Eaten Memories

Spiritofvenice
Wed 14 Nov 2012 15:17
Position : 28°07'7 N , 015°25'•5 W , 14:00 UTC

Dear Reader,

I fully understand that you have been waiting for an update on Atlantic Adventures. The reason for quite a long brake of communication is however quickly explicable.

The boat was in Madeira for 4 weeks, and not moving. To cross the Atlantic , you have a certain time window to wait for, which starts at the beginning of November. By that time the Hurricane Season in the Caribbean should be over, and boats start to travel across the Atlantic. This year we will be joining the ARC 2012 , the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers, with roughly 250 boats joining. and it will start on the 25th of November. At the same time one needs to get out of the Mediterranean by say the end of September, beginning of October, otherwise bad weather like strong westerly winds will make a passage to Gran Canaria from say Gibraltar almost impossible, or at least say very very unpleasant. So that is one reason why we left Gibraltar, but stayed in Madeira.

However, during our stay of roughly 4 weeks , this island faced one of its worst autumns since records were taken. We had not only rain, but torrential rain, and not wind, but storms almost every day. Guys, climate change or not, all I can say is that the weather and its patterns is changing. Regardless where you are. On Madeira it led to landslides, fallen trees and the closure of the airport, in Venice in led to the 6th highest Acqua Alta ( Highwater ) since records, and Hurricane Sandy in the western Atlantic moving north !!!!!!, meaning moving into cold water, and still not loosing its power. I am sure you have seen it on the news.

But it is not only the weather, it is nature as a whole that is changing as a consequence. I was told in Madeira that in the past Tuna was caught by local fishermen maximum north of Madeira, now they can go as far north as the Azores. Not only that, as the water gets warmer, new fish species are being caught as well in these waters, which were previously more part of the South Atlantic. The migration of birds is changing too, and it goes on and on and on.

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So it is not one single item that is changing , it is the whole eco system. But who do I talk to. As if you didn't know.

So we left on Thursday the 8th of November, and we left leaving fond memories behind. Not only that. We also left our ship-papers behind, in the office of the marina. Probably I looked too much into Catia's eyes whilst checking out. Lost in memories, or lost memories ? Whatever. Whilst writing this blog, we got them back via another boat that left after us.

The trip to Gran Canaria was for the first time good sailing. With the mentioned strong winds it was also fast. 47 hours for 300 nautical miles. Not bad. But in the excitement I had an accident, hit my head with a piece of stainless steel. Ghee, was I bleeding ! AND LOST MY MEMORY. at least for some seconds.

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Is he dead ???????????

Oh no , back to his old already.

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Vision still blurred.

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But soon back to his former beauty, if he remembers well.

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We arrived in the marina of Gran Canaria on Saturday the 10th. Again with so much wind, and rain, etc, nothing had changed. But what a beautiful sight . So many ARC participants, a whole sea of boats dressed with all kind of different flags, I cannot express how a sailor's heart starts beating with joy. Please feel free to join in.

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WHAT A BEAUTY SHE IS !


And then it happened. The second disaster struck. I tried to connect my computer in the first bar I went to after having checked in , and guess what..........my whole mail box was wiped out. And with it all the research I had done for future blogs and home pages. The whole computer memory gone. A catastrophe . I spent on Sunday 10 hours to recover the basics, including links to the satellite phone etc. But what a waste. What an effort. And why , I wonder.
A bug ? A memory destroyer bug ?

Last time at home the sister of my daughter's girlfriend Amber was with us at dinner table. We talked about food, and what people in the world ate, such as sheep brain to mention only one example. And this little monster of 8 years of age, Mia is her name , stated firmly : I don't want to eat brain, I don't want to eat all the memories.

Here you have it. Sometimes I wish I could eat my computer's memory....... so in case it brakes down I have it all stored safely away.

Yours, Master Mike.