The doldrum blues.
Friday, March 15th, 12:30 noon
ABORT, ABORT, ABORT! High up in the mast, My Captain is swaying back and forth with every motion the boat makes. The smallest of waves gently lapping our hulls get amplified by the mast to a high degree of uncomfortable wobbliness. Then, his knee gets jammed in between the mast and the rigging. Every movement of O2 sends pain shooting through his body. It’s scary stuff, too. We both have visions of torn ligaments and fractured bones. High time to admit defeat. I carefully lower him back down on deck. I have now one very frustrated Captain on my hands. With a bruised knee.
The whole idea was to repair the suspension for our specialty sails, to be up and ready for the SE Tradewinds once we have reached the southern hemisphere. We want to make up for the lost speed of the last couple of days. We are in the firm grip of the doldrums. No wind to speak of, a flat ocean breathing swells in slow motion as far as the eye can see- and believe us, that’s FAR -and tropical heat to top it off. No squalls nor thunderstorms though. (Not just yet) Just wide-open skies.
It could have been a delight to motor our way through, with Billy the Booby at our side. The sorry thing is, we worry we have miscalculated the necessary intake of fuel once again and already we find ourselves running low on diesel. We tell ourselves that hey, the tank is still half full with some extra jerry cans ready to be poured in. So, relax. Yes, but still.
But let us introduce to you our new pet: Billy the booby. According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, “The name comes from bobo, a Spanish slang term for stupid- a reference to how easily the birds could be captured by 18th century Spanish sailors. Boobies, like most seabirds, can spend weeks or months out at sea. So when a ship passes by, offering a convenient place to land for a while, boobies often take the opportunity. Once aboard, their lack of fear for humans then made them easy meals for the sailors.”
We are that ship now, and he still shows no fear whatsoever. We won’t eat him. We still have better meals available.
Saturday, March 16th, 6:35 PM
S 00 00 001 W 124 25 87
The first time we appeared before Neptune and his Court to be certified as shellbacks occurred during our Atlantic crossing to Brazil in 2017. This is our third “line crossing” aboard our own vessel—albeit the first time on O2 and the first Pacific one. That’s why we dare to consider ourselves as part of Neptune’s offspring. No need for elaborate hazing rituals, methinks. Nonetheless, we did share some leftover Chilean Sauvignon Blanc with our father Neptune in a respectful salute, hoping he will send some fair winds our way.
Just like the two previous times, we entered the Southern Hemisphere after dark. The initial plan was to take a dip in the warm and placid waters of the equatorial ocean. But the evening is surprisingly chilly, and the ocean is choppy. We decided to dip into the Sauvignon instead.
Monday, March 18th, 12:40 PM
S 03 00 001 W126 17 092
At times, the brilliant blue of water and sky turns a dull grey. Actually, the few heavy rain showers we have encountered so far have been a relief; the wind picks up and we gather speed up to 8 knots under pure sail. We keep the sails up but reefed in to prevent them from flapping when the wind is nothing to speak of – as has been often the case the last couple of days- and from potential shredding in sudden squalls looming on the horizon.
We are moving through the thunder and lightning belt now, but as always, my captain has come prepared. This time he is armed with starting cables. The idea is to attach them to the rigging at the side of the boat and to drop them into the ocean as a kind of grounding device. So instead of frying our electronic systems in case of a lightning strike, the bolt will be diverted away and boil the ocean instead. In theory. I prefer not to be struck at all. Only moonstruck please.
Against all odds, the wind has picked up already and we are sailing under a vanilla sky. Neptune must have appreciated the wine. We’ve just poured the last drops of diesel from the remaining jerry cans into the tank, nearly filling it halfway once more. It looks like the doldrums won’t be stopping our stride any further. All is well again. With Neptune and Billy on our side and spaghetti on the table.
16 comments on “The doldrum blues.”
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Dag Vivi en Luc,
Niet te geloven die reis van jullie and what your captain ook voorziet, telkens heeft die dekselse Neptunus weer een andere verrassing in het petto. Maar met geboren optimisten zoals jullie daar heeft hij nog niet veel ervaring mee. Dus het komt allemaal goed. Tiens nu wil ik dit versturen en krijg ik het bericht ‘Duplicate message: Dat hebt u al geschreven’ . Heb ik zo weinig fantasie?
Neen hoor, alles kits met jouw inspiratie. Waarvoor van harte dank! Je hebt het gewoon 2 keer naar de site gestuurd. Die eerste keer heb ik net verwijderd. No worries. But the machine is always right.
Keep that knee iced {I know you have some onboard!} Wind will come soon, Looking forward to meeting up again!
Hello Nina! We will keep some ice for our meet up drinks, too! Wind is fickle, but wind is present.
Heel leuk om jullie avonturen mee te volgen.om eerlijk te zijn,ben ik toch wat vang. Niks voor mij denk ik dan. Het is echt labeur.
Haha, de geneugten van het zeilen.
Wat een avontuur zeg!Fantastisch!🤩
Zeg dat wel. En nu mag het stoppen met regenen.
Ik wil ook een Booby !
Dat verbaast me niks Maïté.
Heeft die booby blauwe poten (gezien op Google ) 😂
Neen, onze booby heet de gemaskerde booby. De blauwe-poten booby hebben we kunnen bewonderen op Isla Isabela, Mexico. Ze waren er aan het nesten en evenmin bang van mensen. Onze Billy heeft ons na 6 volle dagen gisteren pas verlaten.
Dag Luc en Viv, dank u voor het bericht. Er loopt wel het een en ander mis maar de spirit blijft hé! Ik hoop dat Luc zijn knie al beter is!
Vanmorgenvroeg kwam jullie bericht binnen bij mij maar via Jetpack kun ik jullie niet meer schrijven.
Ik kan mij een beetje voorstellen hoe jullie voelen op een vlakke zee en geen wind. Hopelijk gaat het beter!ik zend jullie vele groeten en hoop dat alles goed loopt!
Tot een volgende!
Alles kits Chris. Bedankt.
Nice storytelling Viv 👍🏼.
19th has arrived, hopefully with the best possible winds and seastates, fingers crossed!!!
Tis hier midden in de nacht en het regent dat het giet. Maar tomorrow is another day!