For the past two weeks, Oso has been sailing exclusively on a port tack, with the wind coming over the port side of the boat. The southeast trades have been relatively steady in direction, although considerably weaker and more variable in strength than normal, so there has not been very much sail handling to occupy our time.
But now an autumn storm has started to creep up from the Southern Ocean. We are too far north to be affected by strong wind or stormy seas, but the massive low pressure system is changing the wind direction on the edge of the tropics where we are sailing.
So it feels like a major milestone to gybe the boat and bring the wind onto the starboard side of the boat. We’ve been sailing nearly downwind, and that requires a lot of running rigging to be set – there’s a foreguy and afterguy to stabilize the whisker pole fore and aft, a topping lift to hold the pole vertically, and a preventer run from the end of the main boom to the bow in an attempt to stop unintentional gyres.
All of that needs to be taken down, piece by piece, and then more or less set up on the other side of the boat. But after an hour’s work, Oso has turned and is once again sailing towards her destination.
All’s well aboard.
Day Twenty One
21 41.5S 127 43.0W
179nm
