It was a very good call to wait for a day for the weather to pass. Today is beautiful. A cloudless, low wind day and the big seas from yesterday’s storm are coming down. Tonight is a not only a full moon, but a super large moon at its closest approach to earth. The moon will be up all night. It’s going to be beautiful.
It was such a nice day that we were all up on the flybridge until we got offshore and it got a bit cooler. The water temperature is still only 59 degrees so it’s cool when you are not in the sun. We were anxious to see how the new stabilizer control system would work. The answer to that is “FANTASTIC”. The seas are coming in from our beam (from the side) and there is virtually no roll. Only pitch (bow up and down, not side to side).
Due to yesterday’s winds, we did not do a proper “sea trail” to test everything out at sea. So the first couple hours of this voyage were our sea trials. Fortunately due to good work over the winter and the team of the boat yard and our crew, everything worked well. It took us a little bit to get re-familiarized with the navigation system. After 3 weeks on Sunflower’s Raymarine sailing oriented system, Friendship 4’s powerful Furuno system takes a bit get to known again. It’s such a powerful, capable system that there is a lot to know.
We set up a watch rotation with two people on watch at any given time. Each watch is 4 hours long so you can get 4 hours of sleep between watches. The two people are staggered by 2 hours so both do not change at the same time. Having a staggered watch change provides continuity.
We could get by with one person on watch in these conditions but we expect fog off of Cape Sable at the tip of Nova Scotia. The cold 44 degree water of the Labrador current comes down the coast of Nova Scotia and when it intersects with the warm water from the Gulf of Maine, there’s almost always fog. We want two people on watch in the fog – One on the helm & navigation and the other on the radar and radio with other vessels.
We’re easily making our 8 knots and at a lower RPM than expected due to the relatively calm seas. That means we’re burning 6.5 gallons an hour instead of 8 gallons. A big difference.
Anne thawed a delicious soup for dinner along with crackers and cheese. Perfect for a night at sea. The soup was left from the frozen provisions from her boat for the Newport Bermuda Race. I topped it off with a frozen snickers bar. Yes!
So that’s it for now. We should round Cape Sable in the morning daylight and be heading east on the coast of Nova Scotia.
FRIENDSHIP 4 Position at 1130pm EDT:
The Adventures of Anne 
Hi Anne!
Your trip looks amazing so far! Love reading about your adventures and the day to day activities. Send more photos!
I am leaving Chicago today after helping Caitlin move on Monday. We have been unpacking boxes, making Target runs (3) and putting together end tables coffee table, and closet storage units (4). This morning was for hanging art and pictures. I also combed, clipped and bathed Elsa- I did a really good job!
Have a great time and good luck with Rummikub!
Debbie
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