B2G - Day 5

9AM Position Report

A little too much excitement in the last 24 hours.

Yesterday, as we motored northward in very light south winds, we found ourselves in some very rough seas. The swells were probably 2 to 3 meters in height and coming at 6 second intervals from the northeast, making the boat sort of corkscrew through the waves. Think of a washing machine on the agitate cycle. Susanne succumbed to the motion for the first time on this passage and was somewhat sick. These nasty swells lasted until almost midnight, when they lessened to something that was just a little uncomfortable. We attempted to sail a couple of times, for a total distance covered under sail of only about 4 miles. With such light winds it is almost impossible to keep the wind in the sails as the boat rocks back and forth and up and down with such ferocity.

Early this morning, around 5AM, I found that the constant thrashing of the mainsail (which is always left up when we are motoring) has resulted in the untying of one of the lazy jacks (the lines that help keep the sail from going all over the place when it is lowered). In addition, the sail cover, which is attached to said lazy jacks and has been deteriorating considerably over the last couple of years, ripped most of its threads out on the starboard side, exposing the imbedded stainless steel rod that runs within it. OK, it is hard to explain but suffice it to say it was a mess and I spent about a 1/2 hour wrestling it into submission on deck, in the dark, with the boat thrashing about in the swells, while my crew looked on, holding her barf bucket. No fun at all!

This morning the seas are somewhat flatter and we have a brisk NE wind, allowing us to do some serious close-hauled sailing. We really need to put some miles under the keel under sail as I am convinced we do not have enough diesel to motor the rest of the way into Golfito. We are hoping this wind lasts for at least a few hours today.

Distance made good so far is 463 miles, leaving about 140 to go.

{GMST}06|23|N|082|59|W|B2G - Day 5|B2G - Day 5{GEND}