Passage Revelation: It is comforting to know we have an electronics blanket to keep us safe and warm.
Lessons Learned: Ensure all electronics are working correctly by checking them regularly, and listening for any changes in the performance. Always have a backup plan, if your electronic world fails.
Epiphanies happen when one is surrounded by tons and tons of deep, endless, cobalt blue water. This realization came to me about my years of racing sailboats. In retrospect, that experience has given me a base of understanding how to maneuver the boat: whether it is trimming the sails or understanding the direction of the wind and waves. In racing you watch the waves to know the direction of the wind. They move from the same direction. This knowledge has come in handy for my now cruising world. In my earlier racing years, electronics were not used to determine the direction of the wind or the depth of the sea. You used the same knowledge the Vikings used as they read the stars, watched the waves and interpreted the skies.It is important to keep an eye on the electronics. On the GPS you can tell your distance from land, your point of origination, and your destination. At that moment we are 100 nautical miles south of Pensacola and 225 miles northwest of Clearwater, Florida. The depth meter indicates we are in 8,400 feet or 1,400 fathoms of water. To me the sea is truly an endless well with no bottom.
There are no birds, no sign of life on the surface and not a ship to be found. There are no fishing vessels, because of the restriction on fishing following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill off the Louisiana coast. The only sound was water coming over the bow making 6.2 knots, Speed over Ground (SOG).
The silence of the men sleeping gave me security knowing that soon they would be at the helm again and I was truly not alone. Being alone at sea would not be comforting to me. Another feeling of well-being is the sound of the engine working like a dream, humming and sputtering along. It is truly the heartbeat of the boat.
As the men awake, we run the generator and to our surprise it begins cutting off. I call out, “Switch the fuel tanks”. My husband open and closes the appropriate valves from the empty fuel tank to the available full tank. This quick maneuver saved my husband the aggravation of bleeding the engine after it shuts down from fuel starvation.
We are now making out way southeast, so we can head directly into Tampa Bay. Our stop at Tampa Bay will allow us to catch up on necessary computer work. The SPOT Messenger tells everyone our location at sea. It sends a message telling all our friends and love ones that we are OK. Unfortunately, you can’t escape the real world of electronics. The electronics on the boat are comforting. Where the engine is the heartbeat of the boat, the electronics read the pulse. They provide us the knowledge of where we are and what we are doing at all times.
My husband faithfully writes on a log the longitude and latitude, so if our electronics quit we can continue our passage. He has a sextant just in case we have to know where we are by stars. If necessary, we can still use celestial navigation just as our forefathers did.
Sitting up in the bow of s ship, listening to the ocean as it came into contact with the propeller is a distant memory I often recall. Happy and peaceful moments lost in the beauty and wonder of all that is.
ReplyDeleteA change in the engine noise was often uncomfortable as I trusted all was well!
Happy sailing, Stay safe and let's hope we all avoid the electronic disturbances that can come from solar flares!