Day 11

Tuesday, February 8, 2022, 10:15AM

SOG 5.2kts

We just deployed the spinnaker again, it looks like another day of light winds. Yesterday we were able to fly the spinny for about 6 hours before the wind diminished too low to keep it up. We ended up motoring throughout the night. We are hoping for more wind, not too much, just more. Seas are flat, it’s amazing that everything is so calm even though we are hundreds of miles to the closest landfall.

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The big one got away! At twilight last night we hooked another fish. This time when Dennis called “fish” we all came running. This baby was much larger than the one we caught 2 nights ago. Dennis reeled it in close to the boat, but the rod was still tied to the rod holder. We do this to keep it in place in rough weather or if a fish was to pull the rod out of the holder. I reached in between Dennis and the aft-lifeline to which the rod holder was attached and untied the line. Dennis handed off the rod to me so he could position himself a little bit forward where there is more space to maneuver. All the while this large iridescent bright blue Mahi Mahi was splashing away at the surface in a desperate attempt to escape our stomachs. John freed his newly purchased gaff, a big ass hook on a long handle used to bring fish from the water’s surface onto the boat. 

Dennis grabbed the gaff and gaffed our potential dinner at the gills, just where you are supposed to, right below the gills. As he was lifting PD from the surface to the deck, the big fucker thrashed it’s way of the gaff, fuck.

All hope for another Mahi Mahi meal was not lost yet, the hook was still in its mouth. I still held the rod keeping the fish at the surface, ready for another attempt with the gaff. Which Dennis made it look like a Brady to Gronk pass late in the fourth quarter to sure up another win. This time Dennis got our 12lbs of blue food porn on the deck, the fucker was on the deck!! However, it gave one last mighty thrash jettisoning itself free of the gaff and the hook, sending the lure flying. The lure quickly found its way into Dennis’ sock. We all thought it was his leg, stopping us all dead in our tracks. No one wanted to move the wrong way, possibly helping embed one or more of the lure’s nasty hooks further into Dennis’ leg. While we all stood there looking at Dennis’ leg, which was fine, but we were motionless, the big one flopped over the side and took off like a bullet. Another day, another fish tale.

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During our nightly ritual, cocktail hour, we came up with a procedure of what needs to be done next time- Make sure the rod is secured with a one pull release knot- Fish on line, yell fish. Start reeling it in. Put the engine (if running) in idle. Lower the solar panels. Move the rod forward, so there are less obstructions while boarding the fish. Since we don’t have a net we will have a large handled grocery bag available to use as a net if necessary. With this thought out procedure, hopefully the next one doesn’t get away.

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Speaking of fish, well mammals; most days we have had visits from dolphins. They typically swim alongside or in our bow wake, once, so far, they did a few jumps out of the water right on our starboard side. They do look really cool, like they are having fun. I hope they stay away from our fishing lure.

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There is concern that the “house batteries’’ may have been compromised. Most boats have house batteries, used for just about everything except starting the engine. The engine has its own dedicated starting battery that is wired separately to insure that you will always have the juice to start your engine. Unbeknownst to me, if you run your batteries too low, to 55% or lower, they will no longer hold a charge as well as they did before the low discharge. A few days ago the batteries got down to just under that 55% number, so we are keeping a closer eye on them making sure we don’t let that happen again, as well as seeing if the batteries were truly compromised.

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I just took a break from writing to use the head, and…I clogged the toilet! Fuck! We are figuring out the best way to resolve this situation. Currently, I have salt water on to boil to see if a bit of hot water will soften things up. 

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Late yesterday afternoon, we decided, in an effort to keep the spinnaker full of air, to drop the mainsail. The thinking was that with the wind behind us, the main was blocking air more than it was capturing it. When we dropped the main we noticed that one of the battens, a semi-rigid membrane used to help a sail keep its shape, was missing the set screw used to hold the batten in place at the luff (front) of the sail. The battens typically go into a cloth sleeve stitched laterally into the sail, though I have also seen vertical battens as well, they just aren’t as common. John was able to find a replacement screw and the fix was in, done in about 10 minutes.

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Before leaving home, in Arlington, my kids, Shane and Cate slipped notes into my duffle bag for me to read during my trip. On the outside of Shane’s he instructed me to open it “after we were aboard for a while”, “when I was homesick” or “just feeling lonely”. I decided that I would open them at the approximate half way point of our trip, we are not quite there yet; with this light wind it may still be a while. I am very much looking forward to opening those letters and thinking about my kids. I love’em.

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Back to the toilet- I made a shitty situation even worse. I tried forcing the pump handle to push the clog through. For a moment I thought I was successful, the handle moved freely, but it wasn’t moving any water; I blew a gasket, on the toilet, not me personally. John has a spare pump on board which is great, however, useless until the clog is cleared. I shut the through-hull fitting, which allows water into and waste out of the toilet before I tried unsuccessfully, to unhook the waste hose to clean it out; nope not happening. Shitty getting even shittier. I also started to remove the old pump, when I took the pump off the base it looked as though the flapper mechanism which separates the water and waste was installed upside down and was stuck at an awkward angle. This may have caused the handle to move freely without discharging water. So, I flipped the flapper and put the pump back on its base. When we clear the clog we will find out if the flapper was part of the problem or if we have to replace the pump itself. It was just mentioned that we have a snake on board. After lunch I may take a crack (intended) at the clog using the snake.

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In the early hours of this morning we saw, on AIS, our first boat in 4 days.

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Last night’s dinner was Bolognese with Penne, Parmigiano-Reggiano, EVOO and more of my boat made Focaccia. The Bolognese is part of the bulk food that Dennis and I cooked and froze at Villa Azul in Puerto Calero. It was quite good and got rave reviews from Jens and John. This morning we ate the last of the Tortilla Espanol and Chorizo. Jens is in the galley putting together some chicken salad wraps for lunch.

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Overall our food supplies are good, we have put a huge dent in them, but the fridge is still full and we still have John’s canned goods from his $200 checked bag to fall back on, if we need to.

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Gin on the other hand is getting low. What will we do? We still have some beer, vodka and rum, we’ll have to see where each cocktail hour takes us.

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The winds are currently very light, we are flying the spinnaker, with winds so light we are only moving about 4 knots. Winds are supposed to remain light through tomorrow night, then should pick up for our tack westward.

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