Travel Reference
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nervous about my decision to try this, but at the rate we were making, it was all we had
left to try. As we entered the outskirts of the black, cloudy storm front, we were met with
pockets of cold wind. Rain started falling, and the temperature dropped dramatically. Her-
man and Paula went up to the mast and hauled up the two sails, which I sheeted in smartly
from the cockpit. The apparent wind put us on a reach, which was ideal for the course we
were on, and soon the boat was heeled over, scudding along so well I turned the engine off.
The welcome silence returned, with only the sound of the boat sailing briskly through the
water. There were smiles all around, and when the girl brought out tea for all, life was once
again worthwhile, even on a boat in the doldrums!
I was pleased with the experiment, and while motoring between the storms was bother-
some, we were making good sea miles, slowly working our way through the clammy stays
of the equator.
It wasn't too long before traces of the northeasterly trades could be felt, and suddenly we
were sailing joyfully in the clear, blue sky and deep, purple sea. Gone were the calms and
isolated storms, stifling, cloying heat, and dead, flat ocean. The walker log propeller was
tossed over the stern rail again, and it started spinning merrily around. The wind vane was
reset to the new wind direction, and the northeast trades put us on a starboard tack. The
island of Fernando de Noronha was calling us, and we were paying heed. Only a few days
later, I announced to my friends that they should start looking out for the island peaks the
next day.
That night Paula spotted the El Pico lighthouse forty miles away blinking into the night
sky. Due to light winds, Déjà vu cleared the little channel marker lights in the dark and
motored slowly down the channel. Suspecting that I heard breakers just ahead, I decided to
drop anchor immediately. After making quite sure we were securely hooked to the sea bed,
I left a lamp cheerfully lighted in the cockpit, and we all turned in for a well-earned sleep.
