Day 136, Tuesday November 5th

Day 136 Tuesday November 5^th

Julie has the shift from 10 pm to 2 am and again from 6 am to 10 pm and Dawson is in between as one of us is always awake to assist with the what's and where's as our crew have never sailed on our vessel before.  The night shifts were magic.  Winds were high.  Sleep was great even though noisy.  When Julie takes over the helm at 6 a.m. the sky is light enough to see.  We have travelled faster than anticipated so we actually dipsy doodle a bit during the day to time hitting the gulf stream in daylight.  We have been advised on where to cross to minimize storms and head on currents.  We call this the "gate".  We have our 8:00 conversation with our buddy boats, however, a few are too far behind to hear.  We send them notes via Greg's delorme.  Irish Rover, Comocean, and Kassadera, all answer the 8 oclock call. Jack Tar and 40 Roses have fallen behind.  We later find out 40 Roses went into Savannah as they were being bounced around too much.

The sailing is excellent.  Julie cooks but it is a challenge as we are rolling with the waves.  We have a snack locker set up and drink lots of water.  We are thrilled there are no signs of seasickness from any of us.  We have all taken an anti seasick pill and plan on staying on them for at least 3 days.  Many crews will suffer seasickness which absolutely will debilitate a person.  That is why we wanted 4 people instead of 3 for sure.

Today is the start of breakage.  We have not closed the solar fan, and water was coming in, so Dawson duck taped it so the water would not come into the forward shower, however the light started to short out so we realize the the water was coming in with no where to go and headed over to our electric lights.  We will pass the next 5 days with no lights in the forward of the boat. 

Quickly we learn how much talent we have recruited with Greg.  He is a bottomless source of information.  He has also brought a sat phone, his Delorme and weather toys which is priceless.  Rob is wonderful too as Julie takes the helm from him and his mentorship and handover is very helpful. 

We are heading south and the current is northeast with winds out of the northeast.  Not the best combination.  There are a few rinses during the day.  Rinses is the new word for rain as we are anxious to get rid of the salt on our deck and canvas.  Salt is the new enemy in addition to moisture. 

We are all shocked how warm it is.  The ocean and air temperature are now muggy.  The inside of the cabin is starting to feel really wet.  There is no way to battle this at the time as all the port holes and hatches need to be closed up tight while we are underway.

The day passes and night comes again and we are cloaked in darkness with the stars shiny overhead.


Cheers
Julie and Dawson