Fuel fears and back in the trades!
2300 UT | 07°29.00’N 149°17.83’W
Sailing baby! Possibly boring you senseless with fuel chat
Good morning from a very happy Falken, currently cruising along at 8-9 knots. We've got the trade winds back! An event that Mary from 5 days ago would be relieved to hear about. Andy had asked me to write a blog on the fuel scenario when we first entered the doldrums. I didn't want to jinx anything, but now I'm confident we're back in the breeze you get the questionable treat of my fuel anxiety brain waffle.
When we stuttered to a halt on the 11th June at 2 degrees South I was more than a little perturbed- I believe my direct quote to Mission Control was 'We're getting absolutely shafted by the ITCZ'. When I gave the weather briefing back in Tahiti, I was maybe a bit too happy about the prediction of quite a skinny band of doldrums to pass through, and my smugness got a royal slap in the face when the forecast developed into an 8+ degrees thick band of doldrums as we got closer.
I'd anticipated sailing across the equator, having a couple of days motoring then hitting the NE trade winds on the other side. Instead I was looking at more than 500 miles of motoring. If we look at the motoring capacity of Falken you'll be able to see why I was slightly concerned.
We carry 600L of fuel, split over 8 tanks. Theoretically that would give us 120 hours of motoring at 6 knots—but there's a lil flaw to this. As it stood I was looking at a max capacity of 90 hours of motoring when we hit these doldrums—so it was a bit of a squeaky bum time. Also bear in mind that I need fuel to charge the batteries when we're out of the doldrums, most crucially the water maker.
Admittedly I am a constant pessimist when anticipating problems (shout out to Big Nez for that character trait), however I think plan for the worst and hope for the best is an appropriate approach in offshore sailing.
My issue was that you can actually get stuck in the doldrums, and I didn't much fancy that. So I couldn't just say well let's motor until the fuel runs out and then we'll just wait for the wind to fill in—sometimes that can take weeks! And there aren't many options in the middle of the Pacific for potential refuelling.
So what was my plan of action?
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Mary
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Kärt barn har många namn
A dear child goes by many a name, or as we say in Swedish "kärt barn har många namn". This is the case for many a person, but also some species, not least the Mahi mahi, which also goes by dolphin fish, golden mackerel, and dorado, among others. Soon, we could see the fish jump, a hundred feet or so behind the boat, and as I kept reeling, a beautiful Mahi appeared under the surface. Manot showed us how to clean and fillet it, and after a complete team effort two large fillets are now in the freezer of Adrienne II.
Cast off the lines
When we awoke it was overcast but the Brazilian sun quickly burned the clouds away and we were left with blue skies. We reviewed some safety procedures, cleaned the boat and had an exciting Person Overboard (POB) recovery. Once we were underway spirits soared as we pointed the bow toward the Canary Islands. As I write this we are heading upwind and dealing with all that involves, and working into our first watches. It is hot, a bit bumpy but we are sailing!!
People Get Ready!
The last three days have been an intense (and intensely hot) period of discovery, practice, and planning. Because Adrienne II is not a 59N boat, there's been some extra setup and coordination needed including rigging all the sails that were out for repairs before we arrived. Its been a blast working alongside the 59N team getting to help them work things out on a less familiar boat in real time. Tomorrow morning we'll run through our Person Over Board training as the final pre-departure task, cast off and head out. Can't know all that it will be, but its going to be a great adventure out in the vast world with some pretty fantastic people.