mid-Atlantic storm approaching…
Logbook of Tinkerbelle – Part 5
Monday, June 28
(passed 50ºW)
It’s blowing up a bit this morning. I can’t get going yet, anyway, because I’ve two chores to do. I’ve got to get the spare battery for the anchor light and fix up an aerial for the radio so I can get the WWV time signal. I couldn’t hear it at all last night. If I’m left without the time signal I’ll be in a bad spot. Won’t be able to tell my longitude.
After monumental rooting around, while being tossed about in the boat, I found the battery. I also have an aerial rigged as the topping lift and I got the 9 a.m. EST time signal for WWV. I think I’ll just wait here another hour for the noon sight and then I’ll get going.
Latitude is still just south of N41º.
I sailed until after dark and then bedded down.
Tuesday, June 29
A good breeze was blowing. The only trouble was that it was exactly from true east where I wanted to go. So I had to tack. Went on course 140º for about four hours and then shifted to course 50º.
I didn’t expect to make much progress eastward on these slantwise courses, but the evening sun shot showed that we’d passed W48º and were on our way to W47º, the jumping-off place for the long haul across the trackless ocean. Hope to meet a ship between W47º and W46º and give it the mail I have.
Thought I’d listen to the radio a little tonight but I was just too tired. Put it back in its waterproof bag.
Wednesday, June 30
The last day of June and I’m only about one-third of the way. I don’t think the rest of the way will take two months, but I think it will take me until Aug. 15, all right.
Hardly seems to be any breeze today. Hope I’m not becalmed.
I was becalmed for a couple of hours. Lay out on deck and snoozed a bit. When I looked around again the ocean seemed full of dolphins, in widely separated groups. Unfortunately, too far off for pictures. I wonder how those in the rear kept from getting lost.
Later in the afternoon Tinkerbelle was visited by some very colorful fish. Three or four feet long, dark iridescent blue bodies with two forward fins of lighter blue and yellow tails. They cruised back and forth under Tink as I was having supper and wouldn’t take any of the tidbits I offered them.
Sailing on in the dark, I was “pursued” by a couple of thunderstorms. Lightning flashes lit up the whole sky, although they were too far off to hear the thunder. Finally at about 1:30 a.m. (ship’s time) I decided to bed down and wouldn’t you know, that’s when the first ship I’ve seen in days appeared. Fortunately it passed well to the south.
I know now why I’ve had trouble finding the shipping lanes. They move 1½º north in July. Rather than take the time to go that far north I think I’ll just continue east and hope to meet other ships on other lanes.
Thursday, July 1
This has been a dull, cloudy day with intermittent rain (sometimes hard rain), but the wind has been from the west, so I’ve been able to make good progress. Started out under reefed main and genny. Then had to cut it to genny alone. Sailed on until just before dark when I quit for supper and then bedded down.
Friday, July 2
Awoke with sun shining in my eyes. I hope it is a sunny day, but I can see quite a few clouds in the sky, so it could go either way. Barometer holding steady at 30.6, thank goodness. Now for some breakfast and then I’ll get the show on the road.
The sailing was very good. Breeze was just the right strength. But it was cloudy and rainy all day. Experienced a classic “cyclone”. Wind was coming from southeast and as the center of the low passed over, it changed in five or ten minutes to northwest. It rained very hard part of the time.
Saw what I can only describe as a giant sea worm. It was about the same color as an ordinary garden worm, but about 10 feet long and fatter in proportion to length than a garden worm. I should have taken a picture, but it would have meant tacking about and I was in no mood for that. I bedded Tink and myself down as darkness fell.
Saturday, July 3
I can see patches of blue sky today so it may be a more pleasant day than yesterday. Barometer is up past 30.9. Only trouble is the wind in northeast and a little too much east for my course. Well, we’ll see. I hope I can get a good latitude shot today. The last couple of evening shots haven’t worked out too well.
Got a good latitude shot, I think. The only trouble is it put me at N39º43.4′ which is more than a degree further south than I thought. Also the afternoon shots put me farther west than I expected after two days of sailing. The only thing I can figure is that I must have hit a pretty stiff current moving south. The pilot chart indicates currents to the south in the vicinity. So, all in all, I haven’t made much progress toward England in the last three days, what with the southerly current and the easterly wind all day today. Hope there’s a nice breeze from the south tomorrow.
Keep wondering how Virginia and the kids are. Wish I could tune them in on the radio. Hope V. doesn’t worry when I don’t turn up in Falmouth at the end of July. It’ll be Aug. 15 or later, I’m afraid.
I’m going to listen to BBC London for a little while then get some sleep. I’m getting my time checks from the BBC in London now. That makes it seem like progress is being made. The last WWV station faded out yesterday.
Sunday, July 4
I thought I might get a break in the weather today, but no, the wind’s still from the east and it’s a dull, cloudy day. Well, I’ll just have to make the best of it. Better get going.
Had to sail on a course of about 25ºT. most of the day as the wind was out of the east, but about 6 p.m. ship’s time the wind shifted to the south enough to change course to 70ºT. If it’s like that tomorrow it’ll be swell. I’ll get past that W46 meridian yet. I think it’s a current of some sort that has kept me west of W46 for 3-4 days.
The sun finally popped out for a bit late in the afternoon and I got a shot at it. If I can get a noon latitude shot tomorrow everything will be peachy. Now to bed.
