Marveling at the Night Sky

07/01/02

    Last night, we watched another movie.  This one was “Beat the Devil” with Humphrey Bogart, Gina Lolabrigida, and a number of other notable actors.  It was very good, though the picture quality was poor this time for some reason. 

   After the movie, everyone else went to bed and I stayed on watch for the 2000-2200 slot.  It was the middle of twilight when I emerged from the cabin at 2100, a mild glow in the western sky.  I could see the planet Venus shining like a beacon to the west, and to the east, only a couple of stars could now be seen against the blanket cast by the waning twilight.  There was not a cloud in the sky, and I spent the entire next hour sitting in the companionway, my arms resting on the cabin top, watching the night sky slowly unfold in front of me as the twilight slowly dissolved in the west.  At first, only a few stars were visible, and with each passing minute, the details of the heavens became a bit more prominent.   By the end of the hour, the entire milky way lay before me in all it’s glory.  Faint white clouds of stars and nebulae belted the center of the sky.  I was looking into the center of our galaxy.  Looking at all these stars, then looking at the vast expanse of empty sea surrounding me caused me to realize the insignificance of three guys on a 42 foot boat in the middle of nowhere.

    During the night the wind died again, and at the end of my 0200-0400 watch, we were making less than 2 knots.  Eric started the engine at 0600, and ran it until 0830, when we tried to unfurl the jib.  The jib wasn’t budging, and Eric went forward with the strap wrench to work it manually.  This was also not successful.  It appears that something is bent in the bottom part of the extrusion, and will need to be replaced when we get to Horta. 

    We made our Iridium calls to Brenda and Sue at 0900 (0700 EST), then turned the engine back on. 

    Later, David went up to the bowsprit, equipped with wrench and screwdriver (safety lines attached) to tighten up the bobstay some more, in hopes that will stretch out the headstay and enable us to pull out the jib again.  He was able to get 12-18 turns on the turnbuckle. 

    We are not yet ready to try the jib again, as there is NO wind.  As of 1130 the engine continues to run.  Monday is also shower day, and this is another thing to look forward to.  When I am in Horta, I need to try to buy a washcloth if possible, as this will help the shower process.  I also should make a note that white t-shirts should be avoided in favor of gray t-shirts, as the white ones look pretty awful after wearing for a week.  Luckily, the weather has been cool, so sweat has not (yet) become a problem.  When I feel myself start to sweat, I take off my shirt, to save from soiling it any more than I have to.  I have managed to avoid sunburn, limiting my exposure without shirt to short periods of time, and applying sunscreen.

    As of 1600, there is still no wind, and Eric has decided to go to Flores first, as we have enough fuel to motor there.  At this rate we should be there by 1700 tomorrow.  He is increasing the speed a little, to get us there earlier so we can check into customs.  Our plan is to  get there late tomorrow, then on Wednesday take on some diesel, which requires shuffling jerry cans back and forth in the dinghy, do a bit of sightseeing on the island, and leave late afternoon to sail overnight to Horta, arriving at Horta sometime Thursday.  It is important to arrive in Horta as early as we can, so if we need to order parts for the furler we can do it by the end of the week.  We expect to spend about 5 days in Horta, which I am looking forward to greatly.