10-Apr-2006 Position
| 9'26'1N/119'33.9W | |
|  |
- 112nm made good last 24 hours
- 1334 Miles from Z-town
- 1882 Miles to Hiva Oa, Marquesas Islands
- NE 5 knots wind, confused seas and lots of rain
I took over watch this morning at 6:00am just as the rain was starting. A nice, pleasant rain that came straight down with good wind. At 7:00am I checked us in to the Picante net via relay from our friend Ken on 'Panache'. It was good to talk to Ken for the little bit this morning as he is single handing and we worry about him. We had to cut our chat short because "I'm headed into a big dark cloud."
Again, more nice pleasant rain for about half and hour. Then the deluge hit. It came down so fast and hard that all wind was gone, knocked out. This caused our Saye's Rig to just steer us north when we needed to be going southwest. Rain came down in buckets from every direction making the seas all confused with swells going every witch way. The sea looked like a giant washing machine on agitate. I couldn't stand seeing this alone so I woke Tom up. "You gotta come check out this rain. It's crazy out here." That's when Tom opened the water tanks and we started filling her up.
Yesterday when we were surfing the big waves one of our tanks spilled into the bilge. Not too much of a big deal. But still, it is nice to have rain water instead of watermaker water, and full tanks.
After about 40 minutes of sitting in the rain, soaked to the bone with pruned up fingers and toes, I went below. Just as I went below the real fun began. Now it's a squall... thunder, lighting , the whole works. This lasted just a few minutes. Then back to just rain. Not much we can do when it's raining. So I took a short nap.
Watching all that rain is tiring while Tom ran his net. I don't think Tom's mentioned it, but he has been running the 12:30 east of 120° "Pacific Puddle Jump Net". He puts a call out to all vessels in this area and they check in with us, stating their position, weather, and traffic (if they want to contact other boats). Tomorrow we should be west of 120°, so no more net controller for Tom.
Well, we've made the most of staying indoors. Made some bread, cleaned the head, restocked the beer and soda, and now checking in with friends and family. It's currently 3:30pm and the rain just stoped. Still lots of gray skies, but at least we can get some fresh air in the boat. The wind has completely died down, so we are back to motoring.
Just a few more quick notes. Last night we got attacked by squid. I think they were trying to hitch a free ride or something. They actually made it all the way in our cockpit, which is a good 4 foot jump.
Just before heading to bed last night, I got smacked in the back of my arm by a flying fish. Then it landed in Tom's lap, who screamed like a little girl.
Lastly, the Sandpiper has been amazing through all we have encountered thus far. I'm really amazed at her grace through the swells, and they way she hass been powering through everything. We've made a real bond these last days.
Love to all
Amy
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