Glums & glows
003º52’S, 096º09W
April 10, 2130 Ship’s Time | 003º52’S, 096º09W
Full Mainsail & Jib Top, Happily Reaching
Based on the heading above, I’m sure you can assume the mood aboard today. Anyone who has spent time with Andy on a 59º North passage will be innately familiar with Glows and Glums, our nightly ritual of sharing personal highs and lows of the day, followed by the cathartic sound of your choice. The majority of today’s glows were simple and truly what this trip is all about. We’re doing a steady 9.0 kts SOG, with the sail reflecting the nearly-full moon onto the smiling faces of the watch. The cool breeze of the trades tempers the unrelenting hotbox this boat has become in the past few days and relieves us from the drone of the engine. The Bangers and Mash for dinner were particularly excellent, the perfect fuel for a night of riding this sleigh.
Eric interestingly shared that his glow for the day was the rather painful peppering his hands received in yesterday’s early morning squall—our only glimpse of double-digit speeds in the time since we weighed anchor in the Galapagos. As someone who is deep in the process of learning better strategies for race navigation and weather systems, cruising is always a humbling arena to practice in, and the last few days have been full of wind-deprived glums. I wish I could name-drop, but at some US Sailing Summit one of the panelists gave the expert advice to “not speak up when the boat is slow” at the risk of becoming the scapegoat for a poor result—the room laughed at the honesty. The Doldrums are a new experience for me; there is no avoiding the slow. If these past 72 hours were a race, I would already be at the bar.
That said, today was markedly different. Today, powered by the building SE’ly trades (and a full round of showers), the entire boat was glum-free.
// Aidan Gray
59ºNorthApprentice
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Seasickness
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Dolphins and Bioluminescence
We had a good run with the sails but weather has changed and we are once again chasing the wind. Everyone is getting a chance to practice helming in big swell; starting to get a feel of the wind and water and how it pushes and pulls the hull. A pod of dolphins came to visit at night, splashing in the bioluminescent water, and again in the day, dancing in the bow wake. For now enjoying the calmer sea state and falling asleep to the rumble of the engine and the gentle whooshing of the water on the hull.
Greetings from Lala Lemonshark
The brave crew is toughing it out and staying cheerful despite being tossed around. The engine is off and we are true sailing-main and jib. In the first 12 hours we saw two pods of Orca and four humpback whales, two of which were 20 yards off the starboard beam!