Doghole
Fleck
Thu 26 Jun 2014 15:18
|
Thursday, 26th June (I think that I thought
yesterday was also the 26th June, elderly persons thing...)
Position 37:41N 39:12W
So doghole, I looked it up on my Kindle dictionary:
'not in dictionary'. So I checked in my Australian dictionary, where there is a
lot of Strine slang terminology, but a blank again. So I claim a new word. Not
very nice? It' not! It is when a very sudden wind hole appears during the
dogwatch, and during a period of strong winds and those red arrow waves that I
have mentioned to you before. Never before in all my eight years at sea have we
been thrown about quite so much in such a short space of time. I had to go
forward to dismantle the 'running' rig, and with my headlight and the deck
floodlight it was an wierd sight and experience; no wind blasting through
the air, but water throwing up all around the boat, like a giant vomit! Rain
coming down as well. After 30 mins or so a light breeze came in from the north,
and I rerigged appropriately, however ir has continued to shift and drop, and at
06,30 I gave up on sailing and switched the engine on. Good decision. Now
midday and completely windless, and the seas are at last settling down a bit
too. It will be a shame if we see no more wind until the Azores, but it is
possible. The other good thing about the engine is that it creates a warm spot
in the quarter berth area for the bread dough to rise, and as I type a wonderful
aroma assails me from behind, a pleasant change from the more usual f----. You
see, dogholes again.
|