Day 10 - Trade Winds

There is just something so special about the trade winds. It’s not just the fair winds and temperate climate. Nor is it just the beauty of the sea all around you. It has something to do with the fact that the trade winds and these special conditions are perennial. They don’t just go away with the next cold front, or disappear at the changing of a season. And there is a serenity here. A peace that is all consuming. Life happens to the rhythm of the swells passing under the boat, to the background noise of the water passing the hull.

And then there is the moon. Each night its bigger and stays with us for longer. And as it sets, it casts a sliver path onto the water in the direction of Rio. It’s all about spinnakers and swells, and staying in the rhythm. And the villain of the piece, is the South Atlantic High. Just like a pantomime baddy – can’t do any real harm, but can slow down proceedings. And every time he shows his face – feigned horror floods the audience. The secret is to keep him at bay. Just like the pantomime audience, we keep peering into the wings to see if the villain is about.....and we keep seeing him!

And so we all (except the intrepid Explora) slide off to the safe haven of the North, hoping the villain will disappear. And we saw the villain again in the wings today! So we took the starboard gybe, and are sliding off further to the North. Tonight, the moon will tease us......She will be right over Rio, but off our port bow. We will be tempted to sail to her, but we know that the villain lurks between us and her, waiting to trap us, and hold us!

So we will ignore her, and hold our course, watching the moon through the mainsail and the spinnaker. Waiting for the moment when the villain goes away, and we can point our bows straight down the silver path.

 

Editors Note:

 

gybe

1.   (nautical) To change tack with the wind crossing behind the boat. (Mostly used of boats and other small sailing craft — the corresponding manoeuvre in a sailing ship is to wear).

2.   (nautical) To shift a fore-and-aft sail suddenly and forcefully from one side to the other, while sailing before the wind. (also jibe). (wiktionary.com)