Bermuda to Azores, Day 2: Welcome to the Doldrums!
I went to bed around 9:00 PM last night after a full day of great sailing in flat seas, 5 to 6 knots closed haul with almost no heeling, and a nice little current helping us to make speed in the right direction.
I don’t think that Ryan and I have ever had such a smooth start to a crossing before and for once, getting in our offshore rhythm has been fun and easy.
No one onboard is seasick, and we were able to immediately put ourselves on the same watch schedule as last time.
I (Sophie) am on from 4:00 AM to 8:00 AM, followed by Anett between 8:00 AM and 12:00 PM.
At 12:00 PM, I cook lunch and we all gather in the cockpit to eat until 2:00 PM. Ryan takes over until 6:00 PM, at which time I cook dinner so we can eat together in the cockpit.
Anett takes her night watch from 8:00 PM to 12:00 AM, followed by Ryan, who continues until 4:00 AM at which time I take over.
We all really enjoy this watch schedule. I have more time to prepare some yummy foods, Anett gets to sleep through the night and Ryan gets to sleep all morning until it is time for lunch.
I usually stay up for a little while after dinner to watch the sunset with Anett until it is time for me to go to bed.
So last night, when I left the cockpit to go crawl into our cabin after our perfect day of sailing, I was expecting one of the best nights of sleep I’ve ever had at sea.
And for a while, it was! It took me less than five minutes to fall hard asleep, and I was OUT.
To understand what happens next, you need to know that I sleep right next to the engine. Only a thin piece of plywood separates me from our 24-horsepower Yanmar tractor machine, and that baby is LOUD.
It sounded like something exploded right next to me when Anett fired up the engine between 10:00 and 11:00 PM, and I jumped up in bed, hitting my head on the ceiling in the process.
While we were able to catch some small pockets of wind yesterday, it seemed like we had “finally” entered proper doldrums territory.
So I pushed a pair of earplugs in my ears, grabbed my pillows and blanket and moved to the salon’s settee on port side. I hope that one day, before the passage is over, I’ll get my perfect night of sleep.
Lucky for me, we have at least another 14 days to go!
The engine has been on all night (still is), and my forehead is a bit sore.
On the bright side, we took advantage of the flexibility that motoring gives us to turn Polar Seal a little farther to the East, where we are catching some fantastic current.
As I am writing this, our speed is 7.7 knots over ground, which is a lot for us!
This is our last stretch before catching those long awaited westerlies, and if we continue making this speed, it should happen sometime this afternoon.
In the meantime, the sea is like glass, the moon is shining brightly over us and the sun is rising among the clouds in a beautiful display of pink, purple and orange colors reflecting in the water.
Bring it on day three!
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Playlist of the day: "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" by Dead or Alive