4th postion report
NORDLYS
David and Annette Ridout
Thu 14 Jun 2007 07:12
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Cocos Keeling to Saloman,
Chagos
4th position report
6:59S 77:33E
1100hrs 14th June
2007
Well all bad things have to come to an end and
after another night of rain, wind changes and general misery we emerged into a
blue sky and 16 knots from astern. We were not totally unscathed.
For ourselves we were tired and a little mentally scarred but Nordlys was
worse. The repair to the tear in the mainsail was holding but a nasty
stretch has appeared near the head. This will be sorted in time.
Also sometime during the final night the restraining fitting on the leach let go
and our longest, 15 feet, high tech carbon batten has gone to rest for eternity
on the ocean bed. A teak cleat has disintegrated as a rope must have
caught it during some gybe and another teak fairing has been similarly
split. All small matters but happening on a boat that has sailed for over
50,000 miles in our ownership it shows you what she has been through in the last
few days. The 50,000 mile milestone actually happened during the final
rainy night. At the stern we have, tied just outside the cockpit coming, a
bucket in which all sorts of things are kept. This bucket was
filled over half full of rain in six hours. A basic rain
gauge but you get the point.
Last night we at first sailed then slowly motored
in no wind under a million stars. This morning the wind filled in from the
north east to our surprise and a few delightful miles followed. Now it has
gone and we are flapping about getting nowhere. We have stopped working
out when we are likely to arrive. Our destination is still 331
nautical miles away.
The real lesson from all this, for me anyway,
is one of patience. I am a lot more patient now than I was eight years ago
when we started on this trip and my admiration for those who sailed in times
past is of vast proportions. Many people on land depend on the
weather. Farmers, construction workers and even those who have to drive
long distances are all affected. However I cannot think of anyone who is
so influenced by the power of nature as the sailor. Nature decides two
things. Firstly at what speed his journey will be completed and secondly
in what comfort or perhaps I should say discomfort, his journey will be
conducted. Obviously in extreme cases nature decides whether the journey
will be completed at all. In other words the sailor of a small boat is
entirely at the mercy of the weather gods both to achieve his goal and how hard
it will be to score said goal.
We cannot motor the whole way to Chagos as we can
get no diesel until we are in the Seychelles, another thousand miles on after a
stop that will need diesel to charge the batteries unless the trades blow
strongly and our windmill can come into its own. We do not have a lot of
faith in the trades at the moment. Thus I cannot tell you when we will
arrive, the story has still more of its course to run.
Cheers from a humbled, slightly chastened but still
happy crew of Nordlys
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