Sunday, November 6th

6th Day at Sea

 

Big Wind, Big Waves.

The front is upon us.

 Chart

 

 

Surface Map

 

 

Log

 

 

Journal

12a-3pm[sic]. Wind is up, but with steady direction. We’re rocking and rolling to the unseen waves. 

Day. This is our big wind day. 

The setting. Locally, it’s been blowing mid-upper 20’s all night. At 120-140° apparent wind angle, that translates to low to mid 30’s. Today, the apparent wind settles into the mid-upper 30’s yielding trues of 30’s to low 40’s. 

Sea state. The local winds build their own waves. The swell from the north, spawned by the 50 kt winds of the front before it reached us, arrives. 

The waves. Waves are like fire. Seen before, always new. Except, waves are all around us. The sea state changes, morphing steadily, slowly during the day. When I come on deck, there are waves, steep, 15-20’, marching in behind us. The stern lifts and reveals another steep set behind. As the swell sets in, the rhythm of the waves becomes confused. Local waves ride atop the swells, are blown around, and lose their uniformity. With the swell fully arrived a new landscape sets in. From swell trough, the top is a hundred yards away, with minor peaks and valleys reaching up to the summit, surely 30-50 feet above. Climbing this terrain is steady, straightforward work, unlike the cliff like face of the earlier wave sets. Mostly, the wave period allows Bertha (the Monitor) time to set Terrapin’s course right before the next wave arrives. But not always. Twice, the wheel is grabbed in the steep stuff to avoid being overtaken beam on, leading to thoughtful contemplation of what our night sailing may be like. These are the memories I will carry, to replace, or give meaning to, the ocean sailing videos I’ve watched for years, the magnet that has lured me here. Big wind, big sea, that only the ocean can bring to you. 

We’re sailing under deeply reefed main, pulled well in toward the center and held steady with a preventer, and deeply reef staysail. A steady sail plan, no flogging, allowing the Monitor to hold a wind angle of 120-135°. Scott asks how fast we’re going. “5…6…7…9”, I say as we’re overtaken by and surf down a wave. The highest speed noted is 10.1. This, under very small sail. 

The afternoon SSB Chris Parker report predicts wind dropping to 20-25 tonight, a welcome prediction for our coming night sail. His prediction holds true. As the evening arrives, we say there’s nothing like a day in the 30’s and 40’s to make the 20’s feel comfortable.