Little Pea's ARC 14 Blogoramma - We're halfway!
Littlepea
Wed 3 Dec 2014 20:04
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18:56.6N 038:49.1W
Now playing: Clog dance (play it and imagine 4
blokes spending 2hrs trying to get a spinnaker kite out of a snuffer
bag...)
We've done it, we're halfway *popped the
champagne* - only the tricky matter of the 2nd half to go... The first half
has been tough but an amazing experience. Here's to a just as quick 2nd half.
Provisions are going well, and we're eating through all the meat before it goes
off. Minkey managed to flex his culinary muscles last night, and made an awesome
apple crumble from scratch - and even a custard to go with it. Also, after
much messing about, we finally got one of our spinnakers up today. Her
name is Daisy after Daisy Duke who has similar characteristics - broad across
the front and looks great from behind.... Daisy is now pulling us straight
down the rhumb line...
Otherwise, the sun is shining and factor 30 has
been applied. Ben and Jags both have "man-back" now (ie a big red sun burn
patch in the midd of their backs where they couldn't reach with the
sunscreen).
Whilst the sun has been out here in Atlantic, the
Little Pea Agony Aunt emails have been flooding in. So, here are are few of your
questions answered:
From Miss Pickering's Y6 Math's Group, Windsor
Primary School:
Q: What do you get if you win your
group?
A: We don't know... last time there were lots of
great prizes, including stays in very posh hotels in the Caribbean
Q: Why did Mike call the drone Dave?
A: The drone was originally called Derek, but
nothing rhymes with Derek so we called him Dave so we could make up poems about
him. Example:
"There once was a drone called Dave,
Who had a mission one day:
To fly out to sea,
and take pictures of The Pea.
Alas, he ended in a watery grave."
We have been using data from the tracker to solve
problems. We know that speed = distance/time and that distance =
speed x time.
A: That's great! We have 3 questions for
you:
Q1: It's 5pm on the 3rd Dec, our
next waypoint is 700 nautical miles away. What average speed do we need to
maintain to reach it by noon on Sunday?
Q2: Looking at the past 24hrs,
is our average speed high enough to get to the waypoint in time?
Q3: If not, how can we make the
boat go faster?!
and now it's time for our latest regular
feature
***Agony Aunt***
Q: My husband spends 1/4 to 1/3 of the year away at
sea. He says he enjoys cooking when on board, but he is hardly ever seen in the
kitchen at home. What could I do to encourage him to practise his culinary
skills when ashore? Domestic Goddess, Liverpool
A: We recommend building a yacht galley in the
shed. Us sailors find conventional kitchens too big and confusing. Make sure
when he's cooking he has to be stood on a wobble board, only give him basic
ingredients and enough gas to cook 3/4 of the meal. Then when he's serving on a
tray in some dog bowls, shout "GYBING" and push him over. Alternatively, set up
a mother watch system forcing him to cook every 4th day. If he doesn't cook, the
crew/family go hungry and a mutiny will occur. Failing that, sell the house and
buy a yacht.
Q: Supporting the Movember campaign I've sported a
goaty. Under great pressure from someone close to home to remove the offending
facial growth I've managed to keep the raiser from my throat sorry chin but the
pressure is now mounting as we move into December! As an avid fan though I feel
I should support you boys out there in the middle of the Atlantic ocean who I
believe haven't used the cut throat since you left harbour. I feel I
should keep it going until you arrive safely in St Lucia, perhaps you could
offer some words of wisdom to the "light of my life" so I might continue until
you reach safe waters. Bearded Hipster, Honiton.
A: We're are touched that you are joining us
spiritually here on Little Pea. We feel it is important for crew moral and karma
that the facial hair remains until we reach terra firma. If they are still not
convinced, sell the house and buy a yacht.
Daily stats for today:
Max
Boat speed = 10.1
Number of Reefs = Nil
Maximum Gust = 32kts
Number of Flying Fish = numerous - but no
suicide bombers today
Number of Whales = 0. Brian and co have abandoned us
again
Amount of Rain = nil
Advent calendar highlight = Wally's stripy socks
are presumed to be lost overboard... Now looking for a key
Jags, Minkey, Ben and
Mike |