Musings of a Fatigued Mind July 12

Hummer

I wasn't going to write today because I wasn't really feeling it. We were up all night in light wind and then a series of jibes. What changed my mind was something we missed, and a nap. What's been missing today is Sauvage's hum.

Sauvage, like many boats, develops a hum at speed. Most boats have to be going pretty darn fast to manifest a hum, like 14+ kts. sauvage is much more liberal with her hum. At about 7.5 kts she starts a very low vibration like a guy dragging his bow on the biggest string on a base fiddle. Its a very comforting sound and we have learned to love it. It means we're starting to move. You can hear this sound anywhere on the boat. As speed increases the pitch increases to the next higher note. So you get this see saw cadence as the boat catches a wave and surges forward then slows slightly as the wave passes under. As the boat approaches 9 kts the pitch takes a dramatic hike and continues to rise until around 10.5 kts when it gets into the area where only dogs can hear it. The usual speed between 7 to 8 kts produces this soothing wave like oscillation that we've all learned to love. Today in the light winds we find ourselves Sauvage has lost her hum. We all miss it dearly. It looks like another day of this before our hum will be back. Tomorrow, with any luck, Sauvage will become a hummer again.

The sun's just now setting and its pretty mellow around here. We continue to try and figure what course position will set us up to trophy.

Oh, a sailor's life for me.

John