I only have one watch tonight but when Mike wakes me up I feels so bad with a headache he takes my watch for me. I get up hour and a half later and do the second half. It is pitch black again and Jeannius is all over the place even with a reefed genoa. The winds constantly reach 30 to 40 knots. I feel seasick for the first time at night and can’t wait to get to the San Blas islands where I can sleep all night in the calm.
When I wake in the morning unfortunately I feel just as bad. The headache pain is coming from my neck which is dodgy at the best of times. I think it is from constantly trying to hold myself upright on watch while the boat is pitching and heaving. Mike says our neck muscles will eventually get stronger (he has this problem to a degree as well). I will probably end up having neck muscles like a weight lifter! Lovely and feminine!!
Jeannius slaloms through huge waves, time and time again. One turns the boat round 90 degrees and scatters stuff all over the galley – nothing breaks but it is a bit of a mess and we lost the ginger nuts for a while! I was in bed when it happened and I thought the boat was about to turn over. Jim says one hull lifted completely but Mike disputes this. Whatever, it is a horrible feeling and I feel scared for the first time.
Everything, and I mean everything is covered with a thick layer of salt. Even inside the boat the soft furnishings and surfaces feel cagy and damp to the touch. Salt spray is all over the crew too. We all hate this feeling and can’t wait to feel clean and dry again.
Waves break over back of boat and into the cockpit at times. The weather forecast says the waves will be up to 11 feet. I look at the monsters and think “no way”. Mike then explains that they measure the height from the sea surface so the wave height for an 11 foot wave prediction is actually more like 23 feet.
Mike changes to steering a compass course on autopilot instead of steering to the wind because the waves are so high the wind instruments are getting confused and the autopilot does not know which way to steer. This allows him to put out more genoa. By this time I am past caring.
Late in the afternoon I finally stop feeling sick but carry on taking the tablets. My neck is still bad though.
Eventually the wind drops to 20 to 25 knots and with a full genoa still out we get 7 knots. We don’t want to arrive in the San Blas islands before daylight so Mike slows the boat down and takes some of the genoa back in as the winds are predicted to pick up again tonight. Great. I have two watches!
On my first watch I see a large blob on the radar and eventually make out a ship’s lights. I call Mike, feeling guilty for waking him, but I am unsure of anti collision tactics and don’t know how close I should let him come before acting. The ship is miles away though and no problem so Mike go back to his sleeping position in the salon.
Then I see another one. This time I am determined to watch and watch until I can see what is happening for myself. While I am watching both the light behind me and the radar screen, Mike wakes up and comes out to see what I am peering at. It turns out that the very big ship which is approaching at great speed towards us is none other than the planet Mars, rising over the horizon. What a plonker!
Our midday position is: 10 deg 42 min N, 76 deg 48 min W
Distance so far: 990 nautical miles
I recall exactly the same thing happening to me Jean (although I thought it turned out to be Venus, i may be wrong). This enormous light came from nowhere, right behind us, not on the radar at all, I thought we were about to be run over any minute.
ReplyDeleteCould it have been Venus Mike or would it have been Mars?
Terry
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