Yesterday was a story of gradually increasing wind and spray. The windows were so often drenched that we felt like we were going through a car wash. For the first time ever, Jazz had to run forward and rescue one of our boat hooks, grabbed by the lazy sheet. We reduced sail several times, so that by evening we were running with what felt like scraps, and still often making over six knots directly into, and through, the waves. We graduated from holding on while walking to holding on while sitting. Jazz spent most of the night shift with her head braced with pillows to protect her neck. The microwave’s feet detached on one side, as did a couple of shelves and a section of carpet. Jazz finished breaking one of the stairs. And despite having to pause half way through to reef, Andrew still managed a mostly decent stir fry, head pressed into the headliner, ass braced into the counter opposite, and feet wedged somewhere underneath in an awkward veggie-chopping triangle.
It was rough going but Villa, Otto, and Jazz held up all night. Though she did wake Andrew after only thirty minutes of sleeping because there was another boat, brightly lit and not on AIS. Andrew said “yes, that’s a boat”, got doused by a wave, and crankily went back to sleep. Jazz proceeded to stare at it for an hour, also getting soaked, to make sure it wasn’t pirates. Her hair had needed a wash anyway.
In the morning, we finally turned off the wind a little, and going from 54° to 70-80 feels like we’re finally having the kind of sail someone might choose on purpose. We put some more sail back out, and are cruising along at 7-8 knots, some of which is undoubtedly a favorable current. The sun remains hidden in an overcast sky, though, so we’re still having to run the engine occasionally to recharge the batteries and keep Otto fed.
2975 miles left on the rhumb line.