Day 6 At Sea

We are just meandering our way today through the lumpy waters west of Bermuda with no need for speed or sails. With the news about the adverse wind and sea conditions around the Gulf Stream and waters North of 32 latitude from Thursday through Sunday, we decided to cut cookies down here in the lower lats and wait out the storm. We could be fixing things but the things that have broken to date are either fixed or cannot be without parts we don't have. Yet, life is good and we are baking a chocolate cake as I write this post.
As we departed Francis Bay last Friday and raised our main we saw two of our battens start to slide out. We quickly dropped sails, shoved them back in, velcro closed the openings, and got underway again. Day one was starting out with a challenge. When we shoved the battens in, our stack pack loops revealed their age and two of those ripped out as well. Day Two the sun rose and we looked up at our main and saw one batten was gone and the other was on its way, again we dropped the sail trying to save it but the dip in the sail worked against us and sent it flying out of our reach. Two gone, two still there. Day 3 as we ate lunch our loose footed mainsail out-haul (which hold the back end onto the boom)blew out. The only thing holding it was our reef line. A quick thinking Dave pulled out some reserve line and he improvised a fix--still working and not chaffing. Day 4 Dave turned 63 and the boat gave him respect, Not one thing went wrong or broke. Day 5 we discovered the other two battens had left their home so we added new battens to our refitting list. Day 6 has been a day where we could catch up on sleep and relax our bodies, seas are 1-3 with an occasional 6 foot roller, with winds of less than 10.
On my late watch (2AM-7AM)many lofty thoughts take me wandering through the meaning of life, man, relationships, etc. and meaningful AaHaa moments stream through my mind, but I always stray to lesser ideas by the end of my watch. Such was the case last night/morning...I watched the wobbled shape moon change from its bright yellow reflection to a deep orange red on its approach to the western horizon. When it slid into the Atlantic it was more blood red than orange which led me to ponder the old saying about the red sun in morning, sailor take warning...is there such a rhythm for the moon? Well, in about two hours I would see the sun rise and compare--the sun rose redish at first and then faded to a pale rising sun. My musing then went off to the lip stitched across the top of my coat pockets (Yes, it's time for fleece coats and long pants) which made it hard to get my cold hands into them. Is it designed to keep water from running in? Perhaps to keep from snagging things as you move about the boat? Or does it keep things from falling out when you go to pick it up upside down? It sure gives a trimmed line to the front. Bet it would look great on the back pockets of pants, better than the flaps that never lays flat and the corners curl up making your butt look bigger! Hey that would make a good ad, "Do these pants make my butt look smaller?"...OBVIOUSLY, I am slipping into sleep depravation, time for a bite of chocolate and another cup of caffinated tea.

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