J80 across the Atlantic: Night at the Atlantic

Night at the Atlantic

2007-12-19 20:08 by andreas

Todays first watch is Jens's. The clock is almost seven and dinner has just been finished. The sun is setting and I'm preparing to crawl into my bunk. In four hours it will be my turn to sit watch but now I will sleep. I'll get two to three hours sleep at best. It's difficult to fall a sleep in a J80 that's running down wind making 5-8 knots with surfs up to 12 knots. The thin hull and lack of interior makes a great resonating box much like a guitar. One moment it's entirely silent and the next the sound is deafening. When going down wind in big waves the boat also rolls sideways making it very difficult to lay still in ones bunk without a pillow as a wedge.

At every watch shift information about boat speed, course, trim and any adjacent boats are handed over. During the trip from Las Palmas we've only seen two boats so far. Other interesting things that has happened are also discussed. For example how many flying fish you've found during your watch.

When the winds are not to strong and the self steering system works the watches are rather nice. We read lots of books and every teen minutes we check the horizon for other boats. When I get bored of reading I sketch on a new interior for the other half of Snickeriet (my house in the ski resort Åre), Jens usually draws on a more comfortable boat where both he, Karin and a few more will fit.

There are nights that you rather forget though. When the self steering doesn't work because of hard winds and you have to sit alone in the dark for four hours steering the boat through big waves. The weather has improved greatly over the last days and it's now more than a week since the last dog watch.

Before Jens get his last hours of rest we eat breakfast together. If the weather is good we sometimes bake bread and eat with cheese and marmalade. Unfortunately the eggs didn't last as long as expected.

Comments has been disabled

1 Annika (gräsänkan)2007-12-20 07:56

Måste säga att ni är fantastiskt flitiga och duktiga på att blogga. Puss & Kram

2 Manetta2007-12-20 08:51

Feliz Navidad, Joyeux Noel, Merry Christmas eller vilket språk som gäller på Atlanten. Jag önskar ER lycka till och hoppas att Ni snart är i hamn, när jag nu försvinner ut i det blå i några veckor !!!( Det finns ju It-cafe, förstås )Kramar :-) Manetta

3 magnus2007-12-20 13:12

Hur många sjömil avverkar ni på ett normaldygn?

4 tom a.2007-12-20 16:16

Great blog/report ! Amazing what you are doing. How do you manage to update/upload the blog ?

good luck. tom(belgium)

5 Marianne Börje2007-12-20 21:35

Vilken fantastisk bild, den måste jag få måla av.Utlämnadåt naturen & dess krafter & skönhetkan man väl bara känna ödmjukhet och undra över en högre makt. Segla väl! Marianne