Fishtales Magazine: A Sailfish Point Publication - Magazine - Page 11
strong winds created by frequent squalls. The waves were predicted
to be vomit-inducing and would have made walking upright on the boat
impossible. A meteorologist friend sent me a note warning me that I
was headed to this problematic sea condition. I had seen the same in
my weather data. Without delay, I adjusted the boat’s course heading
towards Antarctica rather than Sail昀椀sh Point. This was the right call
but it was an emotional low point to be sailing away from my goal. The
weaker tail of the trough did catch up with Cyclops and we experienced
waves that were taller than a one story building. In the large waves the
boat accelerates into the trough making sleep impossible. The water
rushing by the hull sounds as if I am in a barrel going over Niagara Falls.
I do not have 昀椀rst-hand experience in using a barrel as a conveyance.
Heather: Describe the other low for you, the physical issues at sea.
Jason: Physical lows are not so bad because you can do something
to improve your situation. During the crossing, I had the bad luck of
sailing through a lot of squalls with similar patterns. Before the squall,
the wind would be blowing 15 knots while the boat was progressing at
a comfortable pace driven by a large amount of sail area. Then a dark
black cloud would arrive at night while I was sleeping. It is hard to see
clouds while sleeping during a moonless night. Instead, my very loud
wind alarm would wake me and I would sprint to get on deck. Once out
of the cabin, I would spin winches to reef the sail. Ree昀椀ng reduces the
size of the sails to better deal with high winds. Typically, by the time I got
on deck the breeze would be 25 knots. As I started the ree昀椀ng process
the wind would increase to 30 knots. The lines are under strong loads
and all the winches are human powered. Other boats have electric
winches but I wanted to keep the experience physical. While ree昀椀ng in
these strong winds, the sail shakes so hard that the rigging on the boat
vibrates. The breeze then would increase to 40 knots. I was too busy
to be scared. Finally, the sail area would be reduced. I would be very
wet. I then would spend a few minutes coiling lines while my heart rate
dropped. Many nights I would repeat this process three times. My
left arm became sore from grinding the winch. I would go down below
looking for a dry out昀椀t and would try to go back to sleep. Sometimes,
I decided to stay awake and watch for the next storm cloud on the
radar. This process is dramatic but by the second week I noticed it
had become second nature. This is typical ocean sailing when crossing
unstable weather.
Heather: Gail you were on land during the crossing but I am sure you
were stressed. Jason said his adventure was your torment? Is that true?
What was your worst part of the passage?
