Masthead revisited
Fleck
Mon 1 Apr 2013 10:55
|
Easter Monday, April 1st 2013
Position 22:54S
4:34E
Rather gentle winds this morning, but just enough
to fill the sails, so no grumbles, and the sea fairly flat: so the computer
isn't sliding about, jusy my backside on this athwartships bench
seat!
Yesterday morning it was still rough and throughout
the night there was a clattering from the masthead as the Sea-me radar detector
continued its divorce proceedings from its broken mount. By morning all the
metal had fractured leaving the device itself suspended from the masthead by
just its electric cable: swinging about drunkenly, and clanging against the mast
intermittently. Quickly the copper wires within the cable parted, giving a tell
tale message on the control unit troubleshooter algorithm down below. I decided
to have a final go up the mast, and to cut a long and rather frighteneing story
short, I cut the wire and retrieved the antenna. It costs £600. Now if you have
had time yet to read my recommended book 'Thinking Fast and Slow' this is an
obvious case of flawed system one thinking, because we humans are generally risk
and loss averse. £600 in an envelope glued to the masthead would never have
tempted me up there, risking my life!
But it is more than a matter of simple finance,
because I have now rewired the antenna and rigged it up in the cockpit on the
top of an 8ft aluminium pole. The troubleshooter algorithm indicates that
it is working fine, but I can't ultimately test it until we run into
another ship, and I have seen nothing visually, or on the AIS, for several days.
Anyway the presence of a nice errect antenna is comforting in my old age, until
then every moment spent down below had been filled with anxiety. Last night I
rewarded myself with an alarm free sleep period, so listened to the slatting
sails in the dying winds as we rolled about!
Well Christ may or may not have risen yesterday,
but my bread certainly did, and although Singapore white bread flour may
not appeal to every Europeans' taste buds, out here WYSIATI ( Hey, you
still not read that book yet? 'what you see is all there is') Pigged myself on
huge doorstep slices as reward for bravery/complete foolhardyness.
Plenty of fresh food to last until St Helena, but
it will then be interresting to find out what if any further provisions may be
available there.
This morning I have finished Allan
Hollinghursts 'Line of Beauty'. Exquisite writing, page after page where
virtually every sentence is a gem in itself.
As no one is at work today there is nothing I can
do to chase the spare mast parts, so it will be a case of choose another book,
sit back and let the solar panel charge the batteries.
Adieu
|