06:00.0S 117:30.0W Towards the Marquesas (4)
Meryon.bridges
Sat 17 Apr 2010 22:42
|
Three days have elapsed since our last blog and we
have continued to make good progress towards the Marquesas, now being 1280 miles
from our destination, well over halfway. Before we left the Galapagos the
word we were getting was that the winds were light and thus passages slow.
This has proved to be far from the case and since the second day we have been in
Force 5 or 6 pretty well the whole time. Although well reefed Ares has
made good speed and this, on top of a favourable southern equatorial current,
has meant that we are averaging over 170 miles a day.
There is though a downside to this good wind and
that is the swell. It is coming from abeam and so we are rolling around a
lot. Andrew says that this is the biggest surprise, having to hang on all
the time. Peter has been on the receiving end of this. The
dinner he was cooking 3 days ago flew off the cooker and ended up on the galley
floor where it bore a strong resemblance to a gift left by a large dog!
Later that night, as he was relieving Andrew on deck at 2300 he was hurled
across the saloon breaking his watchstrap. Finally, and they say that
things come in threes, a cup of tea which he had just made flew across the
cockpit. A fun night!
Ten days ago we had the excitement of sighting
a ship. Nothing as dramatic today but we have just seen some birds - Nick
counted 8, Meryon guessed 9. Such is the drama of an ocean
crossing. We have seen shoals, or perhaps wings or flights, of flying
fish every day and often find them on deck in the morning which suggests that
their navigational skills are not of the highest order!
On we go then towards the Marquesas. Good
wind, a fair current and lots of rolling. The nights are wonderful, a
blanket of stars above and rushing water, as black as ink, alongside.
If we can keep up this speed we should be at our first island in about 9
days.
----- Original Message -----
From: Meryon Bridges
Sent: Thursday, April 15, 2010 12:13 AM
Subject: 04:16.6S 108:58.7W Towards the Marquesas (3) After a fairly boisterous few days with fresh
breezes, choppy seas overlying majestic swells, and a few showers at night
the weather has now adopted a classic trade winds image. By day we have
sparkling cobalt blue water flecked with white, convoys of fluffy white clouds
draped along the horizon, a blazing sun but not uncomfortably warm air, and Ares
rolling steadily on her way at between 5 and 7 knots towards the
Marquesas. By night a limitless canopy of stars dominate d by the Southern
Cross is spread overhead since, at present, we have no moon. These are
blissfull conditions for sailing, and we are making steady progress. With
luck we could be half way across this bit of ocean before the next blog hits the
website.
Aboard the all is going well. We run the
generator most days which permits us to make our own fresh water and keep
abreast of consumption. This also keeps the fridge up to speed so we are
still enjoying meals of fresh meat, and our stocks of green veg, spuds and
fruit are holding up, though the end of some of these is in sight. When
they have gone we still have about a million assorted tins under the cabin floor
to look forward to The imminent threat of Scurvy is still some way
off.
Even the crew are holding up well. The good
officer Saxby is beginning to seem a little more relaxed now that our good
progress is increasing the likelihood of his being home in time for the
election, though Peter and Meryon are adamantly refusing any guarantees on this
score. His promises to catch a stock of fresh fish for the larder
have been slipped into the Manana category and this dilatoriness is attracting
some ribald comment (Holden Sahib, does this hold some resonance for
you?). Nick is enjoing the relaxation afforded by the balmy conditions,
and his skills as a chef are coming on by leaps and bounds. His
corned beef hash is to die for. There is lots of muttering about the
nigardliness of the skippers in not authorising
showers, baths, clothes washing, and other proposed extravagances with the
ship's stock of fresh water, but we hope that by the time we reach the Marquesas
these creature comforts will have come to be all the more appreciated.
Apart from the ever present and almost continuous
flights of gleaming silver flying fish which erupt from the water all round us,
there is little wildlife to look at. We've been visited by a few Boobies
and the odd Stormy Petrel but apart from these our only contact with the animal
world has been to clear the decks each morning of the regular harvest
of flying fish and, surprisingly, small squid which commit suicide on board
every night.
And that's about it for now.
|