An Indian Summer

The morning remains chilly but by 11am it's time to un-layer. The promised warm day was arriving.

Myself and even more so, Monique are appreciating the unseasonal weather. We aren't even a month after our winter solstice and the weather apps predict 28°C on Saturday.

On my short walk to work this morning my finger tips and ears weren't numbed by yesterday's cold. That morning, frosted lawns in the lower areas proved winters point.

At 11°C this morning it was positively tropical.

That is an important factor to stay aware of when sailing, especially long distances. You will experience localised weather systems that might surprise you. Even the most advanced weather prediction programs are sometimes less than accurate.

I was sailing off the coast of Brazil. We were west of the Amazon Fan. The blue sky hosted high-pressure cumulus clouds. Flocks of flying sheep.

I was not at the helm. I was servicing a winch on deck. I looked up and recognised that the grey cloud, intimidating the horizon, speeding towards us was likely to be a squall. 

I am glad I saw it early. We immediately put 3 reefs into the mainsail and changed the head sail for a storm jib.

I asked the helmsman to start the engine. With the boost the motor provided we could power through a variety of predicaments.

Less than 3 minutes after making preparations the storm hit us. I thought I had been conservative when I asked for the storm jib and reefs. I wasn't.

A wild squall overtook us. The wind was an enthusiastic 36 knots that gusted into the high forties. Our sail area could handle the wind ideally.

The squall passed over us and hurried east. Our previously steady 12 knot breeze settled back in. We were on a comfortable reach making good time. So I decided to fly the assymetrical spinnaker. We launched the kite and watched our speed through the water increase a couple of knots which pleased me.

Our freezer was stocked with fish some of which I wanted to give to friends in Phillipsburg and Marigot.

We caught most of them in the area of water where the Amazon River spills far into the Indian Ocean off the coast of Brazil. That mix of water seems to attract fish and a few simple lines make catching them easy.

I attached a loop of bungie cord to the dinghy davits. I added one hundred metres of heavy gauge fishing line with a simple Rapala lure tied to the end. The line was let out gradually to prevent tangling and the bait was set.

Do that twice. One line each from the port and starboard davits. Not much risk of the lures hooking together and a fishing system that you didn't have to watch.

A glance aft and if there was a fish bouncing on the surface of the water that was dinner. Primitive? Yes. But effective. And no dolphin were injured.