Well, after I sent out the update last night, our autopilot unit failed. The unit on the masthead, which senses wind direction and speed, appears to have fallen off. Ten minutes later… I take that back – I thought it might have fallen into the “stack pack,” which is where the sail goes when we […]
Month: May 2009
CRISIS AVERTED BY OH GREAT CAPTAIN
What can you say about a captain who understands that if you cut the wire carrying the data, you will be left with a functioning autopilot – steering by compass course (which is the way we always have it steer anyway?). What can you say about a captain who, even though he is seriously lacking […]
PEACEFUL
< Current Time: 2:53 AM Current Position: North 4 degrees, 32 minutes, West 34 degrees, 11 minutes Hi, Everyone. Thanks for your prayers and good wishes. We are very relieved. “All’s well that ends well,” comes to mind. At least that’s how I’m feeling this evening. The boat is gliding rather peacefully along – not […]
SHAKE, RATTLE, ROLL … AND A NEW REEFING LINE INSTALLED
Current time: 2:25 AM Monday Current Position: North 6 degrees, 20 minutes; West 36 degrees, 25 minutes Hi, Everyone. I’m sitting in the pilothouse on my watch, as usual. The boat is racing along at 8.5 knots, even though the jib is reefed to about half its size and the mainsail is on its second […]
HOW WE GOT HERE, AND THE LATEST BITS AND PIECES
Current time: 2AM Current position: North 7 degrees 55 minutes, West 38 degrees 59 minutes Hi, Everyone. Well, I’m rested. I actually felt ambitious when I got up; the pilothouse floor is now wiped free of salt, the clothes have been brought in from their drying lines, and I’ve marked our position on the paper […]
SHIPS PASSING IN THE NIGHT; AGENT BROWN
Current time: 3AM Current Position: North 9 degrees, 32 minutes West 41 degrees, 41 minutes Hi there. “Ships passing in the night” sounds so romantic – unless one of the “ships” is yours and the other ship is a tanker getting closer by the minute. I think most people think of at-sea collisions as […]
WIND, SPEED, ROOTS
Current Time: 1:52AM Current Position: North 11 degrees 13 minutes, West 44 degrees 10 minutes Hi, Everyone. I don’t know *exactly* how hard it’s blowing right now, because when our masthead (top of the mast) wind indicator unit fell down, that sensing function fell with it. However, having sailed for many years where it BLOWS […]
ONE TACK, LONG TIME; SURFING; FISH; MATTRESS PORT
Current Time: 3:17AM Current Position: North 12 degrees 58 minutes, West 46 degrees 44 minutes Hi, Everyone. Some days are pretty uneventful. When you’re at sea in a boat, that’s good. We are on the starboard tack, which means that the wind is coming from the starboard (right when facing the bow) side of the […]
THE CAPTAIN SPEAKS; ZOOMING ALONG IN THE MOONLIGHT
Current Time: 1:30 AM, although we must be ready for a time change soon; the sun went down just before 10PM this evening… Current Position: North 14 degrees 38 minutes, West 49 degrees 06 minutes Hello Everyone: Before I say anything, I’d like to thank my wonderful brother, Chris, for getting this out each night to […]
BIRDS, MILDEW CITY, BRUISES, EYES
Current Time: 1:38 AM Current Position: North 16 degrees 30 minutes, West 51 degrees 33 minutes Hi, Everyone: 1 PM in the afternoon, Saturday – from Philip: I’m seeing a change in the bird life. We always have birds coming around and looking for fish that are disturbed by the passage of the boat. Either […]