Mon Apr 13,09
Just got off our very wet night watch.
I woke up around 3:00am to the sound of heavy rain beating on the deck over my head. Just before we
came on watch the squall passed bringing with it a big wind shift. We came up on deck just as the order to
brace the yards around came. Nothing like starting a watch off with a bang :-)
A half hour later we braced them again as the winds returned to their pre squall direction.
About midway through our watch the skis opened up and I spent my lookout in the pouring rain.
By the time our watch ended the winds had dropped and shifted such that we were pointing directly at
Dominica. So we fired up the main engine and took in all sails and are now motoring North off the eastern
shore of Dominica. FWIW you can see the steam from the boiling lake, like a cloud stuck in the forest,
cool.
My hands are a mess, even my “good” one is a bit torn up. Callouses and water don’t mix.
More later…
Just got off a very busy watch.
We tacked this evening at around 5:00pm and it went very well.
Since then we have been sailing full and bye but in the wrong direction. That leads me to believe that we
will be tacking again. Possibly even later tonight which means we would be doing it in the dark. Fun fun
that!
One of the islands we have been sailing slowly past is Marie Gallant (?!?) this island is NE of Dominica
and is actually the edge of the Caribbean tectonic plate thrust up over the Atlantic plate. The volcanoes of
Dominica are the molten remains of the Atlantic plate melting as it descends. This is the classic plate edge
volcanic system but normally you can’t see the edge of the overriding plate so clearly.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
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