Mr Toads Wild Ride

Thursday June 21

I awoke at 4:45, 15 minutes before I was due on watch. The first thing I noticed was the boat was riding much nicer than it had all night. Hmmmm "nice" I thought. Less than 5 minutes later the boat began to rock and roll. Ivor called into the cabin. For me? My watch? No... He wanted King. I hunkered down under the sheets while King was digging for his clothes. As he moved to leave the cabin he announced it was my watch; time to crawl out.

In the cock pit Ivor and King took care of bringing in the jib a bit. We already had one reef in the main and did not want to go on deck in the dark unless absolutely necessary. The weather had turned stormy and we had just been hit by a frontal line packing 30 k winds. The shortened jib seemed to do the trick.

The remainder of the day was dreary and rainy. The barometer has been falling like a stone since last night. Winds inched into the low 20s but were mainly 17-19 from the S. Herb's instructions from last night indicated winds would build during the late afternoon. Tomorrow we are expecting 20-25 k all day as the storm finally passes us. With luck, we will finally be able to turn N on Saturday to begin our turn toward the Azores.

The crew is holding up well but we are all ready to have this system get past us. Lots of sleeping and reading. Even King has put his To Do list aside and put his headphones on to listen to an audio book.

Friday June 22
Herb's report for us last night was straight and to the point. We would have gale force winds on Friday. He wished we were further S. where the winds would be in the 25 k range but nothing we can do about that at this point.

We added a 2nd reef to the main. Everyone had retuned to the safety of the cockpit and Ivor just shut off the engines. One minute he is sitting at the wheel then in a slow motion tilt he, along with the captain's chair, fell through the air and crash to the floor at the bottom of the steps leading into the door. Miraculously he was not seriously hurt. A small cut on his ankle and a few bruises he will no doubt feel in the morning. The chair, well another story. It is now strapped to the back of the cockpit for lack of a better place. It appears the weld holding the chair to the deck gave. Fixable in Horta but in the meantime standing at the wheel becomes a bit awkward.

The night saw 25-30k winds as promised. Ostinato did well. I continue to spend a lot of time in the horizontal position. The wind fell to 20K out of the SE during the morning but began to build again around 11:00. Ostinato was doing 8 K so it was decided to add the third reef to the main to make the ride a bit more comfortable. Following this effort, I threw turkey sandwiches at the guys and went back to bed.

Where the captains chair used to be

The chair has been strapped in until we reach Horta for repairs

Tropical Storm

June 18-19 Winds from the SE 4-7 k. Seas calm. On Monday we put up the spinnaker right after breakfast and flew it all day. Top speed was about 4.5 k. By Tuesday morning the seas were glassy and the wind indicator was doing circles.

Monday, the nightly "Herb Show" informed us the disturbance we had been staying S for had intensified and appeared to be developing into a tropical storm. The forecast for the 4 boats behind us was not good to hear. Some would be experiencing 30-40 k winds during the week. We are the last of the group to be called up. We are ahead of the group so appear to be in a better position as of today. Our winds will Increase but could be in the 25-30 k range from the NW. That is as long as we remain at our current latitude. We are well off our rhumb line now, adding several more days to the crossing. While always a stretch, a zbirthday arrival is no longer a possibility.

To give us additional distance between us and the storm we discussed with Herb the benefit to motoring for 24 hrs. He agreed that it was a good strategy so the light air sail came down and we turned on the starboard engine. It's anticipated that the wind will fill in from the NW Tuesday afternoon.

There's a bit of tension about the boat this morning and I'm feeling a bit anxious. I'm just getting my sea legs and fear a storm will have me incapacitated again. Still casseroles in the freezer and the guys are certainly able to fend for themselves but I hate not being able to do my share. King has drafted an email to go out to let folks know we are aware of the storm and we are attempting to download a weather fax to try to get a visual of what's happening.

On a lighter note, we had pancakes and bacon for breakfast. King's favorite breakfast. Might as well eat while we can. Beautiful sailing all day.

Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 5, June 16.
32.36 lat. 53.38 long.
Rain, wind ESE 10-15. Expect WSW later this afternoon.

I go to bed thinking about what I will make for breakfast. As soon as the breakfast dishes are cleared, I begin thinking about lunch and so the day goes thru dinner, ready to start the cycle over again. Overall, we have
eaten well. The menus I prepared before leaving have been really helpful. I don't follow them precisely but they remind me what I have on board and I cross each meal off as its completed.

Each crew eats differently. King eats like a bird. Ed is a big eater. And Cliff was dieting so you never knew what he would eat. Ivor is also a big eater so I've had to adjust to make sure there is enough to go around. My biggest mistake so far is coffee. Ivor likes his strong enough that you don't need a cup. King....more like dish water and then he adds cream and sugar. In fear that we would run out and I would have a caffeine melt down aboard, we made coffee compromises. The coffee will be a bit strong for King and a little mild for Ivor. Ivor also has a stash that he can raid if he needs a caffeine jolt. Day one of the trial worked well. King didn't notice and Ivor gave a thumbs up to the brew. If all the worlds problems were so easy.

One of the hardest things about being on a crossing like this is the lack of information about what's going on in the world. We have not been able to pick up BBC or VOA on the radio so all of us are clueless to what's happening in the world. Its only been 5 days But it gives you a very detached feeling. We have decided that as long as things are good on this small patch of the ocean, things are good.

Scribbles from the middle of the Atlantic

June 14
Today is day 3 of the ride to the Azores. We are at 32 degrees 38 minutes N and 58 degrees 59 minutes W. Thanks to Herb's forecasting we have skirted the nasty weather and still had enough wind to average 7 to 8 knots in 15 - 20 k winds from the NW. We are taking the Southerly route heading of 90 degrees. Tomorrow we plan to begin our northward turn. The forecast for today is more of the same with occasional rain. Its turned cool so we have all moved out of our island clothes to our Florida winter attire. The new canvas has us snug and dry. The top bench seat continues to be the choice seating.

Winds have lightened this morning to 10-15. This has helped my seasickness which has gotten progressively worse. I have not been able to do much more than dump the food out of the refrigerator and throw it at the stove. At that point Ed has taken over and I run for the bed (or the head). The guys have been great cleaning up too. The down side is our speed is down to 5.5 k and I haven't had dinner for 3 nights.

I have included pics of the morning activities. With the lighter winds, we shook the reef out of the main and Ivor and Ed gave the back porch a much needed wash down.

Halfway

Sunday June 17
Sunny, winds SW 10-15, lat 32.58 and long. 50.22.

Happy Fathers Day dad.

The GPS says we have about 150 more hrs to go. I have to admit the thought of being halfway does not bring great joy. Half means another half yet to go. Negative thinking but honest. Downwind is much easier on the stomach so I'm thankful for that.

A few of the trampoline bungee cords pulled loose last night as the result of wave action. The canvas cover for the dinghy also attempted to make a great escape but was captured in the nick of time. Unfortunately, there is no where to stop and fix these things properly so you do the best you can do to hog tie them on to the boat.

Azores ready or not

June 11
Last minute preparations have been underway all day in anticipation of our departure. Ivor arrived this afternoon. Yea! How lucky are we to have such great friends!

Clair and Bill sent me a few pics so a bit out of sequence but wanted to share.

This will be the last Blog for a few weeks. Everyone is doing last minute emails and Skype calls. I'll have plenty ready to upload when we arrive but in the mean time think good thoughts and westerly breezes in the 15 - 20 k range.

Haircut day.

June 10
Not mine! The guys. I haven't completely lost it. King and Ed lined up this morning for haircuts and beard trimmings. What trusting souls. The good news is there are only 2 small mirrors on Ostinato and they aint too great. I sat out the stool on the sugar scoops, they wrapped themselves in the plastic cape and I buzzed away. Honestly, the two were a bit fussy. You would of thought they were going back to the RBYC for dinner the way they kept checking themselves in the head mirror and coming back asking for "just a bit more here".

In addition to haircuts, and in honor of Ivor's eminent arrival, we decided to use the clothes washer on board for the first time and take advantage of the sunshine. We seem to have reoccurring incidents of ocean slipping in through open port holes and depositing itself across crew bedding. Everyone starts out with 2 sets of clean linen. After that, your on your own. And yes....here is the place I am required to say "King what a great idea it was to put a washer on board!"

Claire and Bill departed this afternoon but not until the three of us hiked completely around St George. What were we thinking. We can officially say we have seen it all including the dairy and goat farms (beach front of course - those are some contented cows) 2 forts and several secluded beaches. Bill finally commandeered a bus and the driver took pity on us accepting the last 2 bus tickets for the 3 of us. Thanks guys! We really enjoyed your visit. See you in Ireland!