Day 11 – The Doldrums

The doldrums, that section of ocean dreaded by sailors. There is no wind and just a sky full of squalls. This is where we find ourselves today. You would think it would have been a boring day. Well, the last 24 hours have been anything BUT boring…

Last night as I came off my watch at 11pm, we were still sailing in southerly winds, but they were getting lighter. All the forecasts showed we should not have any wind, yet we were still cruising along. Still, we knew our epic ride north on the south winds were coming close to an end.

Mateo is on watch after me, so I gave him a debrief on what had happened on my watch. Not much had changed for me, but I let him know changes would be coming. I had also picked up some squall activity off in the distance on radar. I let Mateo know to keep an eye on it and if the squalls got closer to wake me.

About an hour and a half later, Mateo come down and woke me from a dead sleep. He said the wind had changed and that we were way off course. I came up and saw that our course had changed to due west instead of north. A light rain began to fall. Because we needed to get back on course, it meant we had to tack, so I asked Mateo to go up and release the preventer, which is an extra line that we use to secure our main sail and boom. It acts in the opposite direction of our main sheet and it serves two functions, one it keeps the boom from bouncing around when winds are light and seas are rollie, and it “prevents” the main sail and boom from swinging to the other side of the boat in the event were did an accidently gybe. A gybe is where the wind moves from one side of the boat to the other, but from behind the boat. A gybe is usually an easy maneuver when you are prepared, but if it happens by accident when you are not ready, it can be extremely violent, with the wind catching the main sail form behind, then slamming it with incredible speed all the way across to the opposite side of the boat. Accidental gybes are not fun and they can be powerful enough to cause significant damage to the boat. Thus, the use of a “preventer”, which locks the boom and main sail to “prevent” this from happening.

We had to release the preventer so we could do a controlled tack, turning the boat into the wind (instead of away from the wind, a gybe) so we could put the sails on the other side of the boat. Mateo was unable to release the preventer due to a knot that would not come undone. As he struggled with the knot, the boat got hit by the approaching squall and suddenly we had 25 knots of wind and pouring rain.

The wind forced the boat over on its side, and the autopilot struggled to keep the boat under control. When this happens, Otto just shuts off. So I ran back and grabbed the wheel as Mateo moved back into the cockpit. Right as I took the wheel, it happened, the wind shifted 90 degrees, as can happen in a squall, and BAM, accidental gybe. The full main sail got caught by 25 to 30 knots of wind. The Preventer did not stand a chance against 800 square feet of sail suddenly full of 30 knots of wind, and the line just broke apart, allowing the boom and main sail to fly across to the other side of the boat with lightning speed. As the main sheet, which controls the end of the boom, came whipping across, it grabbed our chart plotter, the map we use to navigate, an ripped it right off of it mounts.

You can see the black wires hanging down that once connected the chart plotter

At this point, the rest of the crew had scrambled on deck to help. Rain was pelting in our faces as the boat swung 180 degrees the other direction. I was trying desperately to get my bearings, but it was pitch black out with sheets of rain in my face.

Dean and Luke, rolled up our front jib sail so we would have one less sail to deal with in all this wind. Once I was able to figure out where the wind was coming from, I was able to swing the boat back on course, turn on the engine, and engage the autopilot. At this point the wind had mercifully died down and the rain had eased so things were getting easier.

We turned our attention to the all-important chart plotter that was in its protective case and dangling by several wires that connect it to all the systems on our boat (see wires in photo below). We managed to open the case so we could disconnect all the wires and pull the chart plotter free. It looked to be in fine condition, so we placed it in a safe place down below so we could deal with in the morning.

The south wind we had been running with for days was gone; there was no wind. So we set a course and motored throughout the night.’

The next morning I found that one of the important data cables to the chart plotter had pulled apart. Fortunately I had a spare. I plugged the power cable in to test it, and it sprung to life, thank goodness! The chart plotter is our main system for monitoring the boats progress and for viewing radar at night. When Mateo saw the chart plotter dangling helplessly from its cables, he literally thought we were doomed and would not make it home. It maybe an important piece of equipment, but we would still made it home fine in the event it had been damaged.

Mateo working on the finishing touches

I put Luke and Mateo to work repairing the part of the mount that had broken when it was assaulted by the main sheet. Once the repairs were completed and the mount back in it place, we reinstalled the chart plotter and connected all the cables. It powered right now and is good as new!

The chart plotter, in the lower left corner, working agin!

With this job done and the calm seas all around us, we decided it was time to do our halfway home swim and take a plunge, 1,500 miles from land! We dropped all our sails, stopped the boat and jumped in. The water felt magnificent, and it was nice to just be OFF the boat!

The deep blue color of the crystal-clear ocean, over 10,000 feet deep, is impossible to describe. We tried taking some photos as you can see below. They don’t do it justice, but you can get an idea of the beauty of the water then enveloped us.

Swimming in the deep blue waters....

Once back on the boat, we started the engine again, as the wind was still very light. We set our course then sat and watched an incredible sunset unfold before our eyes. It went on for about 30 minutes, getting more colorful and beautiful by the minute. Directly behind us was a massive dark squall with streaks of rain filling the sea. What a contrast this made to the colors of the sunset. This place maybe dreaded by sailors for its lack of wind, but it makes up for it with magnificent beauty!

Just the beginning of a beautiful sunset!

Hoping tomorrow is less eventful, We will continue to motor on until the NE Tradewinds reach us, sometime tomorrow afternoon. Then we should be off and sailing again…