5th Sept - Day 5
SY Saphir -
Jeff & Doreen
Tue 6 Sep 2022 04:01
A noon to noon run of 161nm today which is good but I had thought we would have made a few more miles. It was quite windy overnight and we tucked in a 2nd reef and a couple of rolls in the jib going into the night. The winds got up to about 28 knots true at one stage and we generally had a good overnight sail. At first light the breeze was down so we shook out the reefs and have been trying to push on today. All in all it has been great sailing all day but is now starting to lighten up a bit.
I understand that back in the UK we have a new PM today - moving on!!
One of my reflections of the day:-
I am reading the autobiography of Phil Collins (Not Dead Yet) on this leg of the voyage given to me by my good mate Phil. Interestingly I have got to the bit where he is struggling to make ends meet in his early career and in 1970 he was earring £5 a week that went up to £10 a week when he joined Genesis as the drummer. That is very similar to my first weekly wage packet of £8.63 at BT in 1974 as a 16 yr old lad however I could never at any point in my life have afforded £41 million quid to divorce 3 wives! Doreen you are safe….
And that leads us onto my first mate, wife and the mother of our children who likes to keep out of the limelight and finds it hard to put pen to paper even though she is never lost for words! To get her reaction to this adventure we started a Q&A on the previous ocean passage and now it continues:-
JT- Lets start with the lines. Can you name all of the lines that come back to the cockpit. Just to remind you your score was 10/12 last time.
DT - 11/12 — ed’s comment - I have changed the lines around a bit and she says that is the reason it was not 12/12!!
JT- What are your thoughts on French Polynesia?
DT - I thought the Marquesas were fantastic, the people are very friendly and trusting, the festival was an experience not to be missed and we could have seen a lot more given more time. The Tuamotus were a different experience and good if you like diving and snorkelling. It was a bit creepy coming out of the lagoon in Tahanea when we saw the Whales very close to the boat with the mother and calf in front and all of a sudden there was that roar behind us and only 10m away another Whale surfaced and circled the boat. Tahiti and Bora Bora were nice but very much tourist orientated in comparison . For me the Marquesas were the best
JT- On to the Ocean passages - Do you agree now that three people would have been a crowd on the boat?
DT - Yes but it still would be nice to have an extra person! If I cross the Indian Ocean with you I definitely want a third person :)
JT- If I fell over the side do you think you could get me back or should I just make sure I don’t go over?
DT- I think I could get you but just don’t go over!
JT- What are you looking forward to the most about Fiji
DT- Visiting Musket Cove again because of happy memories there and the regatta. Exploring some of the other islands as time allows.
JT- We are well on the way to Australia now which is our short term goal. My thoughts are mainly about what is next? What are yours?
DT - I am really looking forward to catching up with family and friends and of course seeing Harrison again. Really excited. Also looking forward to my daughter taking me to M&S for a coffee!! I never thought I would get this far when we left Lanzarote last December — ed’s comment :- news to me?
Big blog today
As I write this we have 1203nm to go.
Cheers
Saphir