Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Sailing for a Cure to Seasickness

It is 10:40 a.m. on Wednesday, November 14, 2007. We are 9 miles from our first waypoint in a warm eddy. We hope to use the clockwise current to pick up some speed. Right now, there is a ½ knot current against us. Winds are light from the SE. Our bearing is 161 M. Barometric pressure is rising at 1017. The sea temperature has risen to 61 F. Latitude is 39 01.865 N. Longitude is 067 53.057W. Our boat speed is 5.5 knots with the engine running at 2500 rpms. We just used our spare jerry jugs to refill the 37 gallon fuel tank. We topped off with 28 gallons of diesel making our consumption 8/10ths of a gallon per hour. We have enough fuel on board for approximately 50 hours of steaming. We have been sailing on and off, but the winds have been variable and often light. Until this morning, the seas have been rough. We did not post a blog yesterday because of the rough seas. Michael and Jay were seriously sick, and I woke with a day long piercing headache which prevented me from looking at a screen. All of us spent as much of the day as possible sleeping. It was raining and damp and cold. Sea sickness is an immobilizing illness. Jay, who is usually so eager to tidy things on deck and in the cabin, did not even have the energy to haul in a flapping jib sheet right next to him. Sail changes seem like daunting marathons. Michael managed to eat a single cracker – that was his consumption for the whole day – excluding some beverages and sea sickness drugs. Jay and I had just a little more than that. It was hard being in the cabin without being prone. At one point I had to pull my sleeping bag tightly over my head to try to block out the noise of someone violently retching. Any focus on the noise, and I would have been gone too. Today, everyone is feeling much, much better.

Our first night out, the temperature was in the 30s. We took three hour watches, and by the end of each watch, the person coming off watch would dive into a sleeping bag with foulies on just trying to warm up. Last night it was probably in the high 40s to low 50s. A little more tolerable. Today, we are very grateful for the sun and clear skies. We have all shed our foul weather jackets, but remain in long johns and fleece and boots. Gloves and hats are off for the first time. Once we reach our waypoint, we will head a little more to the SW. Winds are predicted to increase this afternoon as we enter the stream.

When we passed by George's Bank, fishing vessels were around us. Last night as we crossed the continental shelf, we saw only one fishing boat and a large cargo ship. Both were approximately 2 miles away. It is unlikely that we will see more than one or two more boats before we hit Bermuda. Jay installed an AIS receiver which pulls signals from the VHF antenna and translates ship information onto our PC. Every vessel larger than 60 or 65 feet is required to have an AIS transmitter which tells nearby vessels its registration number, and if the captain has entered it, vessel name, length, width, draft, type and destination. Even if the information has not been entered, the PC will calculate whether you are on a collision course, the heading and speed of the nearby vessel, and the time and place of the closest point of course intersection. It is an amazing tool, and gives much more information than the radar. We have had it on constantly, and it gives us some more ease at night understanding whether we are on a collision course with nearby boats.

The fact that the AIS is working has been balanced by the failing satellite system used to get e-mails and internet access. We can occasionally get a signal, but it tends to be fleeting. Please do not worry if we do not respond to e-mails. The onboard dial up satellite modem is a challenge that requires patience – which is occasionally unavailable. We will do a better job with the blog – I hope.

Cheers from Team Welcome.

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