Day 4
Yesterday’s fishing drew not a sprat, only hard labour
resulting from the two tangled lines used, but David and Graham’s creative spag
bol, as threatened in yesterday’s, log hit the spot – almost as good as Kaare’s
banana bread at lunchtime, which was closer in taste to a peshwari nan – yum
yum!
Around 2.30 am on one of the graveyard shifts David and
Graham witnessed a shard of light at around 1 o’clock on starboard side, no more
than 100m away. David described it
as the shape of razor fish shell, long and thin broken at its tale and the
colour of bright golden, which sharpened as it hit the water. Graham, on the helm, described it as a
bright golden ball with a red tail exploding as the waves swallowed it up. Our initial thoughts were of a flare,
but falling rather than rising.
Armed immediately with the deck torch and sights sharpened to spot a
(possible) second flare – there was no need as we stared into the moonless
gloom. In the morning, Steve
confirmed this to be a shooting star – a burn-up of space debris or a fading
meteorite. Jan believed that the
pair had a secret stash of alcohol and had over-imbibed! What nonsense. Hic!
The boat’s seawater to potable water conversion plant
broke down last night following generator start-up. Water conservation was the order of the
evening, pending investigation today.
In the morning, Emily with her magic hands and some engineering help from
Graham and John concluded that it was an over-supply of air and affected a
repair. Excuses for poor hygiene, a
dirty kitchen sink and no laundry have now been abated.
I am beginning to think that Channel 4 has missed out on
an excellent future programme opportunity by not sending a camera on board – we
are certainly not short of comedians!
David (again – a new author
tomorrow!)