PACIFIC Day 13 and less than 1,000 miles to go . . . . .
Gaviota
Tue 6 May 2014 19:35
|
08:00.966S 122:59.603W
Yup. I am back in the land of the living, now
enjoying the gentle sea while Syd is bemoaning the fact that the boat just is'nt
moving, our average speed is slowly going down from 6 and a half knots to 6 and
still dropping, so every sail configuration known to man and a lot only known to
Syd have come into play - keeps us occupied! For the last 2 days we have
had the Spinnaker up during the day, which has been the only way to keep the
boat moving.
Day 10 Saturday, 3rd May and disaster struck at
12.30pm, I had to wake Syd with the news that one of the genoas had leapt
overboard! I had nick-named this ancient genoa The Turin Shroud because of
its resemblance and the fact it should probably be in the British museum as an
article of historic interest rather than helping to power us across the
Pacific! It had pulled itself off the forestay and was fully waterlogged
and drifting beside the boat! Syd leapt to action. bleary eyed, and
donned oilskins and lifejacket to try and salvage the sail. We slowed the
boat down and after about an hour of struggling to lift an extremely heavy
waterlogged sail out of the water while we lurched around in pretty
uncomfortable seas, Syd had it all back on board and safely tied to the
rail. In retrospect we were extremely lucky as had it been in the water
much longer it could well have wrapped itself around the prop shaft and the rest
does not bear thinking about! Oh the joy of being so far from
anywhere! Bedtime was a bit late for me that night but the rest of
the night went a lot better and Syd put the sails wing on wing (Genoa one side,
main sail the other - good downwind configuration) and we averaged a healthy 7
knots.
Next day dawned hot and sunny and we were treated
to another display by the dolphins, never ceasing to be amazed by their speed
and agility. Since then each day has slowed down, the weather is very hot
and settled now and the forecast is that this windless weather is spreading from
the Marquesas so for the time being it is much of the same.
I'm afraid to report that the fishing is not going
any better! After the lovely Dorado (which lasted us 3 meals and was
delicious) Syd has had 4 large and extremely tasty looking fish manage to get
hooked and unhooked on the way back to the boat, he has tried different
techniques and spent a lot of time reading Salt Water Fishing Made
Easy????? But no luck and today he has'nt even bothered to put the line
out. Are there any fishermen out there with handy tips on how to keep a
fish hooked while it is being pulled in. Suggestions please to gaviota {CHANGE TO AT} mailasail {DOT} com. Anyway, I
am extremely glad that I spent a fair bit of time pre-preparing and freezing
ready meals before we left so we have a freezer full of curries, chillis and
other one pot, one bowl and spoon delights to keep us fed! So over two
thirds of the way across the largest Ocean in the world I will sign out and go
back to my crossword (I am on 95, could it be an all time record - I miss Paul's
help!).
|