April 6, 2014
Sailing

When we check into the net each night we hear the other boats pulling away from us, further south and further west.  I know this is not a race and, in fact, I would prefer to get there later rather than earlier since we only get 90 days once we check in, but still…  Despite the fairly strong wind, Rhapsody seldom does more that 4 knots, sometimes 5 most often 3.  Other boats are doing 6 and 7.  Alan keeps trying different combinations of sails but nothing seems to make mush difference.  I find myself wishing that we had done a lot more sailing around Banderas Bay learning how the various sail combinations work, but that is the way it is so we will learn on the way.

Despite the lumpy seas the weather has been mostly lovely, warm but not too hot.  We wear overalls on deck at night to keep the water off, since the waves constantly wash over but there is no need for warm sweaters under.  The moon is almost full and when it is not up the sky is bright with stars.  Orion and the big dipper are still there but also lots of new constellations.  Once we turn south the southern cross in just ahead of us for most of the night.   It was a surprise to me that the night is almost never completely dark.  Even when it is cloudy there is a faint glow.  The ocean is full of phosphorous with sparkles and glow everywhere.  One night a wave washes over the deck and leave a trail of light over everything.  When I step in it my footsteps sparkle. 

One afternoon, Alan spots what looks like a flag in the distance. Bizarre.  We are at least 400 hundred miles from the closest land. As we get closer we discover that it is indeed an flag on a tall pole miles from anywhere.  I assume it marks a fisherman's favorite fishing spot.

Three nights in a row, on my watch, there is a bright glow in the distance.  The first night  I assume it is a cruise ship that I need to avoid but it does not show up on the AIS and it does not seem to move.  Turns out to be large fishing boats with enormously bright lights, harvesting the sea.  Anyway they make good lights to steer by.

We see dolphins almost every afternoon.  One day they are so thick around the boat it looks like a New York subway at rush hour.   They appear out of no where, leaping, twisting, diving.  One followed us for over an hour after all the others had left.  Often some come by in the night to say “Hi” and see how we are doing.  I always feel safe when the dolphins come by, for some reason.  One afternoon when the dolphins have playing for some time there is s sudden series of sharp explosions.  It almost sounds like machine gun fire.  I look towards the sound and see a series of water jets rise into the air.  A few minutes later, all the dolphins have left.  I can see them racing off in the distance.  Was it come kind of recall signal from the boss dolphin?