Hurray!!! We’ve exited the ITCZ and “officially” entered the trade winds, or at least it seems that way! We have a 15-knot wind from the southeast, and we’re proceeding at an average speed of over 6 knots. The forecasts indicate this steady wind, perhaps a bit more easterly, for the days to come. It’s a wonderful feeling after the last few hours spent battling between the lack of wind and the need not to consume too much diesel by running the engine.
Life on board continues with the rhythms that have now become established since we set sail. Lunch is around 12:30 unless there are circumstances that push back the time; when we had fresh vegetables, it typically consisted of a salad of tomatoes, avocado, tuna, and chickpeas, sometimes with green beans. Alternatively, pasta with zucchini, and since they ran out, with canned tomatoes or cheese and pepper. In the evenings, occasionally we treat ourselves to some meat that we’ve frozen (space in the small freezer compartment is extremely limited), or an omelet (eggs are not lacking…), or if we didn’t have pasta for lunch, a nice rice dish with vegetables (as long as they lasted…) or a splendid lentil soup that Gemma prepares with mastery. Then there are quick solutions for those moments of slightly more challenging navigation, such as ham and cheese tortillas, or even more simply, cold cuts and sliced cheeses, or, warm and super essential, freeze-dried soups! As long as the fruit lasted (almost two weeks), we finished the meals with a mango or a mandarin or a banana, now it’s with a pudding or a cookie…
Some reserves…
Shortly after dinner, at 8:30, the first watch shift begins. At 11:30, Sergio wakes Gemma, who takes over for the next 3 hours, and so on until around 9:30 when we gather together in the cockpit for breakfast consisting of tea, milk, yogurt, jam, or biscuits. To date, there have rarely been any incidents that required waking someone who was resting, and even then, only for sail changes or similar tasks. So far, we’ve been very lucky to not have any emergencies!
Trade winds, trade winds!
Hurray!!! We’ve exited the ITCZ and “officially” entered the trade winds, or at least it seems that way! We have a 15-knot wind from the southeast, and we’re proceeding at an average speed of over 6 knots. The forecasts indicate this steady wind, perhaps a bit more easterly, for the days to come. It’s a wonderful feeling after the last few hours spent battling between the lack of wind and the need not to consume too much diesel by running the engine.
Life on board continues with the rhythms that have now become established since we set sail. Lunch is around 12:30 unless there are circumstances that push back the time; when we had fresh vegetables, it typically consisted of a salad of tomatoes, avocado, tuna, and chickpeas, sometimes with green beans. Alternatively, pasta with zucchini, and since they ran out, with canned tomatoes or cheese and pepper. In the evenings, occasionally we treat ourselves to some meat that we’ve frozen (space in the small freezer compartment is extremely limited), or an omelet (eggs are not lacking…), or if we didn’t have pasta for lunch, a nice rice dish with vegetables (as long as they lasted…) or a splendid lentil soup that Gemma prepares with mastery. Then there are quick solutions for those moments of slightly more challenging navigation, such as ham and cheese tortillas, or even more simply, cold cuts and sliced cheeses, or, warm and super essential, freeze-dried soups! As long as the fruit lasted (almost two weeks), we finished the meals with a mango or a mandarin or a banana, now it’s with a pudding or a cookie…
Shortly after dinner, at 8:30, the first watch shift begins. At 11:30, Sergio wakes Gemma, who takes over for the next 3 hours, and so on until around 9:30 when we gather together in the cockpit for breakfast consisting of tea, milk, yogurt, jam, or biscuits. To date, there have rarely been any incidents that required waking someone who was resting, and even then, only for sail changes or similar tasks. So far, we’ve been very lucky to not have any emergencies!