16:59.77S 156:14.42E Tuesday 29th July, 600 miles west of Cairns
We found another cable connected to the autohelm was about to break so we
fiddled around with spanners for a bit, then while testing the results,
ended up with a fishing line wrapped around the rudder.
It was time to put on the boat's scuba gear and take a look.
It's very strange being underwater in the deep ocean. The sunlight streams
down and just gets swallowed up, as does anything else that falls into it. I
watched my snorkel spiralling down into the darkness for a while but
couldn't catch the thing. There is also the uneasy feeling that you might
get swallowed up in a more literal way as well. Big sharks sometimes follow
us, licking their fishy lips.
The wind has now picked up but it is coming from the west which is of course
exactly where we are trying to go. We are mostly motoring slowly but the
diesel is still going fast. It is painful progress but better winds are
forecast.
M
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