Sailing Across the Pacific Ocean 2013 (Part 11) - 3,000 Miles to the Marquesas
We almost lost our stern anchor again today. We let out minimal scope yesterday so there was no risk of chafing on the rocky (what they call "sandy") bottom, but there was still significant chafing on our double-braided anchor rode when we pulled it in. The outer braid was even sliding off! We have no windlass at the back, so carefully pulling up a 50 pound anchor attached to 25 feet of chain without scratching the boat (and without the outer braid sliding off) was a real chore.
I had to dive in the water a total of three times today. Once to see if our swinging boat (the stern anchor was dragging all night) bent our propeller with the bow anchor chain, then again to clean the barnacles off the propeller,
and then finally, when we went to pull up the stern anchor (moments before we were going to depart), we found the anchor rode had tangled itself in our rudder.
We finally departed at 3:00pm and were on our way to Nuku Hiva!
This is a 3,000 nautical mile passage, with no land in sight for 25-30 days. This will be an extremely challenging passage, both mentally and physically, especially since it is just the two of us on the boat. Sleep will be minimal and we must learn to minimize our consumption of food, fuel, and water.
I will try to write in this blog everyday so I can keep track of time as even on our 7-day passages, when you are not sleeping at regular intervals, it is difficult keeping track of time after a few days.
****Haha, as I was typing that last paragraph, a little squid flew into the boat and hit Gary. That was so friggin weird!
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