds come from the north, we'll have some fun catching up.
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10/05/2009, Zen is Halfway to NZ
The race is on, only 620 miles to go, and our younger crew members are slacking off. While passing (keyword: passing, we are still mourning that loss) the bright blue waters of Minerva Reef yesterday, s/v Miss Molly, a 66-foot Oyster sloop, challenged Zen to a friendly ocean race into NZ. It certainly makes the time go faster. Tom is half conscious and in need of sleep, but still looking aft, over our shoulder, wondering if we should put up more canvas! I just keep saying, "Go sleep for a few hours. OK?" Our motorsail started last night after dinner and is still happening right now at breakfast time. At 3:00am, our watch shift change, we jibed the code zero sail as the wind moved into the NW quadrant. The wind is still very light, but later today it will freshen and come in our face.
Tom's dad was an ole' salt and Navy man. He taught his son to be conservative, respect the ocean and when it comes to weather, safety at sea is a priority. He must be contacting Tommy spiritually, because although the winds are not predicted to rise above 25 to 30 knots, my husband is pulling out all the safety gear. It's not alarming in any way. If anything, it makes me feel even better that we are ready for anything. This morning I awoke to find him explaining to the lacky crew members what a drogue and storm jib are. The drogue is heavy duty webbing, constructed in the form of a conical net, that is deployed off the back of the boat with very long lines. It sits 2 waves behind us. As we rise on a wave, it rises on a wave. It slows Zen down if we are surfing too fast. A storm jib is a very small triangular sail that goes up in the front of the boat on our roller furling stay. It is made of very beefy material and catches just a small amount of wind. These two items allow for terrific control and steerage. Grandmas, don't freak out. We will never have to deploy either one of them. But, be happy they are not stuffed so far away that they are inaccessible. Tom's got that one covered. Isn't it funny to purchase "safety toys" for Zen, with the whole idea of never wanting to use them? Guess it is like insurance.
Other than every outside surface being encrusted in salt and the air becoming radically colder, all is perfectly fine onboard. Night watches consist of dressing in many layers and putting on the full set of foulies. I even have my rubber boots on! Meanwhile, the kids are warm and comfy in their heavy sleeping bags. Maybe too comfy! Miss Molly is only 10 miles behind us and closing fast.
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