Squall School
05 October 2022
• (15.76s, 161.5w)
by robin
Class started today with a review of Southern Hemisphere constellations. No birds to distract me. The sky is so dark even Orion gets lost in the crowd of stars. Using my phone to take notes I work my way north and south of Orion familiarizing myself with the shapes. Slowly learning Sirius, Canis Major, Lepus, and Columbia. Knowing stars by methodically observing them each night was one of the places women were able to enter science. In the 1800s, Maria Mitchell who grew up on the island where Mabel lived discovered a comet. She documented when a bright object that appeared suddenly and moved. Maria went on to be an astronomy professor at Vassar. She also led an expedition to the American West of women scientists when the men would not let her join them. I am a novice. I see a few shooting stars and then something Maria would have never seen,. Something bright and moving, a satellite catching the morning sun. I try to record it with my phone but the video of twinkling stars and the top of the mast that could make you seasickness.
The satellite is a harbinger of dawn. The sky turns grey, pink then blue and the ocean a molten gold as we move westward away from the rising sun. While the sky is clear overhead the eastern horizon has tall cumulus clouds. Time for squall school. Squalls are always a challenge. I practice measuring how far away each squall comes using the finger method. Then I work dealing with them. I have a tendency in a squall to take the helm ago be in control. This heroic steering through the rain and wind is not necessarily the best idea. If you can get the wind vane to steer you can watch the incoming squall and handle the reefing of the sail better. We are running with just the poled out Genoa (big iangular sail int the front kept steady with long aluminum pole). The only reefing is the Genoa. I have three squalls to practice with and manage to get the Genoa furled before the wind and rain hit all three times. The wind vane and I are working well together. When she steers I can watch the weather coming at us. Since they sneak up behind us watching behind you is difficult when steering.. Just like so many things, does not mater who steers but making sure the right information is essential. By depending on the windvane I get better information to time reefing.
All day the bananas continue to rain. Tomorrow we are going to be halfway to Tonga. A vanilla cake is in order. I explained to Ads and Yolanda on Windsong that I am worried our vanilla beans will get seized in New Zealand . They celebrate 500 miles out and halfway there. Banana bread for their celebration and for our breakfast. We all have a banana issue. They have identified us as the people on little bikes carrying bananas who passed by the fruit stand as they were provisioning.
The weather in Tonga looks less ugly and less cyclonic so we have shifted our track slight nor directly towards Vava'u. Perhaps next Thursday. Probably a lot more squall practice as we approach Tonga.
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