Friday July 12

Waking at 04:00 I find Jim in the cockpit snoring peacefully away. It’s easily done, especially after the moon sets and the night gets thickly dark. Fatigue is a constant hazard. When the sails are set and the winds blow calmly, being on-board Sonsie can be like being tucked inside a lullaby. What with the soft, languorous sounds of water bubbling and gurgling by, and the rocking, swaying, sleepy motion, heads start sailing towards dreamland readily enough.

A quick check of the radar shows no other vessels,. Our course (320 True) and speed (5 knots in 6-7 knots of wind) are good, so I head down to pee. By the time I pull on some clothes and resurface something is awry: we are heading 150 True ! In the few minutes I was down below the wind backed 170 degrees - and our trusty wind vane has dutifully followed the wind and steers us accordingly.

Rather than speed off in the wrong direction I need to 1. hove to, and 2. wake Jim so as not to startle him with sudden movements and clattering rigging. He‘s so fast asleep that calling him does no good even though he is a mere metre away! Touching his leg I manage to wake him and he springs Into action mode, and we are soon on a starboard tack. We make good way for about an hour and then the wind dies down so on comes the motor. Meanwhile, we feast on eggs and toast.

The coffee is hot, eagerly anticipated, and ready to be poured when I mistime a movement in the rolling balancing act that is life aboard and knock it over. In a thrice it spills all over the galley! Instead of into our waiting cups it pours down into the pothole (pot compartment below the counter) splashing onto everything inside it! Not content with that in less than an instant it has lurched over to tip again all over the stovetop which, being gimballed, makes sure that the coffee gets sloshed about, splashing down onto the floor, seeping into the wine cellar (small space below the cabin floorboards)! Scrub, rinse, and clean time!

Later, after Jim has a nap, I make a new pot, this time keeping it in the low sink so if it decides to be naughty, no problem, it won’t be able to do as much damage. Jim pours milk in his coffee, realizing as it slides from the container that it has coagulated. I smell it for hm - sour! so another cup of coffee gets dumped down the drain!

I’m sure wherever you are, dear reader, you had a more interesting day ! We write these accounts for those who are curious about life aboard and our sea journeys!

With it being so windless the sea has flattened somewhat and the sun is shining. It’s scrub, rinse, and clean time again - this time for us! We go onto the forward deck in our birthday suits to use the shower bags. These 2-1/2 gallon plastic bags lie tethered on the deck in the sunshine to be passively solar heated. We tie them up in the rigging when we want to use them, unscrewing the little nozzle attached to a short, wildly swinging hose, and try get most of the water on us without sliding around the deck, or slipping off all together!

What a delight! What an amazing treat it is to get clean ! We brought our towels but air dry in the breeze and warm sunshine, admiring the blue blue blue.

Jim keeps busy making water to replenish the watermaker tank, and calculating diesel usage to date and requirements for the final leg of this passage. Meanwhile I make a banana walnut cake.

By mid-afternoon we pick up the southeasterlies. At nightfall we sail along on a port broadreach beset by some blustery squalls. When all looks settled, sails and vane set just right, whoever is on watch nips down to grab a drink or go pee. But the wind watches what we are up to and plays tricks on us: gusting to double strength and heeling us over drastically just as we are in a compromised position, pumping away (flushing!) as quick as we can! A quick scramble back up into the cockpit to reduce sail, adjust heading, do whatever it takes to calm Sonsie down. Half asleep in the quarter berth down below during one of these heel-over’s, I hear Jim quietly sing away: “Nothing faster ..than disaster”!