good evening
the time here is 1900 but soon to be 1800 as we move the clocks back again
on my shift and our position is
14 49 87N 48 42 87W
and I have just had a shower after standing for 4 hours with Jason on watch
in the pouring and I mean tropical pouring rain. the winds were reaching
30kt and the waves were huge as the sea boiled and we just bobbed along at
6.5kt. no drama just uncomfortable as the boat tipped from side to side and
we were soaking. our hands and feet looked as if we had been in the bath
for 3 hours-- wrinkled and very very white
golly and skip took to bed again and miraculously appeared at the end of the
storm.
its getting to be far from a joke
skip is renowned for his sleeping and snoring but most unbelievable of all
is his appetite. I mentioned before that he has a lolt in common with my
most favourite of animals-- the wild boar and hes proving to be one big
keiler. hes nocturnal, makes boar like noises when sleeping and eating, is
never full, but most similarly of all, spends long hours at the dead of
night rummaging for food. last night i set a trap. i hid his favourite
dish -- the chocolate hob nob biscuit at the back of the c upboard behind a
very unstable set of saucepans. To get the biscuits without disturbing the
pans was impossible. indeed 3 oclock this morning the pans fell forward
with the attendant clatter and the scamper of hoofs as he ran back upstairs
pleading no knowledge of the noise-- caught in the act
mind you golly has also managed to learn some pretty sneaky tactics.-- hes a
survivor. in an effort to be helpful golly always offers to make a coffee
when he arrives for his watch. 2 weeks ago he arrived 10 minutes early and
then made coffee and started on time. now having realsied every minute
matters on watch system he arrives 1 minute early offers to make a coffee
reads an email and doesnt start until 30 minutes late-- sneaky old golly--
tonight a little trap for him
Jason aka the recluse has not been down into the body of the boat now for a
full 48 hours. im afraid that when he finally arrives back in Lumby hes
going to start sleeping in the garden in a tent
all day we have been in storms. these are small or large squalls caused by
thermal activity and do not last long but can have pretty drastic wind
shifts associated with them. today in one squall we had wind shift of 60
degrees which means that we have to steer into the wind so a daytime watch
becomes as tiring as a nightime watch meaning that we are all more tired
today. there are wet clothes eveywhere and inside the boat is a bit untidy
and very hot-- big day for cleaning tomorrow
for breakfast bacon and egg sandwiches on a home bake ( in our machine) loaf
and tonight moroccan tagine of beef with couscous-- even if the weathers bad
we have to eat!
counting down the miles but about 700 to go--- this means we have travelled
more than 2000 miles in one of the worlds biggest oceans using our sails
alone-- amazing
tonight hello to big bro--- where are my emails?
sleep tight
MG
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