Sailing out of Chalong Bay, with the sun peeking over the hilltops behind us, on a broad reach, doing 6.7 Kts under a double reefed mainsail and full genoa, was a fabulous start to our passage. By 0900 we’d seen our first cargo ship and had dropped the mainsail to sail downwind on the genoa alone, enjoying a SOG (Speed Over Ground) of anything from 6.5 - 8.5 Kts, reaching 10 Kts at one point, with a following sea. Perfect! Maldives here we come!
As we’ve mentioned before, setting sail provides a sense of calmness and peacefulness in many ways, regardless of the usual stress associated with setting off into the big blue yonder. All the running around, all the planning, all the preparations, are completed. There’s no social media or world news. There’s no impromptu communications with family and friends. There’s no movies to stream. We enter our “sailing bubble”, where all we have to do is sail in the general direction of our destination, avoid any obstacles like ships and fishing boats, keep an eye on the weather, keep our shore-based contacts updated, eat, sleep and take care of our personal hygiene, as well as read if we choose. Everything is scheduled around our watches and the SSB/HF radio net, the latter giving us the chance to catch up with other yachts underway. It’s very basic living, taking one day at a time as a daysail. The best part about this passage, however, is that it’s taking us closer to home and to our loved ones, one nautical mile at a time!
Being our first day at sea, we were both on watch until after our mid-morning coffee, following which Roy went for a nap, leaving Elaine to do the first watch. Then it was Elaine’s turn to take a nap. Not surprising, though, neither of us actually slept, but a wee rest was better than nothing!
The only excitement for the day was a cargo ship passing just ahead of us as we turned to port to pass astern of it.
Our day ended with the SSB/HF radio net, a delicious chicken and vegetable soup and lighter winds; the latter expected per the forecast. That, however, forced us to start our starboard engine to run at a low RPM just as it was time for Elaine to go off watch. By 2100, the winds had started to pick up again, but not enough to propel us under sail alone. So tonight, under clear skies, with a waxing gibbous to guide us, we continue west.
