There are good ships and wood ships
And ships that sail the seas
But the best ships are the friendships
And may they ever be...

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

On Their Way

Date: 07/09/2012 
Noon to noon run: 144.8 NM
Time of position: 16:30
Lat/Lon: 10 deg 51.70'S; 146 deg 51.49'W
Course: 005 deg Mag
Current Speed: about 7Kt
Next Waypoint:    00 deg 00.00'N (equator); 145 deg 00.00'W
             661 NM distance

We sailed through two squalls at the end of Steve's watch and the beginning of mine (about 9PM)last night and in between them set a reef in the main. It was a good thing too, because the second squall had winds of about 30Kts. Leaving the second squall behind we sailed into clear skies and about an hour later, I saw a beautiful orange three quarter moon rise as the stars slowly winked out in its presence. Early morning hours we see two planets grow incredibly bright long before sunrise. Which planets they are - I have no clue. But they are impressive.

Today winds continue at about 15Kts, and we expect more squalls tonight. The grib files show us that a series of low pressure cells or fronts are sweeping the are at about 5 degrees south but they should have moved on long before we get there.

John Knepper has gotten into the swing of things and is doing quite well despite his recent years of nonsailing, and he is most knowledgeable and helpful with issues that develop onboard. For those of you who do not know him, John is a superb wood craftsman and has built a Nordic 44 out of wood and sailed it with his wife to the Sea of Cortez back in the mid nineties. Having worked for other boat builders his experience at boat construction and maintenance is invaluable.

It is time for me to go on watch.

Cheers,
John

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