38:47S 77:56E
Tales of Amok's Adventures
Mike Jones
Mon 17 Jan 2011 15:04
Hello Starfish and Mermaids, (I will leave you to work out which one you are...)
We are currently sitting in the middle of an area of high pressure, with mere puffs of wind not even strong enough to register. How very frustrating. We even hoisted Black Betty (our big spinnaker) to see if we could get anywhere with that, but to no avail. The upside of the high, is that we have had clear blue skies and flat seas all day.
We departed Saint Paul around 10:30 this morning, after a productive venture to the top of the mast by Tmoby who managed to unjam our furling swivel at the top of the mast (with a little help from a 2:1 halyard for extra grunt and a large persuasive mallet).
We managed to spend a little time having a look at the island and at the fascinating lagoon inside, although we were not permitted to land as it is a French designated protected environmental area. The island is absolutely teeming with seals and penguins frolicking on the rocks and in the surf. They sounded like they were having such a good time. Watching them play makes you want to laugh and smile; they were very entertaining.
We departed with long faces, we only stopped for 24 hours moored to the stern of a French fishing ship, didn't leave the boat, but feel rejuvenated to continue, if only the wind would come out to play.
AND YES ! We did get a Camembert cheese that we were fantasizing about getting from St Paul. All gone now !
that's all for now friends,
Salty sal and her crusty crew
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