Land Ho! - MW Morpheus Log Day 15 -12/05 3:45 PM Antigua Time

 We made it!

Tenerife to Antigua Summary Stats (per Captain Jim FB post):
Miles Traveled: 2,840 Nautical Miles
Miles To Go (to Antigua): 0
15 Days. Downhill all the way.
Average winds 17-25 knots.
No injuries other than one bruised and scraped forearm.
No boat damage other than a trash compactor that stopped working.

Official 2018 Morpheus TransAtlantic Crew Celebration Portrait

Passage Speed Records:

1. OTTO CHEERLEADER AWARD: Jim on watch when Otto the autopilot hit 18.0 knots early on 12/03
2. HUMANS DON'T NEED NO STINKING AUTOMATION AWARD: Kim hit 17.8 knots driving the boat while Otto was in a timeout for bad behavior later on 12/03

Quotes of the Day:

 "Land Ho!" said MW upon joining the Kim and Deb coffee klatch at dawn, in the cockpit, while still  about 60 miles out, looking around and pretending to see land.

"Bullshit." said Kim & Deb simultaneously. They weren't buying it.

Sailing:
Otto was back in control as we complete the home stretch to Antigua. Humans continued to experiment with Otto configurations, but with winds in comfortable ranges (16-20 knots) and the sails back in our standard downhill unreefed wing and wing configuration, Otto was doing fine. Some humans just wanted to take the wheel in anticipation of getting into Antigua early.

Captain Jim took a poll to revisit the decision of whether we would be mooring tonight with immigration tomorrow or going for the dock and immigration today. The results were decisive: Go easy, get a mooring, swim, and wait until tomorrow for immigration.

Arrival:

Kim was the first to spot Antigua. Earlier, Doug made a dubious claim of spotting the low-lying Guadaloupe island of La Desirade off our port beam.

This claim was unsubstantiated. I think he was hallucinating.

Actual time of landing per our Boat Pool rules, was 3:45 PM  local time which Captain Jim claimed made Kim the winner of the Boat Arrival Pool.* With that, Kim won the Triple Crown of Open Ocean passages - Fastest Drive Time (for a human), First To Spot Land, and Winning the Arrival Time Pool.

Kim kicks ass. 

Navigating the tricky shoals and reefs surrounding Antigua required the combined efforts of everyone on the crew, including Deb at the Nav station, Kim on the IPad next to Jim at the Helm, Mike and Doug watching buoys and depth.

We arrive in Falmouth Harbor during the Antigua Boat Show and one of the most egregious displays of ostentatious wealth any of us have ever seen. Those boats sure are pretty though.

 Picked up a mooring, raised the quarantine flag, and went for a swim.

Checked the prop to see if we collected any debris along the way.

 No Problem

Until we clear Immigration in the morning, we have to stay on the boat. But we have plenty of libations to celebrate. Kim and Deb broiled a giant rib steak served with garlic mashed potatoes and we enjoy a family dinner in the salon.

Happy to be here. Sad because the crew will soon disperse.

We have arrived.

Food:
Breakfast - Cereal
Lunch - Leftovers
Dinner - Monster Steak and Potatoes while moored in Falmouth Harbor.

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My intent is to cross-post daily logs to MW Mobile Blog and Jim & Deb's Morpheus Sailing Blog while en-route from SailMail. Due to the technology limitations, these will be short, text only posts. I'll backfill pictures and video once I am home again. Eventually.

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PostScripts - This post is the first non "SailMail" post after arrival. There were a lot of complaints from the Reader about the abrupt cutoff of blog posts on Dec 4 without any closure to the story. We are endeavoring to rectify that oversight in post production, starting with this post.

*A protest has been filed with the race committee over disparities in the rules regarding the time zone of record used in the Antigua Arrival Boat Pool Calculation.

Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind? - MW Morpheus Log Day 14 -12/04 6:30PM Ship Time (GMT)

 Dawn Day 14 

Miles Traveled: 2,410
Miles To Go (to Antigua): 200
Heading: 293
Current Speed: 9.6 knots
Fastest Ride so Far: [SPECIAL NOTE: Due to conditions and new watch configurations we have segmented this competition into two categories] -

1. OTTO CHEERLEADER AWARD: Jim was on watch when Otto hit an 18.0 Knot mark early on 12/03
2. HUMANS DON'T NEED NO STINKING AUTOMATION AWARD: Kim hit 17.8 driving the boat while Otto was in a timeout for bad behavior later on 12/03

Thought of the Day:

"We made it through 2400 miles without breaking anything important or anyone getting seriously hurt. We're not going to screw up the last 200." - Jim

Sailing:

Last night did not start out fun with 3 drivers on hourly watches partnered with two non-driving crew on two hour watches. Throw in a dark night with almost no moon, a squall or two, occasional 30 knot gusts, and it was looking like a long night. Fortunately, in the wee hours of the morning, with two reefs and the jib rolled up, Jim was able to get Otto behaving like the Otto we know and love. We were back on our usual four person rotation, Otto assisted, watch.

We were still riding some big swells and 25+ gusts this morning, so there was some experimentation about the configuration for the home stretch. Jib or no jib? One reef, two reef, no reef?

This experimentation also gave the drivers another unassisted shot at surfing big swells to beat Kim's speed record for the passage. By late afternoon, her record was still intact, winds had settled back into a more comfortable 18-23 knot range, and Otto was driving again.

Our noon-to-noon mark was 200 knots on the nose, in the same range as the previous few days.

Here is the dilemma. At exactly 6:30 PM ship time (GMT), we were exactly 200 miles from our destination. The optimal outcome is to arrive at the marina in daylight to be in our berth before immigration closes for the night. So we have a choice:

• Push to be sure we got to our destination in time to berth and clear immigration with another 200 mile day -or-
• Just let the wind be our guide, keep the boat and Otto comfortable, and accept we may be dropping anchor for the night outside the marina in a sheltered bay upon arrival.

There was plenty of opportunity for analysis. Morpheus' navigation system tracks a lot of wind, heading, and speed data with options to compare the data in strip charts. Comparisons of Doug and Jim's preferred strip charts provided here without additional comment:

Jim's Brain

Doug's Brain

It was no decision really. If we get lucky and get there early - fine. If we get there late afternoon or dusk, we just drop anchor and go for a swim in blue Caribbean waters.

As we close in on our destination we expected to see more boats heading in the same direction as us and were mildly surprised when we did not spot any today.

Food:

Breakfast - Yogurt Fruit and Nut Medley and Rum Cake
Lunch - Salami and Cheese Wraps - Rum Cake is gone.
Dinner - Tory's Texas Hash - Yum!

Sunset Day 14

We sail into the sun on our last full day at sea. - mw

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My intent is to cross-post daily logs to MW Mobile Blog and Jim & Deb's Morpheus Sailing Blog from SailMail while en-route. Due to the technology limitations, these will be short, text-only posts. I'll backfill pictures and video once I am home again. Eventually.

PostScript - All on-board have an opportunity to add comments here on the bottom of post prior to transmission if they so desire:

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Catch a Wave and You're Standing On Top Of The World Redux - MW Morpheus Log Day 13 -12/03 6:00PM Ship Time (GMT)

Miles Traveled: 2,283
Miles To Go (to Antigua): 400
Heading: 280
Current Speed: 9.6 knots
Fastest Ride so Far [SPECIAL NOTE: Due to conditions and new watch configurations we have segmented this competition into two categories] -

1. OTTO CHEERLEADER AWARD: Jim was on watch when Otto hit an 18.0 Knot mark early on 12/03
2. HUMANS DON'T NEED NO STINKING AUTOMATION AWARD: Kim hit 17.8 driving the boat while Otto was in a timeout for bad behavior later on 12/03

Thought of the Day:
"What we have here is a failure to communicate." - Captain Cool Hand Jim

Sailing:
It had to end sooner or later. During our miraculous extended run with a harmonic convergence of wind, waves and course, everyone was feeling a bit nervous as it seemed too good to be true. There was so much knocking on wood It sounded like a flock of woodpeckers had taken over the Morpheus. My first indication that conditions changed was a deck sweeper wave that washed over the starboard bow, into the cockpit and splashed through the aft hatch and onto my sleeping face. Nothing like a salt shower alarm clock to get your day going.

Earlier this morning the winds and waves came up and we double reefed in the dark before dawn. Otto was not dealing with things as well as Captain Jim would like and by mid-morning the humans had taken over the helm.

 Problem being, there are only three humans on board who can safely sail in these conditions, and your loyal blogger is not one of them. So, until conditions return to some semblance of normalcy, Jim, Kim and Doug are taking one hour watches at the helm while Deb and I alternate two hour watches accompanying them on deck, looking for ships, and making sure everything else is cool while they focus on driving the boat. Safety first. I love it when a plan comes together.

Although we're sailing through big swells, and occasionally a big one rearranges seating arrangements, everyone is fine.

Not a drone shot of Morpheus with big wave

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EDIT: Please permit a digression as we need to add a little color to that last sentence and also explain why this post is "Catch A Wave ... Redux." 

During the Morpheus 2013 Transatlantic passage, when we were 3 days from our final destination, our May 17 post "Catch a wave and you are standing on top of the world" described a large wave that hit the Morpheus at an inopportune moment with the result of "a few inconsequential items took flight."  At the time, we didn't want to worry anyone enroute, but the inconsequential item that took flight was me aka "Ballast". The full story was later documented in the post "Morpheus CSI", where I explain and document the diving maneuver "EmDub with a half-twist" (seen in the diagram on the left) resulting in rotator cuff damage that ultimately was repaired surgically.

Which brings us back to the current log entry -  again three days from our destination we are again surprised by a sneaker wave at an inopportune moment.  As it turns out, the "rearranged seating arrangement" was Doug performing a reverse EmDub dive starting at the Nav table and ending up on the deck in the galley. He was deducted points for degree of difficulty as the maneuver did not include a half-twist. Fortunately, there was also less damage - just a bruise and scrape - no harm - no foul.

We now return you to your original log post.

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Navigation Station AIS Screenshot

We have company. "Zed 7 Solo Sailor" is back. She is racing in the Route de Rhum. Last seen two nights ago passing aft while we were watching a movie on the mainsail. Now pulling ahead of us a few miles off our port.

 More dramatic, we passed within a mile of the tug Alp Winger towing what looks like a huge derelict derrick ship - CR Luigs.

It's an ugly brute.

Last three days on the Noon to Noon 24 hour mileage check were 197, 195 and today 222. Getting there quicker than anticipated even as recently as a few days ago.

Fishing:
Are you kidding? Not in these conditions.

Food:

Breakfast - Oatmeal and Rum Cake
Lunch - Ham and Cheese Wraps and Rum Cake
Dinner - Chicken Jambalaya and Rum Cake

Sunset - 12/03

- mw

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My intent is to cross-post daily logs to MW Mobile Blog and Jim & Deb's Morpheus Sailing Blog while en-route from SailMail. Due to the technology limitations, these will be short, text only posts. I'll backfill pictures and video once I am home again. Eventually.

PostScript - All on-board have an opportunity to add comments here on the bottom of post prior to transmission if they so desire:

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Master Class -MW Morpheus Log Day 12 -12/02 811:30 PM Ship Time (GMT)

Miles Traveled:2124
Miles To Go (to Antigua): 571
Heading: 2270
Current Speed: 8.6 knots
Fastest Ride so Far: Jim/Otto with a 17.2 Knot mark on 11/26

Thought of the Day:
"Alas poor Thomas the trash compactor. I knew him Horatio" - Shakespeare

Sailing:
How many times can I say "more of the same"? It's more of the same. No gybes. No reefs. A little more wind tonight, but still sailing before the trade winds in sunshine all day with good wind, fair seas and a good heading to Antigua.

Today we spotted the sails of Saul Goodman and Ardnagee and they are both now far in our wake.

Highlights:
I'm late getting to this post and want to get to bed after my watch so I'm just going to outline the highlights of the day -

Attended a Master Class of Kim preparing a green curry with our dorado catch of few days ago. Made with ginger, garlic, coconut milk and other goodies. I ate two bowls. This is our third meal with this fish and we still have some in the freezer.

Audited a Master Class of Doug "The Professor" fixing various and sundry things around the boat that needed fixing. Including soldering tiny wires on a bouncing boat in the high seas. Not recommended for beginners. However, he did not fix the trash compactor, which crapped out and he has thus far failed to repair.

Observed a Master Class of Captain Jim prostrating himself all over the boat to get the perfect iPhone slow shutter photograph with Morpheus in focus and blurred rushing and churning Atlantic Ocean in the background.

Fishing:
No fishing today. However a pod of dolphins discovered us and were jumping and playing in our bow wave for a while. Pictures and video pending.

Food:
Breakfast (and all day): Deb's fantastic Rum Cake
For Brunch - Green Coconut Ginger Garlic Curry with our Mahi Mahi / Dorado. Except for Jim who ate the curry with Hot Dogs. No. Really. He did.
For Dinner - Shirley's Meat Loaf in a wrap.

Movie Night:
No movie night tonight because it's screwing up everyone's watch/sleep patterns. - mw

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My intent is to cross-post daily logs to my blog MW Mobile Blog (MikeWallach.com) and Jim & Deb's Morpheus Sailing Blog from SailMail. Due to the technology limitations, these will be short -text only - posts. I'll backfill pictures and video once I am home again.

PostScript - All on-board have an opportunity to add comments here on the bottom of post prior to transmission if they so desire:

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It's called "Fishing" not "Catching" -MW Morpheus Log Day 11 -12/01 8:00 PM Ship Time (GMT)

Miles Traveled:1,926
Miles To Go (to Antigua): 806
Heading: 285
Current Speed: 7.5 knots
Fastest Ride so Far: Jim/Otto with a 17.2 Knot mark on 11/26
Butter Indicator: I put it out in the sun. It melted. Done deal.

Context Free Thought of the Day:
"Jim. Go back to bed. Kim's watch starts in five minutes." - Mike W

Sailing:
It's Groundhog Day! And no one is complaining. No gybes. No reefs. Just more of the same, day after day, sailing before the trade winds in sunshine with good wind, fair seas and heading to Antigua.

We saw yesterday's contact "Zed 7" again last night. She gybed, slowed up, and crossed behind us during move night.

Fishing:
Rod and reel deployed. First tried another "rapala-like" lure but with a smaller spoon and shallower diving profile to avoid the last rapala disaster. Let out a lot of line to give it a chance to get some depth behind this 8-10 knot "trolling" speed boat. Seemed to work for a while. Then, on one of it's periodic jumps out of the water, it snagged itself on the line rendering the swivel useless, and unbeknownst to us, began spinning far behind the boat and twisting the heavy monofilament line into a coiled spring. Soon every bit of slack created another coiled knot in the line and around the pole until the reel was rendered useless (Strike One).

After pulling the lure in by hand and cutting loose another 100 yards or so of line, we were back in the water with a weighted purple squid that didn't spin at all. An hour or so later it was hit by a fish that started taking out all the line. As I slammed on the drag, Kim saw a silver fish break the surface many swells behind. The line kept spooling out despite maximum drag, and by the time I got it under control the fish was off the hook. It took a long time to reel that line back in (Strike Two).

Redeployed the purple squid, this time with a shorter line as I was tired of reeling in miles of empty line. It spent most of the afternoon bouncing of the top of the swell behind us (Strike Three).

Food:
Deb's homemade zuchinni bread with a smear of soft butter and Yogurt Fruit Nut Medley for breakfast. Captain Jim is counting everyone's M&M's and implying that someone is stealing M&M's out of his bowl. I'm not saying this is a Captain Queeg situation, but... I'm just sayin'

Genoa Salami and Cheese wraps for lunch. Manchego. blue cheese,and Lomo salami for snacks. Pork and rattatouie over rice for dinner. - mw

Movie Night:
Las night'sTarrentino was um... well... Let's just say Four Rooms was three rooms too many. Back to a reliable entertainment. The Dude will abide on the mainsail tonight.

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My intent is to cross-post daily logs to my blog MW Mobile Blog (MikeWallach.com) and Jim & Deb's Morpheus Sailing Blog from SailMail. Due to the technology limitations, these will be short -text only - posts. I'll backfill pictures and video once I am home again.

PostScript - All on-board have an opportunity to add comments here on the bottom of post prior to transmission if they so desire:

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Jump to the left, step to the right -MW Morpheus Log Day 10 -11/30 7:48 PM Ship Time (GMT)

Miles Traveled:1,747
Miles To Go (to Antigua): 999
Heading: 285
Current Speed: 7.5 knots
Fastest Ride so Far: Jim/Otto with a 17.2 Knot mark on 11/26
Butter Indicator: Nobody cares anymore

Thought of the Day:
"Number 9... Number 9... Number 9..." - The Beatles

Sailing:
Lets do the gybe warp again! Due to a lack of journalistic rigor in the official ships log, I cannot precisely report on the exact number of hours we were on the port gybe before taking a jump to the left and a step to the right at 10:17 this morning. Safe to say, it has been around 4 days, possibly as much as 50+ hours that we were a Center Left sailboat. We are now Center Right and those sleeping on the port side of the boat will have a more restful night. I may or may not have successfully recorded a 360 degree movie of the entire gybe maneuver which I will endeavor to post on this blog at some indefinite time in the future.

As of the time of this post, we broke triple digits in miles remaining on this passage. The new course puts us on a heading that is still a little South of Antigua, but we've got 999 miles to refine the course.

We had a cargo ship sighting overnight on Kim's watch, and we can see a sail about 4 miles distant on our starboard beam as I type this. AIS informs us this is the "ZED 7" Solo Sailor cranking along at 12 knots. First sightings since we saw three boats on the 25th.

Casino Morpheus:
The Antigua Arrival Betting Pool had to be expanded as we accepted a late entry from our honorary crew member and guardian weather angel, Gibb. He is predicting a December 5th 6:16 PM Atlantic Time arrival. Since no one on board can explain the difference between Atlantic Time and Ship Time, we've added a December 5th early arrival date to the pool.

Additional Antigua Arrival Pool Date: Dec 5
Hours:<< 0-4 [xx] 4-8 [xx] 8-12 [DJ] 12-15 [JG] 15-18 [KC] 18-21 [MW] 21-24 [DG]

Fishing:
We gave the fish another day off.

Food and Drink:
For Happy Hour we enjoyed Tinto Veranos, a refreshing red wine, lemon Fanta over ice concoction that is popular in Spain.

Yogurt Fruit and Nut Medley for breakfast. Everyone had to pick out their M&M's and give them to Jim. Ham and Cheese wraps for lunch. Chicken and mushroom risotto for dinner. All great. - mw

Movie Night:
With continuing benign conditions, Movie Night on the Mainsail is becoming a nightly event. Quentin Tarrentino tonight.

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My intent is to cross-post daily logs to my blog MW Mobile Blog (MikeWallach.com) and Jim & Deb's Morpheus Sailing Blog from SailMail. Due to the technology limitations, these will be short -text only - posts. I'll backfill pictures and video once I am home again.

PostScript - All on-board have an opportunity to add comments here on the bottom of post prior to transmission if they so desire:

All of the above is some straight up sh-- from trip scribe and historian MIke W.
Noon yesterday to noon today run: 194.5 nm.
Wash day for me. 2 loads- DJ

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Place Your Bets -MW Morpheus Log Day 9 -11/29 8:00 PM Ship Time (GMT)

Miles Traveled:1,564
Miles To Go (to Antigua): 1,165
Heading: 225
Current Speed: 8.5 knots
Fastest Ride so Far: Jim/Otto with a 17.2 Knot mark on 11/26
Butter Indicator: Schrodinger's Butter is in a Superposition Quantum Wave Function where it is both melted and unmelted until someone opens the lid

Thought of the Day:
"Fry 'em" - Jurist in "My Cousin Vinnie"

Sailing:
Same as it ever was... Same as it ever was... Same as it ever was ....

Casino Morpheus:
The Antigua Arrival crew betting pool has been settled.

Volumes I and II of the rules, codicels, exceptions, tie-breakers, etc. are too extensive to be transmitted via SailMail so we will maintain these on a 50 gigabyte thumbdrive on board.

Antigua Arrival Date: Dec 6
Hours:<< 0-4 [KC] 4-8 [JG] 8-12 [DJ] 12-15 [KC] 15-18 [DG] 18-21 [MW] 21-24 [JG]
Antigua Arrival Date: Dec 7
Hours: 0-4 [DJ] 4-8 [JG] 8-12 [DG] 12-15 [DG] 15-18 [KC] 18-21 [MW] 21-24 [DG]
Antigua Arrival Date: Dec 8
Hours: 0-4 [JG] 4-8 [DJ] 8-12 [KC] 12-15 [DJ] 15-18 [MW] 18-21 [MW] >>

Fishing:
We've enjoyed two meals of the Dorado with at least one more meal pending. Fishing will resume tomorrow.

Food:
Leftover Rum Cake for Breakfast. Chilaquelles for Brunch. Dorado Sushi Rolls for dinner appetizer (except for Jim, who had a mystery meat byproduct roll instead). Seared pork & rice with ratatullie (sp) for the main course.

Last night's movie night on the mainsail "My Cousin Vinnie" was interrupted midway due to technical difficulties. The movie will probably resume tonight, although I am not sure why. The ending is clear - [SPOILER ALERT] The two New Jersey kids are found guilty and electrocuted - mw

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My intent is to cross-post daily logs to my blog MW Mobile Blog (MikeWallach.com) and Jim & Deb's Morpheus Sailing Blog from SailMail. Due to the technology limitations, these will be short -text only - posts. I'll backfill pictures and video once I am home again.

PostScript - All on-board have an opportunity to add comments here on the bottom of post prior to transmission if they so desire:
Casualtes: 1 clothespin lost overboard.
Repaired: Hinge on chart table lid, 3 screws pulled out .Match sticks pressed in place and screws re secured. 3 year warranty.
Observation: After many days of seeing just about nothing in the ocean today we are seeing many bits and small clumps of light brown seaweed. It is our belief that it is Saragaso seaweed.
Rebooted : All B&G instruments and ships computer.

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Is the passage half empty or half full? - MW Morpheus Log Day 8 -11/28 5:50 PM Ship Time (GMT)

Miles Traveled:1,344
Miles To Go (to Antigua): 1,344
Heading: 245
Current Speed: 8 knots
Fastest Ride so Far: Jim/Otto with a 17.2 Knot mark on 11/26
Butter Indicator: Butter debate rages on unsettled. Consensus: Not Melted

Thought of the Day:
"Boring is good." - Deb

Sailing:
It's deja vu all over again. Blue skies, puffy clouds, and a consistent following wind. A smooth comfortable ride in mostly the right direction. The same port gybe with the Wing and Wing configuration, mainsail starboard, jib port. Jim thinks this is the longest time on this passage we've been on the same gybe. The trade winds are performing as advertised. We're on a course that'll take us further south than Antigua, but hey... there are other cool islands down there.

Halfway Party:
At 5:50 PM GMT we reached the exact midpoint of the passage. 1,344 miles ahead, 1,344 miles behind, and you know that notion just crossed my mind.

Deb planned ahead with a selection of hats that you will simply have to wait for the pictures to see, as I am not going to attempt to describe them. Okay. Two hints. Think... Conquistador Jim, #Doug, Dia De La Muerto Kim, and Matador Mike. A double issue of grog to mark the occasion - meaning - I got two beers. The highlight was Deb's homemade Rum Cake, a slice of which qualified as an additional ration of grog.

Fishing:
Fishing is suspended as we've decided we should eat the fish we caught before catching another (refrigeration constraints).

Food:
Yogurt Fruit and Nut Medley for Breakfast. Multilayer Nachos for lunch. Fresh Dorado Tempura Fish Tacos for dinner with Debs flammable Rum Cake for dessert. Smoking not permitted within 10 feet of the cake.

The fish was great. Really great. Captain Jim (who generally hates fish) gave the fish taco plate a glowing review saying: "I could eat this."

As good as the fish main course, the rum cake was even better.

With benign conditions, movie night on the mainsail is on the docket after dark. - mw

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My intent is to cross-post daily logs to my blog MW Mobile Blog (MikeWallach.com) and Jim & Deb's Morpheus Sailing Blog from SailMail. Due to the technology limitations, these will be short -text only - posts. I'll backfill pictures and video once I am home again.

PostScript - As a courtesy I give all on-board an opportunity to add comments here on the bottom of post prior to transmission if they so desire:

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Take the Red Pill - MW Morpheus Log Day 7 -11/27 4:00 PM Ship Time

Miles Traveled:1165
Miles To Go (to Antigua): 1525
Heading: 245
Current Speed: 8 knots
Fastest Ride so Far: Jim/Otto with a 17.2 Knot mark aided by a 26 knot following wind in the early morning hours of 11/26
Butter Indicator:

Jim: "The butter has melted!"
Deb: "That is soft butter, not melted butter."
Kim: "Not melted yet. No puddle."

Thought of the Day:

"Everything is better with a smear of soft butter on it. Particularly Deb's homemade ginger bread." - mw

Sailing:
Today we have blue skies, puffy clouds, and a consistent easy following wind. Not going very fast, but it's smooth comfortable sailing in the right direction, and no need for any sail adjustments all day (so far). We're on a port gybe with the Wing and Wing configuration, mainsail starboard, jib port. Jim says we may be on this gybe for days. He says that everyday.

It is such smooth sailing that everyone slept late and there is very little activity to report. However, it is smooth sailing today because there was a lot of activity last night. On Doug's watch, in a squall, in light winds, at some point, Morpheus was sailing backwards, confusing Otto, and requiring running the motor to get him reoriented. We were sailing again by the time of my watch, but we were apparently sailing to Nova Scotia instead of Antigua. So Jim, Deb, and I gybed and redeployed the jib in the dark while sleep deprived. It went off like clockwork.

On Jim's watch there was a private showing of the Matrix projected on the mainsail.

Private because apparently no else was invited. I was aware of it because I thought I was dreaming, but I actually heard Morpheus (movie character not boat) explaining the Matrix to Neo. Kim caught the end of of the movie on her watch, at which point the wind died, so they rolled in the jib and started motoring. By the time of my morning watch we were sailing again.

Fishing:
Due to our port gybe, the mainsail sheet extends across the spot where we mount the fishing rod and reel. So... no rod and reel deployed. Jim did get the handline deployed with a red squid lure. I don't want to believe that Jim selected this tack specifically to keep me from using the rod and reel, but ... I just don't know.

BREAKING: The sailing was so smooth that the Officer Corp authorized a cocktail hour and distributed beers. As we were enjoying the beer, a four foot dorado hit the handline.

Jim's catch, but a real team effort bringing it in. Having experienced some difficulty in the past getting a hooked fish on the boat, we decided to not rush it. The fish was hooked well enough to drag it behind the boat until exhausted.

I then climbed down on the transom and grabbed it under the gills hauling it on to the boat.

 We put a stringer on it, and with a few judicious cuts put it back in the ocean to bleed out. Finally, still standing on the transom, we decided to fillet the beast on top of the Yeti cooler.

Measuring the beast. Four foot on the nose.

With the rest of the crew finding me tools, ensuring I was safely secured, taking photographs, and washing the back of the boat with a sprayer to keep effluvia flowing backward, we managed to hack some good size fillets out of the catch. Jim also helped by shouting encouragement from below deck.

After filleting, the carcass was went back to where it came.

And my pants went on the stringer for a salt water wash.

Dinner was already underway, so half the fillets went into the freezer and half into the fridge. We'll be eating fish the next couple of nights. [Ed. Note: A fishing video will be posted here in the fullness of time].

Food:

With everyone sleeping late, breakfast was catch as catch can. I enjoyed Deb's Homemade Ginger Bread with a smear of soft butter. Lunch was ham and cheese wraps. Chicken Chili with Ratatouie for dinner. As I feared, I am gaining weight on this passage. - mw

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My intent is to cross-post daily logs to MW Mobile Blog and Jim & Deb's Morpheus Sailing Blog from SailMail while en-route. Due to the technology limitations, these will be short, text-only posts. I'll backfill pictures and video once I am home again. Eventually.

PostScript - All on-board have an opportunity to add comments here on the bottom of post prior to transmission if they so desire:

Mike is doing a good job - Jim

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