06/20/02 –
We tuned into Herb at 1600, but were not able to understand a word he said, as the signal was not coming in very well. Around this same time, the wind picked up, and we found ourselves sailing on a close reach at 6.5-7 knots, actually able to match the recommended GPS course (hereafter referred to as the Rhumb Line)! This was very exciting, and the favorable wind continued through my watch. I actually logged 21 miles on my watch! But then, when David came on watch, the curse returned, and we once again lost the wind. After patiently waiting, Eric finally decided to start the engine at 2230, to keep from beating the sail to death. This continued through the night, and when I came on at 0600 we were still becalmed. Eric is going to make pancakes for breakfast if the wind does not pick up, to take advantage of the calm seas. It’s kind of spooky to see nothing but light ripples extending to the horizon in all directions. At this point it has been three days since we saw any sign of another human being, the oil tanker. It is an odd feeling.
As of this morning, it has been one full week since we left Block Island. During that time we have logged 800 miles, 200 less than what we would like. We are hoping these conditions will change.
Today has been windless for the most part. It was not until after lunch that we were finally able to turn the engine off. At this time, we have a nice wind, unfortunately it is blowing us NorthEast. We will thus need to tack shortly. This sucks for me, because then my bunk will be on the windward side again, which is quite uncomfortable. We saw another ship today, a big tanker heading west. That is only two ships this week. Even a thousand miles out in the ocean, I see an occasional plastic bottle float by. You can really see the effects of our litter everywhere.
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