through it...
The days on land left far behind, we're once again back into the rithim
of the sea. Sleeping patterns adjusted to the watches, eating habits
multiplied in carbohydrate intake and calories (and still merely enough,
God, hunger creeps in so quickly here. It's feels like the continuous
motion digests and consumes all that we put in), walking in small
cautious clumsy steps, concentration singlemindedly on sailing,
positions, wind forecast. Once again we're appreciating the huge horizon
lying all around us.
Yet, this run is a totally different experience than the Leg before.
The regular trade wind runs of North Atlantic are far behind now.
Instead, the southern sections of South Atlantic is challenging us with
alternating winds in between high pressure systems and depressions
creeping in them. We can be exposed to all sorts of winds from the
lightest down-winds to strong blazes up-wind in 12 hours time. We're all
fully alert for any single change in the wind speed or direction. This
also naturally implies that hoisting a sail and sailing with it for
several days is long gone as well. We usually have at least one sail
change per watch if not more, making it physically more challenging.
Even more so, when the rougher sea state we're exposed to is considered.
The ocean swells are definetly larger, the waves have a tendency to get
more irregular due to changes in the wind direction, and as we spend
more time going up-wind, we have to head bang into these waves, rather
than pleasantly surf on them. The name of the game has shifted from
concentrating on squeezing the best out of mostly steady and expected
conditions, to managing rougher seas and winds.
The wind and sea state are not the only changes, of course. These are
accomponied by the change in weather: sunny days was a given which we
took for granted in the last leg, whereas it's a pleasant surprise which
we enjoy in this leg. Much alike British weather. Grey sky, usually not
even decorated with different shapes of clouds. Watching the Sun and
Moon rise and set with a wide pallet of amazing colors, feeling blessed
under a sky so full of stars that it's almost bright are good memories.
We have grey sky, grey-blue sea. Together with the sun, shorts and
t-shirts are another thing we have left behind. The hot days, when we
were trying to survive the heat and keep cool are no longer. This leg is
about maintaining the body temperature. The preparation for taking over
a watch has gone longer, as we need to put on layers of clothing: base
layers, mid layers, foulies. Once we're ready to go (especially during
night watches), we usually feel like astronouts (full empathy and
appreciation for them, for managing to put that huge kit on, and still
be able to move in it).
Well... Southern Atlantic also makes itself noticed with a sense on
loneliness. At North Atlantic, we would be on watch for ships, and every
now and again, we surely would have at least one, if not a few. We would
see some sea-life around. Whereas South Atlantic reveals a sense of a
lost-world. We watch for a ship in the anticipation of seeing one,
finally; it has been days on end that we have not come across any. We're
surely missing the dolphins, whales and even the kamikaze flying fish
(which were in the habit of haunting us during night watches). There
were only two times we saw whales, and Dolphins only once. We are simply
thankful to the sea-birds for their company though. Without them, this
world would have been absolutely deserted to our eyes. (Havign said
that, we wish we had brought a book on sea-birds. None of us know their
species, and sincerely wonder about them now)
So, here we go... Half way through the South Atlantic, having totally
different stories to tell versus the previous leg.
Keep an eye on me:)
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