01:05 UTC | 12°16.946’ N 087°18.066’W
Sailing
We are gearing up for our last twenty-four hours at sea that is promising to be some sporty sailing. The crew defeated the final boss, Tehuantepec winds, a few days ago. Now that everyone is battle hardened we are putting on our crusty, sunscreen caked game faces on for the little brother, Papagayo winds, which are forecasting twenty-seven knots gusting to thirty-five knots. In the mean time we’ve had several ebbs and flows of perfect thirteen to fifteen knot sailing with a couple hours of easy flat motoring to top up on sleep.
Have you ever heard of disco jellies, or electric dolphins? I never had until we set off on this trip and what a treat it has been to learn about the bio illumination and then immediately get to see them in all their glory. First we had the electric dolphins zooming through the water like little torpedoes leaving a trail of teal blue streaks. There were hours of entertainment to be had just following their sporadic movements. At times two to four dolphins would get into perfect Blue Angels fighter jet formation whizz by the side of the boat and peel off from one another just like at the air show. The dolphins were amazing and just as awe inspiring were the flickering orbs of the disco jellies. The same beautiful teal blue in front of the magical starry night sky made the night watches effortless.
Delaney has kept a steady and variable stream of snack options such as Pringles, my favorite, granola bars, chocolate straws, mixed nuts, and plenty of fruit. Now getting down to the snack dregs digging deep in the cabinets revealed dried pineapple and cashew clusters. Both of these are worth their weight in gold having exhausted our fresh fruit days ago and wanting a new flavor of salt the doesn’t have to get dropped in sixteen ounces of water and dissolve for four minutes.
Mary is whipping up a wonderfully fragrant sweet potato, squash risotto with crispy artichokes, Italian sausage, and a heaping three cheese blend -butter counts as cheese ;). I have no doubt our last dinner will be one of the best with the stunning Nicaraguan mountains as our backdrop at sun set.
Papagayo Winds here we come!
// Jake
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The gobbledygook of sailors
We sailors can come across as a cryptic bunch. Similar to almost all niche endeavors, it boils down to efficiency, safety and tradition. There are so many "ropes" and so much gear on a sailboat, that trying to identify them by descriptive terms just wouldn’t cut it. We’re in one of the best learning environments available to offshore sailors, and mistakes are a part of the process.
Dive on in
Life aboard Adrienne is hot and sticky. It was hilarious how fast we all started moving once we heard we might go for a swim in the ocean. With our captain’s blessing, we started jumping in, hooting and hollering, grinning like children on a carnival ride. It was simple and delightful and also mind-boggling to be bobbing and washing in the great ocean under a clear sky with nothing around but our floating home and each other. But the deeper cleaning of this ocean plunge will certainly linger for days.
Death on the high seas
I’m not going to lie - I really miss my dog. As we’re just now approaching Cap Verde (two thirds of the way) I can’t help but think of all the wonderful things that happen on a trip like this; strangers become friends, terror turns into confidence, and ignorance into knowledge. It’s not for everyone. But if you do decide to cross some of most isolated spaces on the planet in a small boat, you’re definitely in for a mighty interesting ride. And next time I’ll bring my dog with me. 😊