Tinkerbelle sails through the Place of the Wave Mountains…
Logbook of Tinkerbelle – Part 3
Monday, June 14
This was one of the most unusual days of my life…
It began with Tink pulling
on her sea anchor and riding very rough waves. The wind was blowing hard and it
was cold and uncomfortable. Just after the sun rose above the horizon a big wave
hit from abeam and knocked me out of the cockpit but I pulled myself back in and
we continued.
We were being blown eastward on our course so I didn’t mind as much as I would
have if we’d been losing miles. A little while after dawn there was some discussion
(in my mind) about a place called Ado’s Landing, that was supposed to be in
the vicinity. (This must have been an hallucination or something like that because
there is no such place as Ado’s Landing on the map. In fact there is no land
of any sort in this area.
Anyway, I set off, supposedly with others although I never actually saw anyone else
all day. We sailed for a spot called the Place of Wave Mountains. There was a
Scotsman named McGregor who controlled a choir and the Place of Wave Mountains and
he was out to make Tinkerbelle
and me holler “Uncle”. So he made the waves bigger and bigger until they
actually did seem like mountains. But Tink
rode them all right, part of the time to her sea anchor.
When we felt we had to leave we couldn’t find the way out of the Place of Wave
Mountains. We sailed all about, looking for the way out. Waves knocked me out
of the cockpit three more times.
Finally we got going the right way but we, in fact the whole ocean seemed to be
moving down hill. Big swells built up like giant stair steps and as these overtook
us we would go racing along in a (?) of foam. Then slow down for a bit until the
next one got us.
At last we got near the regular Atlantic only we seemed to be sailing around and
around in a huge circle. A pixyish character, a native of the spot finally told
us we had to sail counter clockwise to get out. We tried that and it seemed to
work. We asked a couple of these characters to direct us back to Ado’s Landing
and they said they would but we never got there. They seemed to be tricking us
for some reason. Never even saw a spot of land.
As it grew dark I had some feeling about Robin being with me or needing me or something,
but, of course, she wasn’t with me. So I sailed off toward the east on my course
again. But I was still soaking from having been swept overboard, so as soon as
I felt I was well on my way again I put out the sea anchor, got into dry clothes
and settled down for the night.
This was a weird experience. It must have been at least partly hallucination, but
part of it must be real, because I know I was sailing around, was swept overboard
four times, etc. and a whole day was used up. I must have just slipped a cog.
I must say that I have had the most uncanny feeling of having someone with me most
of the time. It’s not always the same person. Sometimes it’s Virginia,
sometimes Doug, sometimes Robin, sometimes John Manry. I’ll have to get a psychologist
to explain all this.
Tuesday, June 15
This has been a perfectly normal day but not a very satisfactory one, because I’ve
been riding to a sea anchor all day, drifting slowly south. So I haven’t made
any progress toward England. But still I haven’t lost as much ground as I would
have if I’d been drifting west.
The barometer has gone up almost 10 points so I’m at a loss to explain the foul
weather. Hope it’ll get better soon so I can get moving.
Oh, I forgot to mention that a casualty of yesterday’s being knocked out of
the cockpit by a wave was my flashlight. I had it tied to the boat, but the knot
somehow came undone and over it went. I had an extra bulb and batteries, so today
I improvised another flashlight and we’ll see how it works.
Stayed tied to sea anchor all night.
Wednesday, June 16
(passed 60ºW) Awoke to find Tink
bobbing gently on a smoothed out sea. Ate a hasty breakfast cold so I could get
going as soon as possible. It was a nice sunny day, so I spread my wet clothes
(from having been knocked overboard) out on deck and dried them as we sailed along.
The only flaw in the day was that the breeze was just a little too light to get
the most out of Tinkerbelle.
However, we kept moving steadily and I’m hoping we reached the vicinity of the
59th meridian W. We kept moving until some few hours after the moon arose and then
the wind died down to almost nothing, so it seemed like a good chance for sleep.
Saw three ships well down on the southern horizon during the day. I must be sailing
between the two parallel shipping lanes. Also heard a big splash and looked around
in time to see scores of little fish leaping out of the water in efforts to escape
something that was after them.
Thursday, June 17
Found a nice breeze blowing when I awoke. Clouds cover the sky, but the barometer
is holding up so I’m hoping for the best. I’ll have to eat a hasty breakfast
and get going. It was good sailing but a bit damp with spray flying back from the
bow. SE wind allowed me to hold course of about 80º. It rained intermittently
during the day.
About noon I almost slammed into a shark that was lollygaggin’ at the surface,
its dorsal fin sticking out of the water. I guess it must have been about 10 feet
long. A little later, in the afternoon the rudder gave way. The wood at the top
had become soaked and just bent around under the strain. Lucky I had a spare which
I put on. Later on I’ll see what I can do to repair the original.
Wind eventually got too strong for both sails so I took down the main and went on
under genoa alone. Still made good time. Hope I’m near the 57ºW. meridian
by now.
At dark I put out the sea anchor and prepared to bed down for the night. I happened
to look out the port porthole a while later and there was a light. At first I thought
it was the moon rising, but on poking my head outside I saw it was a ship headed
toward me. I tried the horn. It gave a feeble blast and quit. I attached the
spotlight but couldn’t get it to work. So then I turned on the masthead and
red-green running lights (already had the anchor light up) and hoped for the best.
The ship passed to the west of me about a ½ mile away.
The waves made it a pretty rough night, but it would have been much rougher if I’d
had to spend it in the cockpit. The cabin makes a world of difference.
Friday, June 18
I see the barometer has gone down about five points so this is likely to be a miserable
day. Hope I can get some movement eastward, however. We’ll see.
The barometer was wrong. I guess at least part of the drop was what they call the
diurnal shift, I believe. Anyway, it was a beautiful day, but not for sailing.
The sun was out and the ocean was beautiful with a big swell rolling from the south.
But nary a breeze. Tinkerbelle
just sat there and wallowed in the swell. So I took the opportunity to dry clothes
and blankets, have a sponge bath and hold sick call, during which I treated a nasty
boil-like thing on my ankle, right on the ankle bone. I’m taking a course of
Achromycin to help the healing.
I also took a sun bath in the nude, except for a shirt. And tried to patch up my
poor sore bumteratum. It’s so sore it’s very painful to sit down.
I took a shot at the sun when it was only about 11º above the horizon, but something
went wrong, because I’m sure I’m not where the shot says I am.
In the evening a breeze of sorts sprang up and we made some progress, but after
an hour or so it died out, so I decided to call it a day. Put out the sea anchor,
etc. and here I am, snug in the cabin. Hope there’s a favorable breeze tomorrow.
If there is I must get an early start.
Saturday, June 19
I got a fairly early start after a breakfast of Spanish omelet, which wasn’t
too good. The breeze was from the north and just the right strength to make Tink step along smartly on a due-east
course. But during the day the wind veered gradually until Tink
wound up on a course of 160 degrees T.
But the wind continued to veer so I put Tink
on the other tack and she sailed at about 60ºT. for awhile, but soon was sailing
due east at 110º magnetic.
Oh, I should have mentioned that before all this veering began there was a period
of calm where Tink just
sat and rolled in the swell. When the wind had veered round from north to south,
and I was sailing due east, it was quite strong. I was really making time and could
just see those meridians of longitude being passed by.
About mid-afternoon we were racing along at a great rate on starboard tack when
around my shoulder popped into view a large oil tanker, the Otto
N. Miller of Monrovia. It had sneaked up on me without making a sound.
I must make it a practice from now on to scan the horizon all around from time to
time to prevent that sort of thing.
Crewmen at the Miller’s
rail waved and cheered and I waved back as best I could. The ship continued on
her way at what seemed to me to be terrific speed. The huge waves piled up in her
wake really gave me quite a heaving around. Soon after she passed the wind grew
too strong for the mainsail so I let it down and continued under genoa, still at
a good clip.
Toward dark the wind was too strong for the genoa so I stopped to take it in and
put out the sea anchor. Just then a cloudburst hit. It rained so hard I could
hardly see 10 feet away. But I managed to get bounding Tink
bedded down without mishap. I stayed in the cockpit for a long time watching Tink take the huge waves. She
did very well, but I’ll have to improve the jigger sail at (?) to help keep
her pointed into the waves.
I was fearful of getting into the cabin and going to sleep because of the brush
with the Miller, but Tink’s anchor light seemed
pretty visible, so finally I did go in where it was quiet and dry and got some sleep.
I’ve been taking a 3-day course of Achromycin to cure an infection on my ankle.
This is the third day. I’ll have a look and see how it’s coming along.
Sunday, June 20
I’ve decided, for safety’s sake, to sail down to latitude 40ºN. and follow
that east until I get to about 35ºN. That will keep me really off the shipping
lanes. Now, at 41ºN., I’m more or less between two lanes.
The sailing started out well but soon the wind died and I was becalmed for several
hours. I took the opportunity to take a strand out of the jib and main (?) so that
they’d run through their blocks easier. Now it’s much less trouble to raise
sail. It was a tough job before.
Finally a light breeze sprang up and I got a move on. But sailing in a light breeze
can be tough, especially when the swell is running in the opposite direction to
the breeze. Each swell pushes its own body of air before it and this backwinds
your sails. The boom comes swinging around and you’re likely to get conked
on the head. (Speaking of that, the sun helmet Virginia got me is excellent protection
from the boom as well as the sun). I sailed southeast on a course of about 150º.
About dusk an American Export-Istbrandtsen freighter the Exilona
[?] and it came over to see if I was all right. They gave me my position 40º57′
N. 58º04’W. which was a disappointment to me because in my dead reckoning I
had thought I was farther along than that.
I tried to get the freighter to take mail aboard. They tried twice to heave a line
to me but couldn’t make it. I couldn’t get close enough safely either.
So after a few more words we parted and went our separate ways.
Shortly afterward a wonderful, steady breeze came along and Tink
just raced along in the dark. (The main was reefed). It was just the right breeze,
not strong enough to be worrisome and yet strong enough to make Tink
step up and go. It was a glorious sail. I wish Virginia could have experienced
it. Tink seemed to be
riding a magic carpet of sparkles and her wake sparkled like a comet’s trail.
The wind was so wonderful I took a Dexedrine tablet to keep me alert and kept on
going all night. It’s daylight again now.
