22:05.99S 006:09.77E Prawns and Other Forbidden Fruits

Irene IV - World Adventure
Louis Goor
Fri 20 Jan 2023 15:17
Prawns and Other Forbidden Fruits

As is the norm when on passage, a net controller is elected and all boats on
passage chat along the way at 09:00 and again at 18:00, for fun, for safety,
and for diversion. I have mentioned before that the SSB radio net calls
bookend the day nicely and stories of fish caught, winds up ahead, wildlife
sightings, poems shared and so much more are celebrated liberally. This
delight has been taken from us since day 3 of our passage from Cape Town! We
enjoyed the cheery chimes of James and Julia on Adalia II on days one and
two and indeed gloated at being the first to catch a fish! Since then, it
has been almost radio silence. Early in this current passage to St. Helena,
we did hear a faint few words from "Dancing Donna" on Seabird, calling out
to anyone who could hear, but she was none the wiser to our presence, as our
repeated attempts of, "Seabird, Seabird, this is Irene IV, Irene IV, do you
copy?" fell on deaf ears. A quick What's App message to Black Lion and
Infinity, who are in our close proximity, to meet us on the net, resulted in
our being able to eaves drop on their conversations, but they could not hear
us. We tried multiple channels but to no avail. It is a forbidden fruit, for
now! Giles has been poring over the manual and we all have added our
tuppence ha'penny as to the possible reason for this breach.

Today is Bonga's birthday! He has reached the ripe old age of 23. We gave
him his birthday present the day we left Luderitz as we knew he would need
it right away - a Namibian flag emblazoned sweatshirt. It has been cold,
especially at night, and he did not bring enough warm clothes. He was
overcome with joy! It turns out that he has not been given a birthday
present since he was 5 years old. He explained that the means were just not
there in his family of 11 children and 4 mothers. All this spoken with a
smile, with no feeling of disadvantage or of "poor me"! His delight was
infectious and, as I explained to him, at lunch today, we gave him a gift,
but in fact he has given us the greater gift. The rest of us come from
privilege and plenty and he has given us pause to be grateful for our good
fortune and not take it for granted.

I wanted to make today special for Bonga, so I baked some very chocolaty
brownies and made some strawberry ice cream. For lunch we had prawn tempura
- normally a completely forbidden fruit onboard Irene IV! Without Louis and
George onboard, we can indulge in shellfish ad nauseum if we wish - they are
both deathly allergic. Even though one in our number is a pescatarian, we
shall honour Bonga with big old American burgers for dinner! He loves his
red meat!

Our sea state has been very clement for the 432 nautical miles that we have
travelled since leaving Luderitz. This makes for pleasant days and restful
nights. The days are getting warmer, the sea was 12 degrees C in Luderitz
and is now almost 23 degrees C, soon long sleeves will be a necessity of the
past. The wind has been variable, but never so plentiful. The engine has
been on and off like a yoyo. The rule of thumb being, if our sailing speed
falls below 5 knots, speed over the ground, Peggy is enlisted to shove us
along a little faster. Each time the engine is switched off we breathe a
collective sigh of relief at the ensuing peace and quiet. Peggy gave us a
little start a few nights ago as the red warning light shone forebodingly
bright! Rob and Giles tumbled headfirst under the floorboards to
investigate. Water and sediment in the fuel was the culprit, so hourly
checks are now in place and temperature and RPM are recorded in the logbook
at each hourly entry. Life aboard would not be "normal" if there were not
some nuisance factors!

We have 773 miles yet to travel before making landfall on St. Helena. There
has been some speculation amongst the crew at dinner conversation as to how
British it will be. My guess is very! I suspect we shall be eating sausage
rolls and enjoying scones and cream for afternoon tea! We do not agree! I
suppose time will tell.