Sailer Up's and Down's

Hey there, we made it to Rhodes, Greece in about 54 hours, averaging 5.1 knots for the whole trip, just over 260 nm (nautical miles) which makes almost 500 for the week since we left Israel.  So….. we pulled into Rhodes at 8:00 in the morning on Wednesday and we were all pretty wiped out. Some sailors say the longer passages are easier because you settle into some sort of rhythm, but on the short ones, it’s just a killer. I don’t know yet, since we’ve never gone longer than 3 days, but I can certainly attest to the killer part, I’d say it feels like ‘super jet-lag.’  Rachel and Maggie were not feeling well most of the trip so they ended up sleeping a lot of the time. Which was really hard on Rachel because Miles would be awake and Rachel was trying to keep him happy while feeling seasick :/ We brought Miles in the cockpit and he seemed happy rolling (literally) around on the ground with clothespins, funnels, and shoes.  Lily and Zoe were tough and spent most of the time in the main cabin watching movies.

We had some great sailing, we had a while we had to motor because of no wind, and some wind right in our face, a typical sail in the Med.  We had a great sail, and achieved our all-time highest speed, 10.9 knots, which may not sound fast when you drive down the road in a car at easily 40-50 miles per hour, but for Mehari, whom we lovingly call the ‘station wagon of the seas’ it’s movin’.  Levi and I took turns splitting the night shift, which left us tired during the days, but there was really no other choice.

As for the night watches, Levi and I love ‘em.  Unless you’re sailing or motoring straight into the wind, it’s pretty fantastic out there. This time of the month, the moon has been setting shortly after the sun, so it is pitch black, and after your eyes adjust, it’s amazing how much you can see. You stare off into the blackness, straining to see lights from other boats, and just feeling very, very, very small.

So, we’re in Rhodes, anchored just below a crusader castle, right in the center of town. Everyone is eager to explore and be off the boat, so more later!!

~Hems