24 22N 58 14W
Osprey
John Bowering
Thu 21 May 2009 21:30
the weather conditions prevailing. We have almost no wind, clear blue sky's
and a glassy blue ocean. Kuki stood her first watch on her own last night
between 8 and midnight and did very well - which was good as John who was
supposed to stay awake reading a book in the cabin, fell asleep! We had used
sufficient fuel from our starboard tank to accommodate our spare fuel on
deck so as the seas were benign we decided to do the transfer. It turned
out to be a straightforward exercise and we now have both tanks nearly full
again. We have decided to motor at slow speed for as long we can on one tank
and keep the other tank for the Horse Latitudes. Whilst we were hove to for
the fuel transfer we decided to give the boat a face clean, disinfected the
working areas and vacuumed out the accommodation as well so we are again
ship shape. After all this work Charles decided that with the boat stopped
in the water it was time to commune with the sharks - so we tied a light
lifeline around his waist and off he went - gave us a demonstration of his
swimming prowess and even had a go at towing the boat for a while. John and
Kuki watched carefully for sharks but they all seemed to have an aversion
for Charles and none came forward for a meal. We eventually got him out of
the water so he could have a fresh water wash down on deck. We have now made
contact with a group of boats in our area using our HF radio and have a
schedule that enables us to pass information back and forth. Most are
already short of fuel and without exception whistling for the wind - and
envious of our nealy 1000 mile range.
"Notes from a Small Boat" - so having read Budda's report above it is now
the chance of the crew. Another day sat around drinking tea and generally
passing the time of day, trying not to loose too many marbles - a somewhat
herculean challenge on a rocking yacht.
The Mid-Atlantic Diving & Synchronised Swimming Team gave an excellent
display this morning - watched by an admiring crowd of John, Crazy Kuki and
two random sea birds who followed us for the morning. The courageous
Charles dove into the Atlantic with a precise, body arrow straight precision
which John now claims scarred all the fish away - the fact that he has
failed with the rod for the past 4 days doesn't seem to register. After the
display the aft deck was overun by a throw back to Sid Vicious as Charles
had a shower, fashioning a pretty cool punk style mohawk!
Crazy Kuki continues to become more of a prescence each day, informing
individuals of what they are to eat and when - no arguement brokered. Last
nights meal of Chicken Korma was delicious and lunch today was toatsed ham &
cheese sandwiches. She has arrived at this position by the permanent use of
a Scopolamine (sea sicknnes) patch, and Charles & John hold out the only way
to control her is the threat of patch removal - an act of last resort, and
one which luckily remains only a threat.
The boat remains upbeat, with many amusing asides keeping spirits high - it
was during one of this slightly bizzare and tangential musings that a well
known film speech was re-worded:
" I am Carlos Brawnus Burnus Maximus,
Commander of the For'd Cabin,
Master of the Middle Saloon,
Legend of the Aft Cockpit,
And I shall have my Revenge,
in this Yacht or the Next!"
As for the other musings - they are too far out of left field to even
consider posting. So until the next installment of "Notes from a Small
Boat", the motley crew of SY Osprey sign off for another night of motor
sailing under the pantheon of stars, the likes of which cannot be described.