Tuesday was a grey overcast day with rain! There was very little wind, so we motored for much of the day and progress has been a little slow. The seas have been flat so it has been very comfortable but with no sunshine it has been somewhat cooler than we have got accustomed to in the Caribbean.
We have two sets of navigation lights (a set comprises green on the right hand side, red on the left and white at the back). A set at the top of the mast, that we use when sailing and a set at deck level. Being higher up, the ones at the masthead are visible from further away so are the ones we use most of the time, however when motoring the regulations state that we must use the deck level lights in conjunction with a white ‘steaming light’ part way up the mast. It is important for other boats to know whether we are sailing or motoring because the anti-collision rules are different.
Last night we switched to our motoring configuration but noticed shortly afterwards that neither the red or green deck level lights were working. Rather strange since they had been fine when we last used them a few weeks ago. We waited most of the day for a dry spell to investigate the problem but it became obvious it was going to be dark before it got dry! Bizarrely the problem was the same for both lights – corrosion on a hidden wiring joint inside the pulpit (a stainless steel frame at the front of the boat that supports the guard wires that run around the boat to help stop us falling off as we move around). In the drizzle we effected temporary repairs to both wires – permanent solutions will have to wait until a dry day, but at least the lights are working again.
Dinner was a lovely chilli con carne with garlic bread and was followed by watching Oceans 11 in the cockpit to pass the time before we settled into night watches.
The rain has now stopped and the clouds are thinning so we can just make out the moon and a few stars through the haze. Maybe tomorrow will be a return to the sunshine we have got used to and if we are lucky we may get some wind. We found three dead flying fish on deck today and have seen three boats in the distance. We are now over halfway with 391 miles to go.
Derek & Lesley x