Gary:
We sailors seem to be a superstitious lot. There are all sorts of rules that must be followed while on the sea. No bananas on board, no women, whistling is bad or good (I can't remember) etc. I've never really subscribed to any of them, we have both women and bananas on board... Some times I wonder though....
Despite being a female, Karina has her own rules while on board. No job must ever be declared as easy before being started. In fact nothing must ever be said period, that could be changed a moment later by the sea gods. She of course is now quite angry about my last blog post. I made the fatal mistake of saying that things were quiet on Sea Rover. I think I also said that things were unexciting. In my defense I'm not sure yesterday was all my fault. I believe she sent an email to a colleague stating that she was bored...
Yesterday started off benign enough. We had pleasant winds from a good direction and actually had enough to keep us moving. The only concern I had was making sure we were sailing in a direction that would put us in a good position for the storm that was coming in a few days. This concern actually deprived me us a fair amount of sleep the night before because I was sure that neither Karina nor Nadine were paying enough attention to the sails. I would wake up in a daze, leap up on deck and accuse them of missing the expected wind shift. I would then realize that this accusation was unfounded as nothing had changed and sheepishly slink back into my bunk. The wind shift came mid morning and luckily it combined with light airs. Karina went back to check on our wind steering device (its mounting plates have developed a small crack) and realized we were dragging a 3 inch floating line behind the boat.
We tried a number of proven techniques to dislodge the trapped line but it would not let go so down came the sails and in the water I went to try to sort out what needed to be done to free it. Taking sails down in 1.5 meter seas unfortunately does not stop the boat. You can also imagine that in 1.5 meter seas, as the boat is floating, it also moves 1.5 meters up and down. This makes for tricky maneuvering underwater to avoid being crushed by the hull. My early years of getting towed in various devices behind our powerboat at the cottage prepared me well for this. On went the mask and fins and over the side I went hanging on to a line that would allow me to stay with the boat as she bobbed along at a lazy 1.5 knots. I luckily managed to quickly free the line from the prop and was back on board unscathed. Thoughts of Jaws waiting for me in the depths below didn't occur until after I was out of the water.
We got the sails up and the boat moving again and quickly realized that the wind was now coming from exactly where we wanted to go. Over the next 30 minutes the wind continued to build as did the seas so we now had the swell from the west and the wind waves from the south east making for very very very unpleasant sailing. Karina and I both turned our standard shades of green and settled in for an uncomfortable afternoon. Nadine decided that the movement on the boat called for Naan bread and a spicy Indian dish and spent most of the evening in the kitchen. I am sure despite the amazing food she is providing, I will end up hating Nadine by the end of the trip for her inability to feel any seasickness what so ever. My only consolation is that we have developed a new leak and it is right over her bunk. At least we are all miserable on board...
That was not the end of our adventures yesterday but this post is long and Im going green and starting to sweat again so the remainder of the tale must wait until tomorrow.
In the interest of saving my marriage, this post contains no foreshadowing, forward looking statements or any comment on what the future might hold.
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