Mother nature seduced us and lulled us into complacency giving us gentle mild conditions for our first 18 hrs out of Auckland. Last night around 2 am our sweet dreams and wonderful meals were short circuited by wind on the nose of 25 – 30kts, gusting to 40, steep building seas and lots of rain. By 4 am we were all out of bed, hanging on in the pilot house as Oso fell off wave after wave with a tremendous crash. No worries about the boat in these conditions, she is built for them, however, these are the times you just wish you were somewhere else.
Since we have not been to sea in over six months and we get kind of careless about where things are stowed, the first good bash and crash quickly points out our storage mistakes. Banging items in drawers, loose items crashing to the floor, and unidentified rattles and creaks are all part of a good night's thrashing about at sea. Kind of like an extended earthquake. It is now 12 hours after the winds and waves hit and it is settling down enough that we can find a secure corner to tuck into to get some sleep or find something bland and simple to eat. The forecast for the next 6 – 8 hrs promises that the winds and seas will back around behind us and give a strong sleigh ride push instead of the current bash and crash. Yeeeehaaa!
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