avionbianca   Blog for s/v Avion

White Noise

Return Day 8 8/07/20144 17:00 (1079 Miles to Golden Gate Bridge)

In about an hour and a half we will have completed 8 full days on the return, in approximately 7 hours we will pass through the half-way point. Ironically we are making better time than we did during the race and we are slogging uphill. We had a couple of windless days early in the race where we had no choice but to persevere via sails alone. Now, on the return, we can engage the iron spinnaker anytime we want! Prior to today we have only ran the engine approximately 36 hours and mostly while still sailing. The plan was to stay on a starboard tack until the wind ran out then power on the engine and turn right towards the Golden Gate. However, while on that starboard tack the winds would clock and veer causing us from time to time to turn on the engine to get a better purchase on the wind closer to the direction of San Francisco. The beauty of this is that we didn’t have to run the engine at high RPM’s with the sails up.

We left Kaneohe Bay with 167 Gal of Diesel with an estimated burn rate of of a gallon per hour making approximately 5 knots giving us a range of approximately 1100 miles while under power. This has turned out to be a very conservative estimate because with the 36 hours of motor sailing we have only had to offload 10 gallons from the diesel jugs into the tank to peg the gauge as full. We feel confident that from this point forward we can run the engine the entire trip and still have fuel leftover. Now that we are in the center of the high and see nothing but flat seas and very little wind we will be only motoring and will probably see higher consumption because we are no longer motor sailing.

We have now entered a completely different phase of the trip; one of less motion, easier handling and noise. The constant drone of the engine becomes what is known as white noise. Your mind mysteriously blocks it out so that you can function as if it isn’t there. With the help of earplugs sleeping becomes no different than in the peace and quiet of a home in the country. Avion is no longer listing at a 20 to 30 degree angle so doing simple chores like cooking dinner, cleaning up and writing are no longer frustrating challenges. The watches now are also a lot easier. With the engine running we can utilize the auto helm which becomes the third person on watch; in reality one person can handle the watch but with 5 on board we are still keeping with the 2 person watch teams at all times.
Lindi and I have changed our schedules so that we now have 2 hours out of 10 that we are on together. We had the fortune of being on watch together during the sunrise this morning, it was so romantic. We both agreed that this is the life we want to share together; this pioneer spirit where we are free to roam where ever the wind and water cares to carry us. The primary purpose of this adventure for me was to both confirm this wanderlust and help prepare for future voyages. Not just to hone my seamanship skills but to nurture this adventuresome spirit with Lindi. This morning proved that we are well on our way to watching countless sunrises and sunsets while exploring new territory gliding on the waves under Antigua, our sturdy vessel.

I have the fortune of spending the other 2 hours of my 4 hour watches with Nico. I just read his post on the beauty of the sea. We have talked about a lot of subjects and one was about his desire to attempt to capture that beauty in words and to convey how it affects him emotionally; I told him I’m sure he can do it justice and when I read it I was touched by its poetic beauty. I may have said this before but he is incredible, especially considering he has just turned 24. We spend hours talking mostly about sailing but also about the process of living a full life; there is no question in my mind that his will be amazing, it already has richness’s that people my age only dream. His stories based on his life experiences rivals Juan’s with only a third of the time for development. One of the topics I enjoy the most with him is talking about the necessary preparation for Antigua to make her cruiser ready. He has taken her out the Golden Gate down to Half Moon Bay, longer than any of my ventures with her, so he knows her well and has fabulous ideas about how to make her better. Between Lindi’s and Nico’s ideas we will make Antigua a first class cruiser.

Crossing the Pacific Ocean has its beauty as captured by Nico, but it also has its adventures. When one embarks on an adventure such as ours you want it to be full of experiences but not so many as to make it an ordeal. Thus far we have been fortunate. While writing this entry we just caught our 3rd fish, so again fresh Mahi Mahi later today. Early this afternoon we were honored with an escort by a huge Yellowtail Tuna that followed along our port side for well over an hour. Nico was so excited that he got out the fishing bag to string a cedar plug known for their attraction to Tuna. While he was tying up the line I spotted one of the glass balls used by Japanese fishermen to float nets Nico decided this was a much better prize than Yellowtail Sashimi (ironically both having Japanese roots) so he dropped the line, grabbed the tiller, cut the engine and reversed course in a matter of seconds. He proceeded to negotiate Avion alongside the ball and with his long arms gracefully scooped up the ball. The only problem now is that we need another four so we won’t have to figure out who gets this one. Juan believes it should go to the person that first spotted it, not the one that so gracefully retrieved it. His logic is that given enough time Juan eventually could have retrieved it, assuming others were willing to assist.

I have to say Nico did have a Juanism the other day, but unlike Juan he managed to rectify his. Juan’s friends concocted this term to describe the many embarrassing pitfalls bestowed upon Juan, by Juan simply being Juan. Nico is always ready when some rigging change needs to be made. Since he has only had to do one headsail change in 8 days, not even bothering to place a potential tattoo mark on his forearm, he is always looking for other ways to hone his nautical skills. The other day when the wind decided to take a vacation we had to drop the mainsail because it was no longer providing lift, it was being a drag. When the wind came back we had to reattach the main halyard (the line that raises the sail) to the main so we could hoist the sail. As he was attaching the shackle Avion pitched through a wave which caused Nico to lose his grip on the halyard, This miscue is often referred to by sailors’ as skying the Halyard; a dreaded condition that typically requires a trip up the mast. Juan ain’t going up there! Can you imagine what that would look like?? The picture that comes to mind is attempting to utilize the circus elephant as the acrobat on the flying trapeze that catches the beautiful maiden after she gracefully twirls from one bar to the next. Nico however looks like one of those muscular acrobats hanging by the back of their knees with the confidence of catching the maiden without a safety net. So you guess who volunteered to reclaim the skied halyard! Unfortunately the halyard managed to tie itself around the backstay, and there is only one other section of the boat harder to climb than the backstay, that would be the forestay. On Avion there are other lines that run parallel to the backstay providing some leverage; that is if you can call small 3/8 inch running back lines flimsily attached to a boat that is pitching and rolling in 4 to 6 foot seas with 12 knots of wind and Juan being one of your safety nets as leverage. The circus scenario sounds much safer. Now Nico wanted me to be clear in my explanation of this story so that his mother wouldn’t have a heart attack while reading the blog. Juan enjoyed meeting Nico’s mother and wanted to stay in good graces with her, especially when he discovered that she and his dad are great French cooks and have offered to entertain the Avion crew for a get together after the return. So I want to make it perfectly clear that both the skipper David and Nico would never attempt something that was both not within the skill set of the crew and wasn’t properly thought through with safety being the primary concern. They were able to rig a harness with 3 separate safety lines (two other halyards and his tether looped around the backstay) holding Nico in place while he climbed the backstay leveraging himself between the two running back lines. Juan scrambled to find a camera to capture the moment but Nico was down with the Main Halyard in hand being used as the 4th safety line, talk about redundancy upon redundancy, before the camera powered up.

This afternoon while Lindi attempted to get out of her bunk she lost her balance and crashed to the floor. We all heard the noise over the engine and David, being the responsible skipper, ran to her rescue and was greeted with a laughing Lindi. When he came on deck Juan asked what all the racket was and David told him that it was Lindi falling out of her bunk. Juan being concerned asked if she was alright and David said, “Not to worry she was laughing as she was pulling herself off the floor”. Juan countered with, “Yeah, she was laughing after she crashed her mountain bike also and has made three trips back to the Doctor concerning her shoulder!” This time the laughs were for real and was just a simple mishap. What do you think, a Juanism?