Tehuantepec

3-7-2002 7:30 pm Tehuantepec

N 15 19′		Clear skies Air about 70F Water 81F Wind 7.5 knots
W 94 51′		Sailing at about 5 knots with almost 2 knots current

We have just passed out of the Tehuantepec wind area. It usually blows from the north but today it chose to blow from the north east so we had it on the nose or just off it most of the day. Because it is blowing from more east then normal we came into it earlier and we seem to be passing out of it earlier then normal. We decided to follow the rhumb line (straight line) to our destination of San Salvador instead of following the coast. This saves us a lot of miles especially as the wind had a easterly component to it and would have been squarely on our nose for most of the first 2 days of the trip. With our choice we could have been bitten by a Tehuantepec wind or Tehuantepecer. We weren’t bitten exactly but I could say we were Tehuantepecked.

We had to motor most of the morning into wind and steep waves. We kept waiting for the wind to come behind our course and give us some relief. By about noon the wind came back enough to motor sail but the wind also straightened and the waves grew. I wanted to keep the engine on and motor sail so we could be through the most dangerous and uncomfortable part as soon as possible. We were making great time motor sailing into the wind at about 7 knots with a knot or so of current behind us. But the seas were very uncomfortable. They were only about 5-6 feet on overage but now and again a 12 footer would hit us. This is a large wave but usually nothing to really mention. These were VERY steep. They would come up to Temptress and when we were in the valley the crest would be only about 20 feet away and looming over us. These waves looked mean, like they had teeth. They would crash into the boat and spray us with salt water. Temptress is usually a very dry boat. We almost never get hit with water in the cockpit and the bow seldom gets more then a bit of spray. Well not today! We had quite a ride. About 3 pm the autopilot failed. I tried to restart it and it wouldn’t engage correctly. Gave Birgitta the helm and went below to have a look. The base of the hydraulic ram had torn itself from the boat. It sheared two 1/4 inch lag bolts and ripped two others from 2 inches of Mahogany. I had to hang upside down bolting the thing back together as best as I could at sea with Birgitta steering. After about a half an hour I got it back together washed the hydraulic fluid from my hands and came above. I was miserable. I was seasick. I was concerned it would break again before we could get to conditions where I could fix it properly. I was afraid that the Tehuantepec would continue to build and we would be in for more misery. I had images of us hand steering for the next 4 days. Generally I was an unhappy camper. The good news??? was that the wind had continued to build to the point that we could sail our course at 7 knots with the engine off. This was quite incredible as we were punching into these big waves. We were also being pushed by current so we were going 8+ knots over the bottom and headed through and hopefully out of the Tehuantepec. We may have been miserable but Temptress seemed to be having a grand old time. With her autopilot fixed she was blasting through the waves and making great time. Luckily there was nothing for us to do much of the time so I curled up in a bean bag and tried to forget the pain in my back and the sickness in my stomach while Birgitta sat in her bean bag waiting out the ride. For once I had a worse time then she did at sea. A nice thing about being out here, where you would have to be crazy to be, is that we are the only people out here. No other cruisers were planning to leave today and those who hope to leave tomorrow will be following the coast. Anyone would have to be insane to take a ponga 50 miles offshore in the tehuantepec and anything larger will show up on radar. So nothing to do but trim and reef the sails. I just stayed in my bean bag with some sail ties over my eyes to block out the sun until well after my sea sickness cleared up. You may wonder why we don’t ever show pictures of big waves or bad conditions at sea. It is because waves are like vampires. They don’t show up on film. I could (and have) take a picture of a huge wave just about to throw the boat around, soak everyone and destroy the camera and it would look like a duck pond. Then you would all think we are just whining out here. (well I guess I am) This way there is no evidence as to how bad things really were and you have to take my word for it.

By about 6 pm we passed out of the Tehuantepec wind area. (I think?) Birgitta made it through the worst of it fine but when it was time for her to go to bed she finally succumbed to mal de mer and came right back up for a quick purge over the side. To bad, as she looked so good to me while I was curled up in my little ball. I had just called her my hero. I probably should have just vomited too and gotten over with it but I am fine now. We are now sailing slowly in relatively flat seas. The current has changed direction a bit and is now pushing us south. It is a strange thing to watch the chart plotter and see that while we are sailing almost directly east (86 degrees magnetic) we are traveling south east (120 degrees magnetic). Our course over ground is so far to the south that we aren’t even going to catch Central America. The next land on our current course is Equador in South America 1200 miles away. I expect if we keep sailing on this course we will sail out of the current or the current will turn and follow Central America so we will have no problems but it is disconcerting to watch the chart plotter say we won’t see land for a long time.

Poked my head above just a bit ago and what a difference from earlier today. Seas are flat wind is light. We are sailing fairly slowly and a pod of dolphins are following us. I cannot see them in the dark but as usual I can see their bio-luminescence trails. I can also see a bright bio-lum flash when they echo locate. Pretty cool! A bit ago I looked up and heard the strangest thing. The water sounded like it was boiling. I think we passed through a school of fish who were breaking surface around us. We were just saying that the sailing should be done a nice protected water like the Puget Sound but now it is just like a nice day off Seattle but with no traffic to worry about.

I expect (and hope) we have seen the last of the Tehuantepecer and will have a nice easy and LONG trip ahead of us. When we were bashing through the waves with the big wind and current we were lined up to make in in 3 days. But now it looks like it will be much closer to 4 days. I for one will be happy with the extra day at sea if it saves us from the waves we saw earlier today.

Clark

10 pm The current is no longer pushing us south as hard. It is now south west but not very strongly. It is now against us and hurting our speed over ground by about .3 knot. But at least it is not sweeping us out to sea. I could have lived with the old current for about another 10 hours of so myself. The temperature is much colder tonight then it has been in the past few weeks. I guess this is because the wind we are sailing on has come down from the US. You can keep your cold air. Of course I say that now as I am just about to put on jeans for the first time in a month, but I will probably wish for a nice cool breeze in a couple of months when we are sweltering in Panama. One last thing to note. Birgitta and I just started taking our malaria drugs this week. We haven’t seen a mosquito yet but expect to see a few in the near future. We will still have to be careful as the bugs also carry other descases like dengue fever and sometimes resistant strains of malaria. Once you catch malaria you kind of have it for life. Would hate to become dependent of gin and tonics.