The spirit of sail......
Fleck
Sun 29 Jun 2014 13:39
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Sunday, 29th June, 2014
Position 38:46.8N 33:43W
A shame to end the crossing like this, but despite
a 10 knot light breeze behind me there is so much swell that I can't keep the
sails filled: banging boom, slatting sails, that stuff, and I only go at 2.5
knots, which will not get me to the Azores in daylight on Monday, or before some
predicted light easterlies on Tuesday. The forecast is anyway that today's
breeze will have gone by this evening; so no rocket science required: sails down
and engine on. Some of you will remember David Gregory, he came late to sailing,
and perhaps saw it principally as a means of travelling from one inviting
Mediterranean port to another. He had a wonderful mantra, if you are
not sailing at at least 5 1/2 knots, and are not going in the
direction that you want to go, you furl the sails and turn on the engine. I'm
getting there!
Anyway all is well on board, and the 'Grapes
of Wrath' have been consumed, down to the very last page. It is a sobering read,
even in the comfort of your own home. Out here in the middle of nowhere, very
sobering. So I have turned from English to Mathematics, Laurance Krauss's 'A
Universe from Nothing'. So nowhere is actually full of anti-particles, and
straight away, I feel a kinship with them! And then, I am indeed
not alone; a pod of dolphins under my bows, and something much bigger, with
radar and AIS, way out over the port side
horizon.
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