Now We’re Flying

Miles traveled Day 9: 135
Miles traveled Day 10: 145
Miles traveled to date: 1,236
Miles to Hiva Oa: 1,906

The wind picked up this morning and before I came off watch at 8:00 we took the jib off the pole and reefed it a bit. For the non-sailors reading this, the pole is our 22′ carbon fiber spinnaker pole that holds the corner of the sail out. We use it when we’re sailing deep downwind and the winds are lighter and/or the seas are big and rolly. Without the pole the sail will collapse, refill and pop back open every time we fall off a wave, which is frequent in these big seas. The pole keeps the sail in place to help us maintain speed, and minimizes wear and tear on the sail. Reefing is the action of rolling in the sail a bit to reduce sail area, which slows down the boat, makes a more comfortable ride, and also reduces wear and tear on the sails and rigging.

We’ve also picked up more favorable current. Before we reefed up we were making 8 knots, which is astoundingly fast for our little boat downwind. Now with the sails both reefed in 20 knots of wind we’re averaging 6.5 to 7 knots. No more need for the part of my mileage chart that says how many days to go if we’re making 5 knots. I’ve made one for 7 knots and it says we’re 11.5 days out. Likely it’ll be 13 more days.

Today’s food lesson has to do with eggs. I bought 4 dozen before we left Wreck Bay and keep them in plastic egg containers in the stove. I have read that with eggs you have to turn them frequently or the yolks will stick to one side of the shell. I had no idea it would happen this fast. I tried to fry eggs for breakfast this morning and they came out of the shell scrambled. But just for the record, I don’t need any scrambled egg recipes. I love my friends and family for sending pear and banana recipes, but I’ll make do with the scrambled eggs!

And while we’re keeping track of things, Rob’s book count is 7 books read in 10 days. Not too bad. Luckily he’s got another 60 or so to keep him occupied.

Teresa