Day 9

Sunday, February 6, 2022, 12:04

SOG 6.1kts

It’s officially the longest sail I have ever been on, second was the delivery of Tiger from Bermuda to Antigua with Neil and Ronel Holtzhausen on their C&C 41, in November of 2007.

A sistership to Tiger and Bermuda to Antigua map with distance.

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We had a very busy day yesterday. After I showered, a boat shower, using very little water. It was determined that we needed to make water, not an easy task, though well worth the effort.  

To run the watermaker we had to set up the generator; the other boat charging systems, including the boat’s diesel engine, do not produce enough power to run the watermaker. We emptied out the “pit”, where the generator is stowed of enough stuff to access it. We pulled out bags of clean linens that we weren’t using and a couple of duffle bags. Once we had clear access to the generator, we pulled it up on deck, filled its gas tank and lashed it onto the poop deck. It started right up and was attached to Avocet’s power, producing the necessary power.

To run the watermaker, which is also locaed in the “pit”, it is a multi-step process, first we have to open the thru-hull fitting allowing saltwater into the watermaker. I climbed into the pit so that I could increase/decrease the pressure of the water going into the watermaker. John handled the switches at the Nav-Station, turning on the power, priming the system and then turning on the pump that forces the water through multiple very fine filters and a reverse osmosis thingy, to desalinate the seawater. Within seconds of John powering the pump there was a POP, then there was a loose hose with water pouring out of it. I yelled to stop the system, which John did. The problem was obvious and I caught it within seconds. We didn’t open the discharge valve for the excess water that was being desalinated to escape overboard. I yelled down for a screwdriver and in about two minutes we were back in business. Discharge valve is now open, we restarted the process, it went off without a hitch. In about two hours we had a full tank of fresh water. We kept the generator running for another hour to recharge the house batteries.

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We are constantly adjusting the sails. The wind speed and wind direction determine which sails we use and how we adjust them to best capture the wind keeping Avocet moving in the right direction at decent speed.

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John set up a Jockey pole for use with the stay sail, it’s to be used in the same manner as the whisker pole, same thing only smaller, adjusting the foresails’ clew, keeping it where we want it.

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On the Thursday before our departure we went to three stores looking for cornstarch, and we struck out. Going through the galley cabinet I found an unopened box. John had brought a third checked bag at a cost of $200, full of food. My first thought when he told us about his $200 bag was- y’know they have stores in Lanzarote, right.  My second thought was you paid $200 to bring $40 worth of food with you, why? So far out of that bag I have used bread flour, whole wheat flour, yeast and when I heat up the chicken coconut soup I will use that damned cornstarch to slightly thicken it. 

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We opened the cooler that Dennis and I filled with vacuum sealed meals that we froze in Lanzarote. It was just as we expected it to be after a week- nothing was frozen, though it was all still cold. Dennis emptied Avocet’s drop-in refrigerator and I passed him down, through one of the deck hatches, most of the food that was in the cooler. He layered as much as he could in the refrigerator, leaving just mashed potatoes, carrots and mushrooms in hopes of using them before they became fish food.

We are down to the onboard refrigerator as our only way to keep food cold. There is no more ice except for the few cubes that are made each day by the refrigerator. Those cubes are necessary for crew morale…cocktail hour. We are using one of the empty coolers for storage and another has mine and Dennis’ laundry in it with detergent and water, the boat’s movement is agitating it. A little later we will rinse with salt water and then with fresh water before hanging it to dry.

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Just before cocktail hour we hooked a fish, Dennis yelled “fish”, John responded and went on deck to help if needed. I was filling my water bottle and did not hear him, Jens was in the galley with headphones on and did not hear him either. As I climbed up on deck through the companionway, I saw Dennis lifting a small Mahi Mahi into the cockpit. It flapped a bit and got some blood splatter in the cockpit sole, Dennis dispatched it of its life and we went on to enjoy our Cocktail Hour. Sliced tomatoes, Parmigiano-Reggiano and boquerones drizzled with EVOO. Washed down with gin and tonic for Dennis, John and I; Jens as usual opted for some Irish whisky and soda.

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Cocktails out of the way Dennis went below to finish putting dinner together: Tagine with shrimp and chicken served over couscous.

While Dennis was below, I filleted the fish, throwing the head, bones, guts and skin overboard. We were left with two nice, yet small fillets, I think it will be just enough for tomorrow night’s dinner. We gave the cockpit a good cleaning and we were ready to go on to tonight’s dinner, with a second round of drinks and a half a gummy to wash it all down.

Dennis served up the tagine, we ate, listened to music and chatted until about 9:30PM, which was great because I had the first watch, which was now half over.

Nothing happened during the rest of my watch and at 11PM I went below for another solid 7 hours of sleep.

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During the night John got an updated weather report from Chris Parker. Chris is the Chief Forecaster at The Marine Weather Center and has been helping mostly small private boats with weather forecasts and routing advice since 2010. He told us that we should head south for an additional three hundred miles before heading west again. This was so we could avoid a couple of days of very light winds followed by a day of heavy wind and seas. Going south should provide more consistent wind and smaller seas. This is all good, at some point we were going to have to go further south in order to line up on Guadeloupe’s latitude.

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I am in the process of making another loaf of focaccia, this one with some whole wheat flour, green olives and rosemary mixed into the dough.

I also made some chicken apple salad to eat whenever.

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