Rolling across
Lochmarin
Thu 31 Jan 2013 10:00
Lying in my bunk, on my own 'cos Phil was on watch, I watched the stars flowing across the port holes, first to one side then to the other as I was rocked. Knee out one way, arm out the other, kept me from rolling and I enjoyed the safe comforting feeling - like when you were small, half asleep on the back seat of a car, being rocked as you went around corners. I could feel my body had been working today - plenty of sail setting, and I could feel the odd bruise where the boat's movement had caught me by surprise and knocked me against something. Here I was, on the water, being pulled by the wind using scraps of cloth carefully positioned, feeling like so many seafarers had for centuries.
The rising sun caught the white bellies of whole flocks of flying fish, skimming and dodging across the bluer than blue sea. Forty or more at a time break from our bows and scatter.
Although the swell is slight, under 2m, the winds are light so we are rolling quite a bit as the twin headsails pull us along. As I sit typing I am continuously moving, all those core body muscles keeping me upright as the boat rolls beneath me.
We are kept company by the occasional pair of storm petrels but otherwise the birds have been left behind.
We've heard from the 'small boats'; Amorosa radioed on VHF saying both they and Tara Tari are fine and Limbo sent an email via their 'yellowbrick' which we picked up by radio.
Another lovely day beckons.
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com