Egret

Lochmarin
Fri 4 Apr 2014 20:19
02:46.5S 090:19.7W

It's lovely to be back on passage. We've settled back into the routine already, catching sleep when we can. Everything has slowed down... there's nothing we need to get done or focus on except keeping Lochmarin sailing steadily in the right direction, that and feeding ourselves! We've been heading mostly South, to avoid a counter current West of Galapagos and to avoid an area of unsettled weather - a secondary ITCZ (doldrums) but we're now far enough South to be able to turn West, heading for the Marquesas.

We had Storm Petrels and Brown Noddy Terns keeping us company yesterday, along with a visit from Bottle Nose Dolphins, and this morning we had the delightful company of a Cattle Egret. He stayed for about 6 hours, exploring the boat.

Happily Phil was able to fix the fridge and freezer before we left yesterday, it was a faulty pump, so we have cold drinks and our fresh food will last quite a while. We need the cold drinks because it's HOT here just South of the Equator, although the cold Humboldt current means it's lovely and cool below decks in the saloon.

Food update:
Day 1: Ham and cheese croissant, thanks to Karel from Tehini-li; pre-made fish curry with rice. I Cooked this in the pressure cooker, just putting a pyrex jug with the curry to be heated in the middle, a cup of rice with two of water around it, bringing it up to pressure then immediately turning it off and leaving it closed for 10 minutes. Worked perfectly and hardly any gas used...

Day 2: Bananas cooked in lime juice and soft brown sugar with yoghurt (all our green bananas are yellow already!); flat bread stuffed with cheese and spinach (Wendy on Outsider's recipe) with chicken and leek instant soup. And tonight it will be cashew nuts and chard, with tomatoes and sautéed potatoes - whilst we have fresh veg to eat up!

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