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Quasar V of Lleyn - Quasar V's log 8.1.09



Thursday 8th January 2009

 

FAT BOYS BRUNCH AND THE EFFECTS THEREOF

 

A beautiful calm, clear morning. The rising of the sun brought with it a warm, golden hue, which spilled in to the cabin.  Winds were light, seas calm and the sky was sporting a few fair weather cumulus clouds.  We were on a NNW heading which wasn't particularly ideal but it was the nearest course we could steer to our destination, under sail.

 

Change swept through around lunchtime - indeed on many levels!!  The wind picked up and backed and by mid afternoon we were heading pretty much towards St Helena.  Yippeee, the wind had freed us.  The sailing was perfect, with us on a close hauled port tack.  We trimmed the sails and Quasar V steered herself, without the auto helm or human assistance.  She found her groove and off she went.  She was perfectly balanced, but it did take quite a bit of coaxing to get Quasar to relinquish control and allow us to hand steer.  We were very proud of her given that with her shallow draft upwind sailing just isn't her cup of tea!

 

I mentioned that change swept through around lunch-time and on many levels.  Let me elaborate.  Malcolm decided to cook us a fat boys brunch which we devoured in seconds - sausages (3 each), bacon, beans, tomatoes, mushrooms and scrambled egg.  We could hardly move.  Malcolm and Ian lurched towards their bunks, which left Sam, Lindsey and myself (I like to refer to us as the youngsters on board) in the cockpit.  With sails set to perfection and Quasar sailing herself, and us youngsters feeling rather superfluous to requirements, various strange games ensued:

  • We were surrounded by mini jellyfish floating about in the sea and decided to catch one to examine it's physical features more closely.  There were thousands of them, white in colour, translucent in parts and about 10cm in length.  All concluded it probably wasn't a jellyfish.

  • Lindsey and I got the munchies and decided to eat as many sweet foods as we possibly could.  The cockpit table was lined with sweets, marshmellows, vanilla wafers, chocolate biscuits!!..urrgh, boy did we feel sick.

  • Sam decided not to play the eating game and started making a bracelet with the delicate interweaving of yellow twine.

  • We were then all distracted by a beautiful brown bird - the Great Skua - circling the boat and looking intent upon catching the lure on the fishing line, which was trailing out behind the boat.  We were concerned she was going to get the hook caught in her beak and so we started running around the aft deck, blowing the foghorn, throwing bread, clapping our hands, waving and shouting in order to scare or distract her.  But no, in she swooped deftly picking up the lure, but she then flew alongside the boat, lure in beak, looking at us strange people on the aft deck, for what seemed like ages. Finally, either common sense prevailed or we looked remarkably scary, for she dropped it and flew off.

 

Afternoon slipped in to evening, evening in to night.  All's well aboard the good ship Quasar V. 

 

Position @ 1000 UTC 25.38S 09.04E


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