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Little Pea - ARC 14 Blogoramma - First Blood



22:07.8N 033:37.3W
 
Song of the day: "Once in Royal David's City" - King's College Cambridge Choir (feat. Mike)
 
Day 8 - It's that time again, when the inner chorister in Mike comes out as he fails to belt out the discount part to all 246 chorals on his playlist - much to Ben's dismay.  But hey, the count down to Christmas has begun. In true Little Pea tradition, we have aptly themed advent calendars on board. This year we have not just one, but 4 ! Jags' is "Muppets" themed, with Minkey opting for "Gruffalo", Ben for "Lion King" and Mike has "Where's Wally" - or after yesterday's drone fiasco, should it be "Where's Dave the Drone"?  Jags said his chocolate prize tasted horrible, which led to a lengthy discussion about what is the best type of chocolate in the world with St Lucia's very own Hotel Chocolat ranking highly.
 
Over the past 12hrs, Jags has spent more time down a hole then on deck as he endeavoured to fix a problem with the engine when we broke the ignition fitting making it impossible to turn it on.  Bearing in mind we have no generator and the only way of recharging our batteries is via the engine alternator, this became a brief moment of panic.  After much sweating, grunting, banging of heads and elbows, together with the improvised use of duct tape a 'Powerade' drink lid, the problem was resolved and we can once again use the engine to charge the batteries - phew!.  
 
We took our first injury today.  Minkey cut his finger trying to help Jags fix the engine ignition. Ironically, he didn't cut it on a knife or other tool being used to fix the problem, but an offcut of the Powerade drink lid.  We all agreed that those energy drinks are not good for you in so many ways.  Minkey has decided to take the rest of the day off to recuperate. 
 
Its a beautiful day here out on the watery desert.  The sun is high in a mostly cloudless sky and we've all been up on deck all day enjoying the weather, except Ben who is on mother watch today and been slaving away in the galley creating masterpieces.  We've just eaten a lovely lunch and are now lounging around reading and snoozing to the drone of the, now repaired, Iron Donkey which is steadily recharging our batteries.  We were going to gybe after lunch to change our sailing angle, but that's now been deferred to 1700 hours as we are all so stuffed none of us can face the thought of going forward to exert ourselves messing about with poles, sheets and headsails.  Beryl continues to serve loyally, although we had periods last night when she clearly needed a man to step in an take over when the squalls came through.  Typically, who ever was on watch would jump onto the helm and crack off downwind whooping and howling until the gust blows through.  After this, he would re-engage Beryl, at the same time congratulating himself on being master of the universe, leaving Beryl to quietly, and without fanfare, correct all the 'cross track error' that his 'man-steering' had produced....
 
We haven't seen any other boats for several days now and Dave continues to go unreported.  Jags is relieved that the killer whales have not been sighted again.
 
And finally, it's time for the latest addition to the blog, courtesy of a couple of emails we've had recently:
 
***Little Pea Agony Aunt***
 
Q: "Every 2 years my husband keeps asking about whether or not he can disappear off on a transatlantic sailing adventure with his mates leaving me to look after the children. Having read your blog I am wondering if this is something I should agree to.  What should I do?  Faithful Margaret, Dorking, Surrey. 
A: Yes, thank you for that question Margaret.  Our advice would be to strongly support your husband's aspirations and let him go as many times as he wants to.
 
Q: My husband snores loudly at night and it often keeps me awake.  In the morning when I complain about being tired because of it, he is always in denial.  I imagine this is a problem on Little Pea given the cramped sleeping conditions.  What advice can you give on how I should be dealing with it?  Knackered Vera, London
A: An interesting one, Vera.  We do have snoring on board but its not very loud so we suspect you are probably just hearing things.  However, one possible solution could be for you to get up and sit on the roof of your house for 2 hours, sleeping every 3-4 hours upside down while inhaling diesel fumes.  It will probably take the edge off things for you.
 
Please keep your comments, questions and agony aunt issues coming in on [email protected] and we'll endeavour to answer your woes. 
 
Daily stats for today:
 
Max Boat speed = 9.8 kts
Number of Reefs = Nil
Maximum Gust =  26kts
Advent calendar highlight = Jags got a Kermit and Ben got a Simba.
Number of Flying Fish = numerous.  One headbutted the port side this morning. Ouch!
Number of Orca's = Nil
Amount of Rain = Nil.
 
Jags, Minkey, Ben and Mike
 


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