27 February
Frasersboat
Mon 27 Feb 2006 15:34
a flat calm with a wisp of a wind from the NNW. As the sun got higher in
thesky Tim cooked breakfast of porridge and builders tea. Highlight of our
day, really, no joke. Throughout the dayn
the wind has slowly swung around to the north still no more force 1 to 2
but
helping us along in a generally southertly direction which we are happy with
for now. Its now 2 30hrs we have filled up our water bottles from the
desalinator and can put that issue out of our mind for the rest of the day.
The battery is always struggling to keep up with the demands on it primarily
from desalinator and from the laptop. It may surprise you to know that the
power consumed by the laptop is equal to that from for the water maker at 5
amp 12V. Each night I lie below the solar power charge regulators that
scream out at me with flashing lights no more we have given all. Any way the
sunshine or even light cloud covered skies allow the batteries to recover
for another day. We have solar panels on the top and port side of the hutch.
These we more effective as more west comes into our route.
Clouds are coming over and it starting to split with the wind flicking back
again to the nw.
We feel we are now getting into the tropics, the daytime temperature has
climbed to25.5 C today. There is a different feel to the weather and the
skies, different from the decidely cold and miserable weather we have left
behind. We are even considering where to store our heavy weight oilies which
we have been really thankful for over the last weeks.
So tropics equal lolling around in the sunshine. Yes, Les, I will have to
work on my tan. Get this ladies we have had sight of the first naked rower
today. I think it was Tim. Not a pretty sight. I'll put suntan on his back
but draw the line for anywhere else. We now seeing small floating sea
anenomies (spelling). They are about 150cm long and dangle short tenticles
into the sea. They move around at the mercy of the wind and waves, bit like
us really, using a small windsurfer sail. The bird we see with the swallow
like tail has been identified as the band rumped storm petrel, thanks Zsuzsa
of Cambridge a free Fraser's Boat tee shirt is on its way to you!
Thanks to Anna for the jokes which we have produced below. Hope no one out
there is too pc for the plane crash one. Its a gem.
The weather as mick says has begun to change and we hope for the better.
Mick mentions storage. Its a problem as we need to know where everything is
and yet it needs to be put away so the boat stays shipshape.Storage is also
so limited. Yesterday I spent time fixing up netting from the roof of the
hutch to put things that are light away but maybe needed occationally -
waterproofs, warm sleeping bag (I say one as mike chose not to bring his and
so we have been sharing but now are glad we dont have 2 to
store).Waterproofs maybe needed at night and also if the waves begin to pick
up if we ever get the trade winds back. Anyone know whos pinched them? When
I can find a way of showing the storage I will send a photo.
Mike told you about the little windsurfer thing. It was great just bobbing
and changing its direction depending on the wind - I guess thats what we are
doing. A boat man (who could speak English) in La Restinga (Broken
watermaker) told me a bubble that begins in La Restinga will eventually
burst in the Carribean. Maybe our paths will cross again. It was being
followed by blue and white tiny fish too.
By the way 2 more characters have appeared in our little drama - our postman
and Tommy. Tommy is the little bird identified above who it seems followed
us for 600 miles from the Canaries. There may be loads of the them but it
looked the same to me, therefore Tommy. He was too shy to sit on the boat. I
wonder if he will follow us further as I've not seen him today? The postman
is the bloke who delivers all our emails which drop onto our virtual doormat
at least once a day. Everyday they bring us fun, encouragement, purpose and
contact. and from all sorts of forgotten corners. Maybe thats telling me
something!!
Anyway as life is directed by batteries, shiftwork, food, sleep, day, night,
I must sign off. T x
**************************************
This little interlude to the normal blog came from Anna (Tims daughter) to
cheer us up. Apologies to those offended but I loved the last one (and I've
met an Irish search and rescue bloke too.)
Tommy Cooperisms..........to brighten up the day.
>
>1. Phone answering
machine message - "...If you want to buy marijuana,
>press the hash
key..."
>
>2. A guy walks into the psychiatrist wearing only Clingfilm for
>shorts. The shrink says, "Well, I can clearly see you're nuts."
>
>3. I
went to buy some camouflage trousers the other day but I
couldn't
>
>find
any.
>
>4. I went to the butchers the other day and I bet him 50 quid that
>he couldn't reach the meat off the top shelf. He said,"No, the steaks
>are
too high."
>
>5. My friend drowned in a bowl of muesli. A strong currant
pulled him
>in.
>
>6. A man came round in hospital after a serious
accident. He shouted,
>"Doctor, doctor, I can't feel my legs!"
>The doctor
replied, "I know you can't, I've cut your arms off".
>
>7. I went to a
seafood disco last week...and pulled a muscle.
>
>8. Two Eskimos sitting in
a kayak were chilly. They lit a fire in the
>craft, it sank, proving once
and for all that you can't have your
kayak
>
>& heat it.
>
> 9. Our ice
cream man was found lying on the floor of his van
covered
>with hundreds
and thousands. Police say that he topped himself.
>
>10. Man goes to the
doctor, with a strawberry growing out of
>his head. Doc says "I'll give
you some cream to put on it."
>
>11. "Doc I can't stop singing The Green,
Green Grass of Home."
> "That sounds like Tom Jones syndrome. "
>"Is it
common? "
>"It's not unusual."
>
>12. A man takes his Rottweiler to the
vet. "My dog's cross-eyed, is
>there anything you can do for him? " "Well,"
says the vet, "let's have
>a
> look at him" So he picks the dog up and
examines his eyes, then
checks
>
>his teeth. Finally, he says, "I'm going
to have to put him down."
> "What? Because he's cross-eyed? "
> "No,
because he's really heavy"
>
>13. Guy goes into the doctor's. "Doc, I've
got a cricket ball stuck up
>my backside."
>"How's that?"
>"Don't you
start."
>
>14. Two elephants walk off a cliff...boom, boom!
>
>15. What
do you call a fish with no eyes? A fsh.
>
>16. So I was getting into my
car, and this bloke says to me "Can you
>give me a lift?" I said "Sure, you
look great, the world's your
oyster,
>
>go for it.'
>
>17. Apparently, 1
in 5 people in the world are Chinese. There are 5
>people in my family, so
it must be one of them. It's either my mum or
>my dad... Or my older brother
Colin. Or my younger brother
>Ho-Cha-Chu... But I think it's Colin.
>
>18. Two fat blokes in a pub, one says to the other "Your round."
> The
other one says "So are you, you fat bast**d!"
>
>19. Police arrested two
kids yesterday, one was drinking battery acid,
>the other was eating
fireworks. They charged one and let the other
one
>
>off.
>
>20. "You
know, somebody actually complimented me on my driving today.
> They left a
little note on the windscreen. It said, 'Parking Fine.'
So
>
>that was
nice."
>
>21. A man walked into the doctors, he said, "I've hurt my arm in
several
>
>places" The doctor said, "Well don't go there any more"
>
>22.
Ireland's worst air disaster occurred early this morning when a
>small
two-seater Cessna plane crashed into a cemetery.
>Irish search and rescue
workers have recovered 1826 bodies so far and
>expect that number to climb
as digging continues into the night.