Thursday, April 1, 2010

Is this God playing a big April Fools joke on us? Such a great week, an idyllic first week, and now we're on a ride in the Fun Zone at the County Fair, the kind of ride operated by some sadistic slimy guy who thinks it's funny to let it go on for too long. But since I proclaimed us adaptable yesterday, adaptable we remain: Tiffany talking French into her lap top microphone as directed by Rosetta Stone, Allan watching Babylon 5, me writing this blurb and keeping up with my journal, and Greg, now on watch for the afternoon shift, slogging through Exodus on audio. Can't really do much when it's like this but sit. I got a little too ambitious for lunch prep today, and just as I was putting the finishing touches on a citrus vinaigrette a big swell slammed us and everything on the counter went flying. Could have been worse, but the salon floor got a good wipe down for the third time today ...

The forecast was for 4 meter swells, and we estimate that's what we've got, at times the entire boat seems to twist and shudder and shake. We have confidence in this hull, in the structure of the boat, but it can be unnerving. Luckily, this is as bad as we expect, at least for awhile. The weather is good, a partially overcast sky but no rain, and no low pressure areas or storms ahead. We estimate we'll be making our southbound turn toward the ITCZ tomorrow night, and it will take us about 2 days to get to the northern boundary.

To me the trip is sort of divided into 3 legs, maybe to break it into manageable bites: the first is this 1430 mile stretch from the West Coast of the Americas to the place where we turn to cross through the ITCZ. The second is the ITCZ itself, aka the Doldrums, and the third is the last leg SW to the Marquesas.

Okay, is it time for a recap of exactly what this ITCZ thing is? Since I'm not able to get feedback, I will have to guess the answer is yes. Here's what I wrote in my blurb in February:

"The ITCZ - Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone - is a zone of confusion; a place where the top and the bottom of the world come together, wrapping around the Earth like a belt worn just a bit above the waist, like grandpa wears his. This is where we'll encounter the Dreaded Doldrums, stifling heat, lightening and rain, and where our patience is likely to be tested, from all that I have heard. Yippee!"

Now that I know a little more about the ITCZ, I can refine that info: It lays at approximately 3 degrees to 7 degrees north latitude, but moves around like a snake, and is a few hundred miles across. I'm not sure that "stifling heat" thing is accurate, at least not this time of year. And get this: Andre on Coup de Soleil, who is 6 days ahead of us and just emerged from the ITCZ on the south side, told us that in French it's called the "Nuit Noir" or something like that, because it's so dark at night, and he concurs -- no stars, no moon, no wind, no current. Black. Yippee!!!!