Man the sheet

Graham woke me up with a knock on the hatch. I opened my eyes all excited and ran upstairs like Christmas morning. I was greeted by Graham saying it was time to take in the flogging sails and motor. He was in game mode, getting all the lines and such ready to bring everything in. He’s telling me to ease the preventor as he hardens the main sheet and I happen to look up and there is a beautiful island in front of me. I was like “Graham what the heck? Landho!! You buried the lead?” And he was like oh ya I saw that 1/2 hour ago . This is why he needs me. I of course was like …land babe…after 30 days at sea… this is very cool…this is a moment…this will be etched in our memories forever. He took a beat and smiled and said “man that sheet” lol. I love this guy.

Romantic Evening

Hmmmm did I say to often today how perfect our passage has been? Did I remark how my expectations had been exceed too many times? Was I poking the bear?? 

The night began with me thinking I was late for my shift only to find both Graham and Tim in the cockpit. I asked which one of them was going to give up their seat so I could do my watch and Graham was like “I just got here. It’s my shift.”  Doh!! Damn. I was so mad that I left my bed. 

Anyway, fast forward 3 hours I begin my actual shift. I had planned a romantic last evening with me, the ocean and the stars. I turned on my Bosch jazz playlist and began my star gazing and then ……oh yes there is a “and then”….the black clouds moved in, the sails began to flog and flap. The winds got terribly fluky. Shifting literally 360 degrees. I had to take the boat off auto pilot and man the helm so we didn’t accidentally gybe. 

Then the rain came and then more fluky wind shifts. I broke down after the 2nd hour of stress and called out to Graham. It didn’t take him long to jump up to the cockpit and basically just reassure me I was doing a good job. The winds were light enough that even though we had full canvas up we felt we could manage the unpredictability as long as someone was manning the helm. A little pep talk and he went back to bed. 

So now my romantic evening watch is over but I thought I’d stay in the cockpit for a bit as Tim gets use to the odd wind. 

Maybe it was the perfect last night. Kept me on my toes and reminded me not to become complacent. We have  54 miles to go! I’m looking forward to the sun coming up and yelling “landho”! 

Grahams already talking about getting the beer in the fridge. Lol. You know where his priorities are. 

Gin and Tonic

I was thinking today that we’ve sailed pretty much the same distance as it would be to drive from coast to coast in Canada 🇨🇦!! About 7500 kms! 

I love seeing my little google maps icon out in the middle of the ocean and my weather app location displaying “South Pacific Ocean”. 

Once we arrive it will have been 30 days at sea. That’s 1/12th of my year. Wowee. It’s so cool to now be able to scroll in and see land and our destination. Our next waypoint is now our destination, Nuku Hiva! 

300 nautical miles to go and on average we do about 140 a day, so about 2 days to go! I can’t believe it’s almost over. My vacation is coming to an end lol. Lazing around all day without any Graham guilt 😂 will be over. 

While we’ve been out here we’ve been part of a WhatsApp group of cruisers with starlinks who are all doing the crossing. The camaraderie and daily checkins with folks, having the same shared experiences was pretty nice. So wonderful to be able to share in their moments and memories as well as our own. 

What am I looking forward to you might ask?? My answer should be something like “walk on land” or “eat fresh fruit” or “hug my daughter” it would be totally wrong if it was…..”a gin and tonic” right? 😂. It will have been 30 days without alcohol, so let the games begin. Lol. Jk. I look forward to returning to some normalcy in our daily routine with happy hours and leisurely meals together without having to brace ourselves all the time. 

I don’t want to jinx anything but this passage has been everything I dreamed and hoped for and cherry on top will be having Amelia and Elliott waiting with ticker tape at the other end!

So much to look forward to but for now I will try and savour my last two days of vaca. 

My Super Power

So after 25 days at sea it’s time for everyone to do some laundry. Unfortunately when rolling back and forth it isn’t good for the washing machine to be used. I guess it’s suppose to be balanced and stable for use 🤷‍♀️. 

The grunge is probably my biggest irritation. We have lots of water so mandatory showers onboard. Now I’ll have to see if I can rally the troops to wash the one or two shirts and shorts they wear 😂. Wish me luck 🤞. 

In such a small space it doesn’t take long for smells to travel. I can suss out rotting veg and smelly towels like nobodies business. My super power lol.  

Well what better to counteract the bad smells than the smell of cinnamon buns cooking. Sometimes as I sit on watch I just gaze at the sea and dream of food lol. I had these buns on the brain so I started the dough at 6 am. They were so good. 

I ate …and I’m ashamed to admit it…4.5 of them. The problem with this being a long passage is that my “go for it. You deserve it. You are on passage” mentality just keeps on ticking. I’m hooked on the snacks now 😂. Luckily Graham forces steel cut oats on me most mornings with flax and chia. I call it GRUL 🤢. 

Well the night brought huge amounts of rain. So much rain. No wind though. I’m so happy……(yes I’m gonna sing my praises about the enclosure again)….that I got the enclosure finished. It is a serious game changer to stay dry!! Love it. Can’t wait to add the back piece. Looks like the wind should return this afternoon. For now I’m enjoying the sunrise and hoping my tea is delivered soon 😍. 

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Dance Party

I’m having a dance party for one on my watch. I feel so good and happy. I’m standing behind the helm. The sky is clear and star filled. The moon has begun to rise behind me. We are racing down the waves with a whoosh and a big sloosh of white frothy water washes out in front of us. I have my music on as loud as I dare without waking Graham or Tim. It’s dance party time and my partner is mother ocean. I sway and rock with the motion of the boat. I belt out the word I know to the songs. 

I wonder if this feels anything like being on a surf board. I’m happy. You can’t live your life in a constant state of happy and maybe that’s good because you know the opposite of it 😀. Just like the contrast of clear and stormy skies. You need the storms to fully appreciate nights like tonight. 

As you can imagine I have so much time to ponder all my thoughts out here. It’s a luxury I seem to rarely allow myself in regular life. 

We are beginning to talk about our arrival in Marquesas, signalling the end is coming. Graham is beginning to talk about all the jobs….back to boat work. I’m going to try and squeeze every bit of juice out of this final week. I dreamed and planned for so long to begin our circumnavigation and now here we are. Almost across our first leg our first ocean on Salty Ginger. Yup. I’m feeling happy. 

Normal

Hmmm I was pondering today how there are moments now in the day where I don’t think about the fact that we are in the middle of the ocean. I’m beginning to be more micro in my thoughts. Almost like life is becoming “normal” on board. I’ve always been surprised how adaptable we are as humans. When I reflect on past circumstances that became my normal, I’m like “omg how did I live like that”? …..well I adapted 😀. I love my daily shower. That definitely resets my “normal” feeling. You’d be surprised how sticky from heat and salt we and all our things become during the day. It so nice for my skin to be smooth to the touch. I mentally feel better after a shower. 

Speaking of “normal” stuff, today we made some comfort foods that brought me home. The day began with pancakes, fried potatoes and scrambled eggs and for dinner the best spaghetti bolognese over spaghetti squash. The sauce reminded me of my grammas. So yum. I made some butter tarts this afternoon while watching the office. They turned out great and I laughed my ass off. Graham’s nanny Myrtle would have been proud. Our Easter treat. 

These are the nights I will remember

The moonlight trails Salty Ginger as we rock back and forth. The wing on wing sails are illuminated. A few stars and planets in the sky shine so brightly I wonder if they are spaceships. My music plays lightly in the cockpit. I'm all alone but not lonely. I feel connected and full. The sound of SG moving through the water. The gentle breeze coming across my back. I feel like a partner in this dance not an audience member. It feels powerful.

My 3 hour watch has flown by. I look forward to tucking myself into our cozy bed and being rocked to sleep, a return to womb feeling. I haven't had the "Are we there yet" thoughts yet. I know they'll come but I'm pretty sure that nights like tonight will be the ones I remember. 

Dodging Squalls

Today was a good day. Odd right Given we are dodging squalls. Well after yesterday today was a breeze lol.

In between the squalls life was calm and normal. I managed to do a deep clean of the main living space and the cockpit. You'd be surprised how quickly stuff gets grundgy from the salt water and snacking. The boat smells better now. Nothing a bit of freebreeze couldn't fix. 

We took a hard left today and headed south for a bit to find some wind and then we turned and are going more west now. We are finally sailing downwind again and it feels so good. Peaceful. Gentle rock back and forth. Love it. At present there is a line of squalls in front of us and clear sky behind with the moon coming up. I'm hoping or maybe praying that the squall is moving off in front of us. We will see. Day 18 tomorrow.

Still Trucking

Cloudy cloudy sky. We are just staying on the shoulder of this weather system and trucking along. Leaned way over and trying to adjust to our new normal. Seas have built due to the wind. I have a headache from the lack of sleep.

Hoping this dissipates soon. Graham says he is making mushroom risotto for dinner as we think we've passed the halfway point. Thanks to everyone who checked in on us. Nice to feel your love.

Racing Weather

Wind and seas are up but no rain just yet. Fingers crossed we win this race.

The anticipation is killer. I feel like I'm in a washing machine. Our toilet is in the high side so you have to firmly brace your feet and place your hands on the counter so you don't get thrown off the throne. 

Oh the fun we are having.

Day 15 Ticking along

I feel like I should get my weather routing certificate at the end of this journey lol. Oh man as I type this I can hear a bird circling me. I'm not a bird person. I'm lovin having an enclosure to keep them out. ). It's so nice to have the full moonlight on night watch.

Makes it so much better. Tonight we are flying along. The latest models have us going more south to avoid the rain and lightening storm Monday night. This means sailing with the wind forward of our beam. It's fast but not as comfortable as downwind. A bit more spicy. Less Julie style sailing lol. So heeled over and ploughing through the waves. Grahams sleeping on the couch so not to far away for me to holler for help if we need to reef. 

Surprisingly I haven't got bored yet. Still luxuriating in being able to do whatever the heck I want with zero guilt. LOVE IT! oh god there's that squeaking bird again. Well have a good night. I'm going to grab the fly swatter just in case.