01.41N 85.08W 13th July 2011
Mojo 2
Andrew Partington
Thu 14 Jul 2011 00:37
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A much better day for all aboard Mojo
2 again for us today. The wind has been pretty constant at 16-18 knots for
most of the day and has finally allowed us to start sneaking south. Our boat
speed has been a very healthy 6-7.5 knots all day.
It is dusk right now and I am sitting at the
lounge facing the open cabin door. I can hear Dean and Daniel chatting away
to each other as they man the helm station. They are clearly great mates
and it is terrific to hear. The boat is still pitching around in the rough
sea but we are putting out as solid stream of whitewater behind us as
we tear along at 7 knots. The closest thing I could use to descibe the sound
would be the sound of sitting next to a waterfall. Dusk and the first few hours of dark are amongst my favourite
times of the day aboard the boat and tonight is no exception.
We had some excitement around 30 minutes ago when
Daniel let out a cry from the helm station. He saw something move in the water
only a couple of feet from the starboard hull. He yelled whale so we all raced
over to look. Passing close by us [and I mean close!!] was a very large shape in the water. As soon as it had passed us
it came to life and we saw a huge dorsal fin and tailfin break the surface.
We were not sure if it was a whale or a massive shark but either way it went
crazy around 20 metres behind the boat and shot at speed from starboard to
port and broke the surface again. We were glad to be leaving the scene at 7
knots because whatever it was it was clearly agitated. We debated what it was
and the consensus was shark but if it was a shark it was huge. Daniels's
estimate [and he had the best look] was close to the length of Mojo
2!!
Very funny thing just happened, Daniel was hit by a
flying fish and by the way he yelled he was still thinking shark.
Jane is bouncing back but has not yet had a return
of appetite. She is enjoying the sailing but just wants to feel a bit
better.
285NM to go but we need to make some more
south.
Andrew Partington.
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