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Shelduck - Thu 12 Dec Yet More High Seas



Thu 12 Dec 14:57.511N 48:00.025W Distance travelled in 24h 147 miles
 
Huge seas make life particularly difficult below decks. It’s almost impossible to move around without using both hands to grip onto any available hand hold and using other body parts such as shoulders, arms, back, hips, thighs, calves and feet to brace against bits of furniture as you move around. Everything has to be done very slowly, carefully thinking about what you are doing, how you will do it without being flung around inside the cabin. Making tea and coffee is still possible, but takes time and careful timing so as to balance between swings and slides and swirls and catch the moment when you are, for a tiny instant, in equilibrium.
 
Brendan opened our second ‘tin’ dinner of M&S spaghetti bolognaise sauce and managed to add extra onions and garlic and herbs and to boil up a bag of fusilli to go with it.  He had sweat dripping off his (bearded) face as he served it up to us on deck due to the exertion and concentration involved and the physical effort.
 
We’ve had huge waves and big gusts... 34 knot gusts.  Coming up on watch at 8am Neil asked Brendan and Gabby not to laugh at the tiny amount of sail up – we were still doing 9 knots in massive rolling seas with two tiny handkerchief jibs.
 
Sightings: one other yacht last night for about 20 mins on and off in very turbulent seas; a pair of shearwaters; quite a few flying fish but none on deck; meteors; clouds; stars; 3 planets.


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