1255 Miles to Landfall: Gray Days, Spicy Curry, Easy Boat Handling and Whale Sighting
Thursday morning started early with a fully overcast sky and fog for the third day in a row. The fair southwest wind and current that we have been enjoying started to veer to the west and northwest and with it came that old contrary current that has bedeviled us. Mark and Drew were on watch and saw the need to change course as the new wind direction had us way off the great circle route we are following.
Mark is an experienced offshore sailor who owns a 50-foot Hinckley yawl and has sailed to Bermuda several times in the Marion-Bermuda Race. Drew is new to big boat sailing and this is his first long offshore passage; but he is a quick learner and in a short time has become an able hand. In pitch darkness, the two of them tied in the second reef, hauled in the mainsail and jib, jibed both sails, retrimmed for downwind running and reset the preventers —all without calling for extra hands from the sleeping crew below decks or leaving the cockpit. This was all due to their skill and how well the boat is set up for shorthanded sailing. And, due to the design of the self-tacking rig and the placement of the line stoppers and winches in the cockpit, everything can be accomplished very economically safely. Well done, boys. Thanks for letting us sleep.
The crew of Maverick eats well at sea and last night was no exception. The fare was Steve’s very own lamb curry with a curry sauce made from scratch, not curry powder, and chunks of lamb that were simmered for hours to perfection. Everything was cooked in advance and frozen. It was spicy and it was hot. Hair raising, eye popping, lip burning hot. There was a lot of oohing and aahing around the table but not a morsel of curry was left over. We finished up with cool pear and peach slices in cream from the fridge.
Note: I’ll be posting BWS’s Facebook page regularly and on Cruising Compass every Thursday. Thanks for the support of Inmarsat and Ocens. You can track Maverick’s progress at