Day 11 10-Apr-2016 Sunday.
Imagine my shock when I woke up in the morning and noticed an inflated life vest on the cabin hours.
Did something happen last night that I was not aware of? Was there a man overboard exercise? We had a good laugh after Armon relayed his story and marked it down to the ghosts of Confidence - making sure everyone was alter! Now where did we put those replacement cannisters?
After 2 days of squalls and another of constant rain we were ready for a calm day. Speed has varied throughout the day but seas remain relatively calm.It was nice making breakfast on the level. Crepes with lime butter, Northern Ontario St. Joe’s Maple Syrup, bacon, coffee and fresh squeezed orange juice. Today we were really civilized and actually ate at the table with plates instead of dog bowls on our laps.
Time to tackle some jobs now that our tummies are full.
Autopilot: It had stopped working yesterday and David thought that the shaft had disconnected internally but it ended up being a loose set screw on the external drive. There is that eternal pessimist again. And what did we learn today David? The repairs went well thanks to my skinny fingers!
Next was laundry. I now had 12 inches of rain water accumulated in the bucket. I washed some underwear and bathing suits in salt water and Zero and then rinsed them in the fresh water. Here is Confidence on laundry day!
Also took out the bedding and put it on the rails to freshen up.
Next was the head: I dug out the replacement from the V-berth - no easy task but then what task on a bot underway is ever easy! David greased the cylinder, put new rings in and realigned the handle. It is ready to go in tomorrow. This job took over three hours as it was and the boys were just not up to doing any more work. They would later learn to regret not taking advantage of the calm seas as things got rough and stayed that way for the next 10 days. But I did not complain = it is not a job that I can do nor do I want to do and the boys do not make me empty the slop pail - so I will endure!
Reefing lines were replaced
1200 Noon Position: 7* 20’ N 116* 19’W
Cloudy skies Seas rippled with 3 foot swell
Courses 270 Winds from NE at 5 knots
Speed 2.5 knots
distance Travelled in 24 HoursL 126 nm
Distance Travelled to Date: 1250 nm
The better part of the day was spent in better winds - up to 5.5 knots. We were surrounded by squalls - some of which were pretty dark. How we managed to stay out of reach of all of them - who knows. We like to give credit to the navigational skills of our trusted Captain! Anyway, we were like the icing in an oreo cookie, enjoying the show but not really being part of it! We experienced a few drops of rain hear and there but for the most part we remained dry.
Change up for dinner required: how to make Chicken Mirabella without an oven? The ingredients were the same - I just had to double the liquid amounts so that the chicken was covered. Served up with boiled potatoes and green beans. No leftovers today!
After dinner it looked like we were going to be hit with another squall - rolled in the genoa, closed the port holes, started up the motor.There again - the winds went squirrelly but not very strong and very little rain. The big dump just went ahead of us.
At midnight a good one hit us just as Armon and David were doing their watch change. I slept through it all! We were heeled over, lots of rain. The rest of the night was uneventful.
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