From Randy and Tortuga 7/1
Tales from the Deck of Tortuga
Saturday, July 1st
Really, really frustrating morning; the wind shut down around 0200 - 0600. We were ghosting along around 3 knots for most of that time, rolling around in the swell. The squall-type weather affected the forecast of 15 knots, I think. There wasn’t just one, particular, squall; just a large patch of light winds, drizzle, and rolly seas. Was feeling really down about my position when got a note from Elizabeth Ann early morning, and Gary said they were in the same weather pattern, so I felt a little better about not falling even farther behind, but not sure how much it slowed their lead.
Had an actual visible sunrise this morning with a rainbow to cheer me up.
The last the blueberries are gone, with a batch of blueberry pancakes to start the weekend off right. I bought super green avocados and haven’t been able to eat more than one. They’ll be great next week, I bet. Only a few bananas are left, and the oranges and apples are holding strong. Have not started using the lemons yet, so I think I’ll be able to avoid any scurvy outbreaks onboard.
The wind filled in by late morning and started backing more, so I got the staysail down and poled out the super Yankee to port. It’s Day 7 of being on a starboard tack. Been cruising along in the mid 6ks all day. Get bursts into the low 7s with squalls passing over. Still too breezy for me to fly the symmetrical spinnaker comfortably. There was a period when it lightened up, and I thought about it but will see what tomorrow brings. I can cruise at 6.5-7 with no fire drills and ride the squalls passing over with the current sail config. That seems to be working right now.
I’ve been seeing many batches of old fishing gear and netting going past me today. Disheartening to see it, and certainly, I would not want to get caught up in one of those floating islands of debris.
I noticed my bilge pump going off before taking my evening nap. I investigated further and found the starboard cockpit drain thru the hull weeping around its base. There is no seacock or valve; it’s just a straight hull that the cockpit drain hose attaches to and goes overboard just above the waterline (when not moving around). I tried tightening the hose clamps, but it seems it’s weeping at the base. Possibly the inner retaining nut is loose, or something else is the issue with the thru-hull piece. Not sure. I mixed up some splash zone, did some boat yoga to reach it, and put it in the affected area. It’s curing now and seems to have stopped the water. Will try a second application once the first is cured.
“If it was easy everyone would be doing it”.
️Team Tortuga
~~~_/)~~~
