dog watch
Fleck
Tue 24 Jun 2014 15:13
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Tuesday, 24 June 2014
POsition 36:57N 43:33W
Well, of course, I don't do a dog watch, I turn on
all the alarms and hit my bunk. For ages now however sleep and I have tended to
part company at around 3am, particularly so for the last two nights,
as the wind has chosen this 'ungodly' hour to die away to around 6 knots. As I
have explained many times before, when the wind is rising or even steady the
seas are in sync with the wind speed, and the motion of the boat is acceptable.
As soon as the wind starts to drop however, the seas take time to settle back
down, and indeed they are very unsettled for a while, they have built up energy
which they dissipate by slopping about in a random, rather than concerted way.
The boat is thrown about, the sails empty and fill with wind, and it is
pandemonium. So it was last night, as I reflected on my future, back on dry
land. At least on dry land you can sit up, without being tossed over the lee
cloth onto the floor, and read a book. Instead I launched lungsfull of my worst
expletives at the cabin roof, had another peanut butter biscuit sandwich, which
did nothing for my oesophagitis, and finally wedged myself in to a corner,
supported by three pillows. After counting many hundreds of sheep through a
gate, I fell back asleep.
9 hours later the wind is back up to 13 knots, the
seas regulated, our little ship back on course, the sails filled out and fit for
a picture postcard. The cruising life.
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