Salacia: A normal routine at sea? @ Sail Blogs

[NewsReader]

Two memorable events took place today. Firstly, I made brownies to celebrate our halfway mark. Secondly, we showered. That's right, girlfriends, we hadn't washed our hair for 10 days; I bet most of you cannot say you've experienced that! Here's our normal 24 hour routine on Salacia: midnight-4am Dee's night watch. Dress in the dark, pop up on deck like a gopher every 15 minutes, keep the boat sailing and try to snooze in between. 4-8am Mark's watch. Mark eats poptarts, sails and snoozes. At 6am, he starts the motor to recharge our batteries. When the motor is running, he eats toast (a treat!). At 7am, he listens to the Amigo(Mexico)net on the sideband radio and connects with Sailmail which gives us our weather information. 8am-11 Dee wakes up and Mark is down for more sleep. Dee eats "pan tostada" (Mexican for big crouton), does chores or reads, and tries to keep the jib from ragging with 15 minute checks. 11-12 Mark gets on the radio again to check in with the Puddlejump net (for Pacific crossing). We listen to our friends' position reports, plot them on a map and gloat if we happen to be advancing at a greater speed! 12-1pm Lunch. We usually have leftovers, a sandwich or something grilled between two tortillas. 1-3:30pm We usually read in the cockpit. Dee might take a nap. Today, Mark trailed a fishing line and Dee baked. 3:30-4:30pm Mark may radio Don on Summer Passage, our weather guru, for information and his recommendation on our course. 4:30-6pm Dinner preparation and eating. Yes, this often takes well over an hour in rolly seas. Cutting up salad vegetables, and catching them as they roll off the table, may take 45 minutes. Several times, I have given up and opened a can of something. On good days, chili, quesadillas and mini-pizzas are our favorite dinners. 6-8pm Reading, talking and sunset watching on deck. Mark might snooze in prep for his night shift. 8pm-midnight Mark's night watch - Mark sails and checks for boats. We've only seen three boats in ten days, but we're keeping safe by scanning every 15 minutes. Then it's wake up time for Dee again! Of course, challenging weather and lack of sleep throw off the whole routine. Fortunately, we've had fair weather and adequate rest lately so the two of us, and the boat, are rolling along! Direct Link

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