can we help
+44(0)1983 296060
+1 757-788-8872
tell me moreJoin a rally

Menu

Free & BrEasy - Guaranteed Tuna Free Log



Tonight we will hopefully be two thirds of the way from Galapagos to the Marquesas - that's a mere 1000 nautical miles to go! Every body is in high spirits despite yesterday being set with problems. Yer winds decreased in strength in the morning and as a special treat for Alejandro when he woke up from the night shift, the remaining crew decided to show him the "screecher" (a genaker or large floppy head sail halfway between a genoa and a spinnaker). We set the boat going wing on wing with the jib (the other head sail)on one side, screecher on the other, and sat back to marvel at our handiwork. Alejandro arrived and was duely impressed but the only problem was we were heading well north of the bearing to the Marquesas. After much muesli chewing (Alejandro's jaw muscles are aching!), down came the jib, tweak tweak with the screecher and we were off at high speed this time in the right direction. Self satisfied smiles all round until a sudden bang as the halyard (rope holding sail up mast) snapped and down came the screecher and our spirits.

Only option was back up with the main sail. When this sail came down in the morning we had noticed an alarming degree of wear (chafe) on the main sail halyard. Chafe is the big enemy of long distance sailing as ropes soon wear and snap with constant rubbing against another fitting. Although we had lost the screecher halyard, this is much less serious than loosing a main sail halyard as the only solution for the latter is a perilous climb at sea to the top of the mast. Maybe it was a good job we decided to put the screecher up as we would not have known about the main sail halyard chafe!

The other problem yesterday was the freezer started warming up. Visions of having to eat all our copious stocks of (bearing in mind the title) 'a four letter fishy word', in two days, loomed over us. After much defrosting the freezer appears OK but there is still the threat of having to eat all the **** at once!

The night watches have been particularly enjoyable as usually we have been steering by moonlight with the full moon expected soon. At nights the steering is set on automatic so there is plenty of time to gaze out at the sea and sky and ask those time-less questions "what's the answer to the big question about life, the universe and everything"? When no-one replies the questions become more specific such as "what am I doing here in the middle of the Pacific" or "why would three blokes leave their wonderful wives / girl friend and family for 15 months just to float round the world in boat"? Part of the answer must be the thrill of arriving at distance shores in the same way sailors having been doing for over a thousand years. But there is more to our need to circumnavigate. The sheer challenge of just doing it. We have not seen another boat since the second day after leaving the Galapagos. Not even a passing jet plane leaving a vapour trail in the sky. Just us, the ocean, the sky. We know this is partly an illusion as other World ARC fleet boats are somewhere over the horizon (we hope!) but we are incredibly vulnerable if there is a major problem. Hence the sailor's good bye 'Fair winds and seas'.

The overwhelming feeling is how small we are in relation to the vastness of the ocean. Its almost, but not quite, unbelievable that mankind is able to alter the ecosystem of an ocean never mind a planet. We are just a little boat trying to sustain life (at a pretty good standard!) in a harsh environment till we arrive at the next port. Is this a little similar to how the astronauts felt as they went to and from the moon? I bet they did not have to worry about eating a months freezer stock of **** in two days!

Previous | Next