Our long-time reader Stiks, who’s on a sailboat in mid Pacific sent up a position update:
“George…we are currently long term floating in a gigantic high pressure zone with almost zero wind and have been pretty much stuck and drifting around for three days. Lots of cool lightning, some heavy squalls to fill the tanks, and plenty of time to be creative with food, read, nap, swim, and generally enjoy the glassy sea world. The moat is wide, New Caledonia is now reasonably close, and it’s about ninety miles to our next waypoint which we are now moving towards at a little over two knots. The Starlink doesn’t work out here so we have no idea about anything and are much happier for it. EBT? Venezuela? New York election? War in the ME? Not a care from here. Fresh food is getting low but we still have a few more days before we have to get serious about the cans and hitting the rice and beans hard. Just letting you know all is well in Stik’s world. Feel free to let our friends know too.
Best or worst of it, no telling. The glass off continues and we limp along burning electrons on the flattest shiny sea I’ve ever experienced. Using just .79 of a KW (out of 20 tops) we are making good average 2.5kts on our rhumbline. This is better than sitting and drifting as the guys just a hundred and twenty years or so ago would have been forced to do. Also good is high solar input which won’t run the ship but at least adds something to the mix. Still don’t care about the rest of the dirt activities unless GPS goes down or there is a general global social meltdown from the arrival, a state of panic and collapse that would threaten our ability to get a nice fish and chips and a beer in our port of call.
Of special interest to those of us who have lived aboard, raced, are still have the dream of cutting lines and taking off. dLynn and Egor in particular.
George @godaweful early
Sticks, glad that you enjoying ‘flat seas’.
Wife and I thought about living aboard for the rest of time or until we couldn’t handle the sails but gave it up for a garden and an orchard on the hard.
For us it was a good move back to the hard as we are closer to family, have a garden and orchard to play around with for as long we can.
Good luck on your adventures! Fair winds and calm seas until your next fish and chips with a cool one.