38:10S 32:32E

Tales of Amok's Adventures
Mike Jones
Thu 30 Dec 2010 03:12
The Tail End of Day 11

No, this isn't food reviewers weekly, but I must say, our perpetually hungry 16 year old son seems to think it is.

No mention in previous blog of wind conditions, sea conditions, boating heading, boat speed, just FOOD.

I would just like to reiterate that this is a family sailing adventure, not a gastronomic getaway.

You will have heard on the grapevine that now both the cooker and the oven are playing silly games, ie not working, such that the score is like this:
cooker manufacturer WALLAS 1, AMOK CREW 0

In case you are wondering why WALLAS only have 1, when you think they should probably have many many more than just the 1 (given the history of the *&^%$ thing) , I like to reset the scoreboard everyday otherwise it is too de-moralising. I mean, would you bother to try to fix something whereby the score was WALLAS 100, AMOK CREW 0?? Of course not, you understand my point.

Unfortunately prevailing conditions onboard are not conducive to attempt repair of said cooker, so we'll have to manage without. Pity we didn't gimble the microwave.

Speaking of conditions, we currently have about 20-25 knots of wind from the South, which is allowing us a course over the ground of 120 degrees which is good. We would still like to be a little further south to pick up the westerlies. Because of squalls which are causing a fairly lumpy sea, we have a double reefed main and the yankee. The sea is knocking us back a bit, which results in boatspeed of 5-6 knots.

We are battling a northerly current which varies from 1-3 knots. Hopefully, this current should change in a day or so for something with a more favourable direction of eastwards. Trying to sail south into this northerly current is depressing, it knocks the boatspeed right off.

Breaking wind (news): Mikey's attempt to ensure a hairless boat by attempting a designer No 8 hair and beard trim while lashed to the after deck in a 3 meter sea resulted in an unnoticed No 0.5 all over cut when he didn't notice the trim block had fallen overboard. He has taken to wearing a silly hat at all times and remarks that it is the southern ocean cut and seems popular with a lot of his bolder colleagues and friends.

Well, my little limpits, I am off for a cup of tea to keep me awake in the final hour of my watch. Getting into my bunk at the end of my watch is the closest thing to heaven ever.

Salty Sal (standing in for resident food critic Tmoby.)

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