Cockpit Surfing
Beoga's Madventure
Henry and Marina Lupton
Thu 26 Nov 2009 16:09
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new Beoga exercise. using the cockpit as a
surfboard. its incredibly difficult and i wont waste any more time writing about
it than we have trying it but ya'd do anything for a bit of entertainment.
Especially when movie night gets cancelled.
We charge the little laptops off an inverter wot
takes 12volts and changes it to 220volts. The inverter got damaged yesterday and
for a while it looked like this would be one of the last blogs and weather
forecasts would become difficult.
For now Professor Tynan has lept the pressure of
Tomas, our phone back up for weather etc should we fail to get weather mails or
if we happen to be sailing somewhere daft.
So Im all charged up again. I cant wait to read the
book Morgan left about Columbus' crossing especially the bit on inverters.Joan
reckons they projected bunnies and the like on the sails using their hands as an
alternative for a movie. Just as well Marina is reading the celestial navigation
book and hopes to get a fix using the sextant and a sunsight if the cloud
would ever stay away at noon.
Definitely in flying fish territory- saw a big
shoal/flock of them this morning. Wonder where they nest?
Saw a few sea birds too but thats it, no other
boats since a Swiss boat last night that we had to divert around. Thought they
had lost their tricolour light on the mast that shows red green or while
depending on which direction it is. The colour lets us know which way they are
travelling and rules dictate who gives way blah blah....anyway these lads had
their anchor light on and since its about 4000m deep here that was unlikely. We
lit up the deck and they radioed us to wish us a good night. A while later the
correct light appeared on the mastop.
So that provided the entertainment for the night
and helped work off the M&Ms we had scoffed from the treat bag.
I think we might has taken a wrong turn though!
Nobody else is near us. We are at 22:44.61N 26:25.84W . You would think
that with 225 boats heading the same way that we would see some of them.
Wind is a little lighter today. We shook the reef
and the patched spinnaker is out causing trouble again. We already cut away
chaffed parts of ropes and protected them from more wear and tear. Its alarming
the amount of wear on rope when you use it non stop. We are used to a few hours
a week over the year and when cruising we knock on the engine to get in before
closing time. I was clipping on the kite this morning when i found a steel ring
wot should be on the top of the mast restraining the spinnaker halyard was
pulled out of the mast. We have two so hopefully the second will remain in place
but we are sailing conservatively and still wearing breaking and tearing things.
I wonder what it would be like if we were driving the a&*( out of
it.
Wind is lighter today, 12-17kts but still with us.
We are taking a more easterly route than Sabrina took, we are using
one their charts which Kevin kindly lent us. Their track is still on it. I
was trying to figure out who are the girls were that are named in pencil along
the chart, I guess they were more creative with naming the Arc forecasting zones
that year! Its all alpha, bravo stuff this year. I havent paid much heed
to the position reports to see where the others are, I'm too busy reading the
books we brought and were given and fixin and eating etc. Niall left a hilarous
book by Mike Peyton- a must for any sailor. And Im still working through Tomas'
copy of to the Baltic with Bob another.
I've been kept out of the galley so far. Probably
cos' STOP THE PRESS!!!!! Just got roared at from the cockpit, Marina
spotted a whale a boat length away. Rest of us didnt see them but
loads of blow sprays off the stern as they heading away from us. Also a serious
stink in the air- they no doubt thought the same! the food so far has been fresh and likely to be seriously
damaged by my culinary capabilities.
Someone left the chart plotter zoomed out here
beside me. We usually keep it focused on a small radius around the boat
for obvious reasons but this view shows Africa the Verdes and the canaries. And
miles to go before I sleep........
h
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