Pacific Ocean – Southern Hemisphere 12 April 2010 03.3839S 130.9605W
Three new shellbacks entered the southern hemisphere yesterday. The neophytes were dowsed on the bow by Neptune’s ambassador, and welcomed to the better hemisphere, “where there’s more water than land.” There were no shaved heads, so each Neophyte owes Neptune’s ambassador a bottle of rum (according to Captain Cook). Still, Neptune seems to approve of our crossing – we’ve had continued strong southeast winds. Two days in a row now we’ve had two 200 mile days 8.5 knots average per day (measured noon to noon, point to point), I believe these are record days for Silver Lining’s 22 years on the water. The wind has been slightly forward of our beam and has gradually been moving aft coming more and more from the East. We did in fact find the thin spot in the ITCZ and are full into the southern trades. It looks like we’ll be arriving in les Marquises sometime Thursday afternoon or Friday morning. Frank’s educated decision to head south early was definitely the right one.
Silver Lining does deserve some serious credit. It doesn’t get much better than a schooner on a beam reach. The nice thing about a staysail schooner, is you can plaster the area above the boat with sail, There’s the jib, the staysail, the main, the fisherman (that upside down sail between the two masts), and with the wind perpendicular to the boat they are all working fully. If the wind comes up a little too much too fast, you take one of the sails down and she still rip roars along. None of the sails are big or cumbersome to work with, so even reefing the main (the largest sail on the boat – well not counting the spinnaker) is a pretty easy task. With all sails (but the spinnaker) up, and 15-20 knot winds, she doesn’t heal over too uncomfortably (especially compared to our last boat a 1968 Islander 37 – in similar conditions, Bille en Tete would give me the sensation that we’d soon be upside down). Silver Lining is amazingly comfortable in most seas, her movements are gentle and determined, and you get the sense that she’s attacking the waves not the other way around. She makes a great nest and we’re settling in very nicely with her. Even though she was designed for a sailing couple, she seems to have a very strong maternal side, and is caring for our polywogs nicely. I guess they’re really her grandkids too, since she’s watched them grow since birth.*
xoxomo
*Dad if you get time, I’m hoping you could scan and post some of your construction pictures so I can link them from our www.silverliningacademy.org website. We no longer have the album on board, and folks are curious about how you built her.