Daily Log 2 June 2007
Wing and a Prayer
Joy Hughes
Sat 2 Jun 2007 17:46
Wind: 25ktsW
Weather: Cloudy, warm.
Distance Travelled: on the log 115, Total on the log 862 miles, total over
the ground is 1,016 miles. Dist to go 1,306 miles
Hi Everybody
It's comforting to receive e-mails from home that tell
us what perfect sailing conditions we are enjoying. The problem is that
these weather soothsayers seem to be forgetting to tell the Old Guy With The
Beard (no, not Graham, the other one) what they've ordered.
Take last night for instance."See you are in perfect weather. Go for it,"
said the message. The reality was that the Bearded Bloke sent us 40kts+ with
accompanying big seas that gave us the kind of ride masochists pay £5 a
minute for on Blackpool Pleasure Beach. And it' still going on.
We are living in a one-handed world, in which the boat and everything inside
her is rolling from side to side as she runs before 35kt winds. It is
impossible to do anything without holding on. I call it the Devil's Exercise
Machine. Even sleeping your body twists, tenses, bends and stretches in a
vain search for stability.
Being on deck as the winds topped 40kts and the sun began to sink was a
truly awesome experience. Wiggy and I constantly grinned at each other as
wave after wave picked up the boat, rolled her over the crest and slewed her
into the trough below. As the seas built, the waves got bigger and the
troughs got deeper. The horizon became a wall of hissing, foaming water. I
had a few anxious moments as the lee rail - the side where I was sitting -
buried itself in the sea, drowning the winch.
Sleep proved impossible and Wiggy and I got up at 2am for our watch, dog
tired and aching from the pounding.
It's still not comfortable but we're getting more used to the motion of the
ocean and the affect it has on even the most simple tasks. Pouring milk into
a cup of tea, for example, requires a degree of accuracy that an SAS sniper
would be proud of. And you can forget the loo - even sitting down it's
Mission Impossible.
But there is a positive side. While this rock 'n roll life continues, Happy
Hour has been postponed, which means the precious tonic stocks are being
conserved for later!
Yours, Aye
Andy