Day 111 – Gentle Breeze
Where Next?
Bob Williams
Sun 3 Apr 2022 08:56
Course: NNE Speed: 5 knots
Wind: WNW F3 Sea: slight
Swell: SW 1.5m
Weather: sunny, mild
Day’s Run: 122nm
Since turning the corner yesterday, we have close reached on the port tack to a gentle breeze from the WNW which has made for some relaxing and very pleasant sailing, not to mention a good night's sleep.
The sun is shining and I have used the fair weather to air clothing, do some essential laundry, and generally clean up. To try and conserve fresh water as much as possible, for my laundry I have used some rain water I collected which was too brackish due to spray contamination to use for drinking or cooking. And to make the most of this water, instead of using detergent I have used a couple of Milton’s sterilising tablets, then just soaked the clothes for an hour. I then wring the clothes out and let them dry without rinsing them. I figure this method of doing my ‘smalls’, while not necessarily cleaning the clothes very well, nonetheless kills any bacteria and uses minimal water in the process, which are my two main concerns. I reckon that if the tablets can be used to sterilise baby bottles and not require rinsing afterwards then neither should my clothes. I tested my method out on a couple of pillow slips and can say that once fully dry there was no noticeable chlorine odour and I experienced no irritation when I slept on a pillow slip thus treated. So hopefully this laundry method will significantly reduce the risk of skin infections, especially as we get into more humid tropical conditions. If I encounter a tropical downpour further along the track than I will do some laundry in a more conventional manner.
All is well.