Just when we should be entering the southern trade winds and enjoying a fast sail to the finish, Mother Nature taught reminded us a key lesson. It can always get worse - and it did. And bad weather is still often unforecasted.
The nightly squalls got really bad - as in continuous and no longer intermittent, and the rain came in a constant deluge. Moreover, it didn't clear up during the day either. It just poured and poured. Grey, gloomy overcast, winds from all directions, 8-10 fts seas, a 1/10 mile visibility. I had to laugh. It was like those exaggerated ocean conditions you see in the movies - sideways spray, pitching decks, howling winds. hard men crawling on all fours across the slanted ship decks. I'm not kidding - it was just like that. If it weren't for the warm air temp, I would've thought we sailed into the Gulf of Alaska or some other known storm zone. At times, the water blanketed the ocean so hard it momentarily reduced the size of the waves.
To add to the anxiety, a 'mystery' tuna fishing boat came from nowhere and got close (1.7 nm). He was not transmitting any AIS signal. A VHF call confirmed that he was from Ecuador, 22 days at sea so far, and that he'd stay clear. Don't they have a ton of fish in Ecuadorian waters - what's he doing way out here? The presumed skipper of this vessel said of our sailboat voyaging - "I wish I was doing what you are doing. Perhaps someday". Was he nuts? I wanted to get on his much larger and stronger boat right then and there!
Then, sometime later in the day, when the visibility was a only couple of boat lengths in the midst of the "monsoon trough" storm, another ship target appeared, this time on AIS but on a collision course, in about 2 hrs. A VHF call confirmed that this 695' freighter was headed to Japan and they would keep clear. I was relieved to see the ship's track make an early 20 degree course correction to take our stern. I thanked the skipper for his clear action and he said "It was his duty". Our cordial contact ended with us each wishing each other a safe journey.
This type of direct collision avoidance makes the AIS gear so valuable to the maritime community.
We did not know how long the stormy conditions would last, but we kept trying various configurations to keep the boat as safe as possible and able to handle the rough conditions. We settled on carrying just a jib sail for most of the time. After a couple of days, the conditions abated to very little wind, so we resorted to motorsailing until we found more (good) wind, which we eventually did.
I record these thoughts so I do not forget the experience - what it can really be like. It is so opposite of the sunny, delightful, sandy-beach sailing mag covers.
I'm now tired of writing about the crummy weather we've had, but I wanted to record my perceptions in the moment. It will now cease to be a main topic.
The crew is all pretty exhausted and tired of the weather trials, but everyone keeps standing their watches and Cinnabar keeps holding strong.
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