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And Aw a-a-a-a-a-y-y we go!
July 15th - Oops - we missed Ft. Lauderdale
Erkki and I had the dawn patrol today. Our shift included looking at lots of shipping, as well as distant thunderstorms, on our radar, as we tracked the Gulf Stream in search of a lift north. All the light shows resulted in nothing, however, as they were too far away to affect us. One (additional - after all the rest so far) problem which surfaced early on, however, was that apparently our mast-top navigation light has no red light. That means vessels approaching us from our port side can't see us. That's meant that we have to run our deck level navigation lights, as well as our masthead, or steaming, lights. As those lights are of the heat-generating type, they use a lot of electricity. So, we'll have to attend to that rather quickly, as we won't want to run our deck level lights any more than necessary - not to mention that the mast-top light is new, and high-tech, so we want to get it replaced immediately. Fortunately for this set of circumstances, however, the wind continues to be nonexistent - or so low as to require running the engine. Running the engine generates more electricity than we use, so it's been ok about the lights. As I write this, we're again under motor, with sails furled other than the main, which is up to minimize rolling in the light waves which are present tonight. Earlier today, the wind was entirely dead, starting shortly after first light. As sunlight is the biggest age component of sails, we stowed them all, and motored on. Fortunately, the Gulf Stream added speed to our travels, as expected, and we continued to make good time with light use of the "Iron Genny" - so nicknamed for replacing the genoa (the big sail up front) - similar to the "Iron Horse" of pioneer times. However, it was so hot that we also took a swim and bath break around noon. It was very refreshing, and lowered our body temperatures, despite the Gulf Stream being in the upper 80s. We renewed our vigor and continued to motor. As I was off shift, I went down to nap, again, and when I came up, the wind had picked up to a wonderful 4 knots, in a direction suitable for putting out the spinnaker. So, of course, we did. Another phantasmagorical sail under that marvelous piece of rainbow cloth. We were making 5 and 6 knots in the water, but with the Gulf Stream lift, we were making 9 or more knots over ground. We'd been making such good time since we entered the stream that we took a meeting and the crew decided we'd go to Daytona Beach, instead. There, it will take less time to drive home, and, as a bonus, there may be a ride available from one of Erkki's friends. As I write, we're off North Palm Beach, making over 8 knots with a 4 knot lift from the Gulf Stream. As it's such a boost, even though it goes offshore rather much by the time we get to Daytona Beach, we'll ride it until nearly 30 miles to go, then triangulate into the entry. This will duplicate the entry I made all these years ago, on our proving cruise with my second ex-wife's father. He'd been taking on crew as he did a single-handed circumnavigation, and we were one of the last legs; it's what convinced Lydia that it's what she wanted to do for the rest of our lives. Tonight on the SSB was better, in that I could hear the traffic, and, while the control in mid-Florida couldn't hear me, a guy in Texas could, and relayed our information for us. We're now in the winlink.com tracking section, so those interested could go to the web site and look for our call sign, seen in the sig line, but KI4MPC (Kilo India Four Mike Poppa Charlie). However, this time around also exposed a weakness, said to be a well known difficulty in our particular radio. At high power, we get voice clipping. Practically speaking, that means people can hear us but not understand us. The good news is that it amounts to a product defect, and should be remedied at no cost - albeit not only a delay, and probably at least the shipping costs to return it to the factory or some authorized service center. So, there are some things we'd like to get repaired or corrected, as soon as possible. If there's a service center in Daytona Beach, it's worth spending some time there to have that defect remedied. Of course, if there are service centers, likely NYC would have one, which would be OK, too, as we at least are able to check in with the Mobile Maritime Net. Likewise, if my supplier can send me a replacement mast light overnight, I could get that installed while we're in Daytona. Given the level of security that represents in shipping lanes, that's a high priority. Fortunately for the nuisance factor, there are also several other things I need to do up the mast, so I can attend to them at the same time. Overall, we're doing much better than hoped, and the breakages and difficulties are part and parcel of cruising. The saying goes that "Cruising is boat repair in exotic locations!" I'm not certain how exotic Daytona Beach, and New York City environs is, but at least it fits with the usual epectations of having to fix something after every voyage. Fortunately for us, those things so far are minimal. Erkki and I have the midnight shift tonight (ends at midnight) so I should get another full night's sleep, and be ready to go at it again. So far, so good, and we're thrilled to find that it's meeting our expectations. L8R Skip Morgan 461 #2 SV Flying Pig KI4MPC See our galleries at www.justpickone.org/skip/gallery ! Follow us at http://groups.google.com/group/flyingpiglog and/or http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheFlyingPigLog "You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it come true. You may have to work for it however." (and) "There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands. You seek problems because you need their gifts." (Richard Bach, in The Reluctant Messiah) |