Metaphorically Speaking
Rhiann Marie - Round the World
Stewart Graham
Thu 11 Feb 2010 09:22
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Thursday 11th February 0445 local time
0845UTC
12:13.3N, 066:22.83W
Correction: I cunsulted the Blackberry yesterday
and realised, yes it was Wednesday but no it was not the 11th, but the 10th
which therefor makes today Thursday the 11th - or so the Blackberry
says.
We left Antigua at 0900 to get the 425 miles to Los
Roques before daylight was over on Thursday. I am now 20 miles outside Los
Roques and daylight hasn't even begun! Looks like 425 miles in 46 hours - though
its not over till its over.
This recognition of not being done till we are
safely tied up (not counting your chickens till they are hatched) comes not only
from experience but years of hearing as a child: "this time next week .... if
all is well", which really is the less presbyterian version of "this time
next week ......... if the Lord spares us". However despite having heard this
this humble almost fatalistic view of things constantly when a child I can
rarely prevent myself from mentally writing the victory speech while I am still
half way round the track, and this has led to my taking my eye of the ball and
falling at the last hurdle on many occassions, so I have learned the
lesson.
So we are where we are and we know where we hope to
be in a couple of hours but there is still work to do. I have just been on
deck looking forward over the bow. It is a very dark night as there is no moon
but the stars are out in all their splendour. Rhiann Marie is charging
along at 10 knots. Hundreds of waves have passed under her keel and broken over
her bows; the spray and phosphoressence being picked out by the glow cast
from the nav lights. It is mesmerising to watch - she will not be deflected from
her course despite the sea's best efforts to knock her off track she is
relentlessly and effortlessly chewing up the miles. In the darkness we are sure
where we are going, and the winds have been kind to us this time helping us
power down the track.
We know where we are going but will we ever get
"there"? It seems to me that it is good to keep moving "there" just a little bit
further away that way we can keep on keeping on.
What are we talking about, life, or a round the
world sailing trip - I have no idea its 0500 and I've been up all night. Think
it through yourself. I've got something large on the radar so I've got to
go.
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