This was written yesterday.
Well. I should have known that sooner or later it would come to this. We have been drifting along toward San Francisco in a bubble of perfect wind, perfect seas, perfect weather, perfect camaraderie and companionship. This morning's sunrise lit up the sky with a Maxfield Parrish kind of pink and blue perfection. One of the crew took me aside and confessed that because it had been so long they could no longer remember how to trim the sails. I had to reassure them that the skills would come back (probably) when needed.
A friend at KYC recently sailed his El Toro around Oahu in conditions much worse than what we have been experiencing. I hope he doesn't get wind of our current conditions. Otherwise, he'll probably be setting out for San Francisco.
In a strange way Kathy's iPad contributes to the sense of unreality. Last night (moonless, cloudless) we held it out at arm's length and the screen blended in so it seemed as if the illustrated constellations were actually part of the sky. I had to catch my breath when, at one point, I turned to look back and there was the earth behind us and below. Virtual reality is fun and all that, but enough is enough. I thought my heart would stop.
This morning I realized that I was baking in the cockpit. I was wearing a polypro long john layer, a fleece layer, my foul weather gear, boots, gloves, a hat with ear flaps, etc. Why? Because we are at Latitude 38, and that is what you do at Latitude 38.
Turns out to be a dumb idea. So it is back to shorts and tee shirts. There is one new twist to things. Earlier it was so warm and stuffy below that we would have to escape to the cockpit to cool off. Now it is so pleasant and warm in the cockpit that we have to occasionally escape down into the cabin to cool off. The cabin is actually a little chilly because of the dropping water temperature. ~~Bill
Ahoy Cirrus,
ReplyDeleteOn the map you look so close to the mainland. Just a bit more to go. Last night we had dinner at the Icklers and of course you guys and your trip were on our thoughts and made up a good part of our conversation.
Someone commented about you guys drawing up a ten best books list based on all your lengthy conversations over the last few days. That would be great. How much reading are guys doing? Just trying to gauge how much reading material makes sense to bring.
Cheers, Rick and Maria Lucia
Sounding good, gang! Can't get much better than SAILING in shorts and t-shirts at 38 north!
ReplyDeleteAnd you still may get to the slip before Friday!
Rah!
Kim and Lou
Folks, looks like a mixup: your post "Day 14 - Hunkered down" is identical to the one from "Day 12 - Hot weather, cold weather".
ReplyDeleteDid you copy paste the wrong text? If so, send it to my personal mail, and I'll replace
Ulli