|
 1,200
nautical miles to go. We have come 1,200 nautical miles. It may be the midway
point in our crossing of the Atlantic, but it feels like the three quarter point
for me. So much has been going on trying to keep a fast pace and dealing with a
full gale that my bearings for time are somewhat off kilter.
The weather outlook appears promising for making the
second half of the crossing straight forward. The wind is predicted to come
from the northwest soon and stay there for the next week as we hurry our way
east. Mind you, the prediction is not a guarantee of anything. But with our
progress toward the east pacing the weather in its own progress east, it is
possible that we could have consistent wind direction for a week.
If this should come to pass, between adequate wind and
some motor sailing, we should be able to sustain 175 miles a day and make
Falmouth, England on May 25th. If we then can make a fast turn around for fuel,
Guest Crew exchanges, and laundry (oops, do not forget Customs!), we should be
on our way again May 26 and hurrying off for Copenhagen - another 1,000 miles
away. However, one badly timed and positioned weather system could still blow
our chances. But short of that, I think we have a chance to achieve the goal of
arriving on time. Still, it is going to remain iffy for some time.
 Life
aboard with the Force 10 gale over a span of nearly three days has not brought
with it any lowered moral for any aboard. PRIDE II rode the swells in such a
elegant fashion and sailed so well before the gale that no one seemed to feel
anything but confidence in what was going on. The crew and guest crew are
careful, diligent, and cheerful in all of their efforts and responsibilities.
With the gale abating, maintenance projects are appearing again -
understandable considering that during the gale there was not much to do but go
on watch or go to one's bunk and sleep. Three days of that would bring boredom
to anyone.
While the crew has been battling the gale. I have been
struggling with where to point the ship to protect her, as well as how best to
use the weather as a means of crossing the Atlantic as quickly as possible.
While the crew come and go between their bunks and the deck, I spend my time
looking for weather information and conjuring the implication of each analysis
and forecast. Four times a day, every 6 hours, there is new information to
consider. Some of it is in graphic form and some in text form. In between
these times, I am either taking a nap, evaluating the sail configuration,
changing it, or maneuvering the vessel through a jibe. Sleep comes in the form
of short naps interspersed with keeping tabs on the crew, the ship, the local
conditions, the big picture, and considering the effects of all of our little
steps on the big picture.
 Administering
to the ship is, of course, a constant thing. Being in a Force 10 gale has
presented some novel challenges. Jibing PRIDE II's loose footed foresail, while
it is reefed, is not something we do regularly. In fact, it has never been
done, much less done in 40 to 50 knots of wind. So there has been quite a bit
of on-the-job learning about what will work and how to do it. Let me describe
what I mean.
With a loose footed, gaff headed sail (such as our
foresail), the normal jibing technique is to sheet it in tight first, then alter
course and let the sail go aback before passing it across the mainmast to its
new sheet. The reason for sheeting it in flat is to provide some control to the
swing of the gaff. An uncontrolled swing can result in damage. However,
whether reefed or not, sheeting in the sail in strong winds is a difficult
thing. To help make it feasible to sheet in with high winds, you can de-power
the sail by lowering the peak of the gaff. Sometimes this is referred to as
"scandalizing the peak." Having done this, one is dealing with less than half
of the sail area of the fully hoisted sail. But there is a problem aboard PRIDE
II with the gaff. It is just a little too long to raise and lower during
scandalizing to pass by the course yard braces. Therefore, to get around that,
we lowered the jaw till the peak could clear. This solution causes another
problem in that the foot of the sail lowers to the deck because there is no boom
to keep it up off the deck. To avoid having the foot of the sail swing through a
jibe and take out all the deck gear in its way, we used temporary halyards from
each mast (we call them gantlines) to lift the tack of the sail in a "tricing"
fashion and to lift the clew high so that the foot of the sail can swing without
hitting an obstruction. Finally when all is ready, the foresail looks like some
trashy tarp of a very weird shape that is filled with 40 plus knots of wind.
Then it remains to select a "lull" in the weather and turn the ship through a
jibe. Once the turn is completed, the crew must hoist the sail back into
position. No easy matter with so much wind in it. This evolution could take an
hour from start to finish. A long time in one context, but not so long in
another. At least there is something to do for everyone.
Cheers,
Captain Miles |
