Time of Report: 2330 Z
Position: 42.46, -67.78
Heading: NE, towards Nova Scotia
Speed: Slow now, due to very light wind
Woody & JD reported having a great 24 hours of sailing, having departed Nantucket on Saturday, June 12 around 1930 Z. During their first 24 hours, they covered 115 miles. They have a little competition going on amongst themselves, as to who covers more miles while on watch. Both took a 6 hour watch (typically they do a 4 hour watch), and JD covered 30 miles, while Woody covered 27 - so JD's in the lead.
The winds have started shifting around to the nose and are lightening up. Woody said they would likely go off course a bit and probably motor through the evening. Dinner this evening was eggs and soup. They are trying to keep warm, as they estimated the temperature to be in the low 50s. Keeping warm has been a challenge as it has been raining the last 30 hours, and while their foul weather is keeping them dry, their gloves don't stay dry, so their hands are freezing! Woody said they are layering up but trying to get to sleep with the chill in their bones has been a challenge. Let' all send warm wishes their way, shall we?
Upon arrival in Nova Scotia Woody will have a warm welcome from his wife, Alice Lynch who is flying in on the 17th. Woody & JD will part ways, and I believe JD will do some exploring of the area before he flys home. Woody & Alice will be staying with their friends, Bill and Kerstin Gilkenon in Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia for a couple of days. Alice and Kerstin have been friends since they attended the University of Texas. Kerstin is from Sweeden and was a Neiman Marcus model. It was she who had a Herreshoff 12 1/2 (a gorgeous classic boat) and in 2003, introduced Woody to it. Woody immediately fell in love with it and promptly put an order in to have one built. Bill is a well-known marine artist and the author of several books, and he is considered one of the world authorities on scrimshaw and on fire arms used on ships - http://www.williamgilkerson.com/. For those not familiar with scrimshaw, a quick search on wikipedia shows: "Scrimshaw is the name given to handiwork created by whalers made from the byproducts of harvesting marine mammals. It is most commonly made out of the bones and teeth of Sperm Whales, the baleen of other whales, and the tusks of walruses. It takes the form of elaborate carvings in the form of pictures and lettering on the surface of the bone or tooth, with the engravings highlighted using a pigment, or small sculptures made from the same material. The making of scrimshaw began on whaling ships between 1745 to 1759 on the Pacific Ocean, and survived until the ban on commercial whaling. The practice survives as a hobby and as a trade for commercial artisans. A maker of scrimshaw is known as a scrimshande."
Friends and family are such an important part of our lives and I hope to post of picture of Woody, Alice, Bill and Kristen in an upcoming post. Here's a picture of Woody, his son Parker (right) and son-in-law Bob (left) in mid-May 2010 at Parker's son, Braxton's high school graduation party near Denver, CO.
I'll end with this quote:
To me, nothing made by man is more beautiful than a sailboat under way in fine weather, and to be on that sailboat is to be as close to heaven as I expect to get. It is unalloyed happiness. ~ Robert Manry, author, Tinkerbelle
Until next time, Tracy
