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Sabine - Sabine (118) ARC Blog update - 28 Nov 2022



Hello interweb friends, Captain Stape on sail boat Sabine right here (///trivia.prep.unreliability)
A slow but sunny start to the day reveals that the waves are large and not in tune with the wind, which makes for a very roly-poly ride!
Richard is muttering that his hair is both salty and greasy, which appears to be quite a feat! He admits that he hasn’t had a shower since leaving, although the comments from the other crew are that he’s not smelling ‘ripe’ yet! Why humans can’t preen themselves with their beak, I have no idea. It would make life much easier on these voyages. Although, taking a look at their small beaks (they call them a ‘nose’ - how bizarre!) they do seem rather inadequate for the task.
The nav computer has decided we are ‘off the map’ and won’t be back on the map until we’re much closer to St. Lucia. In the meantime, there’s just a large amount of ‘blue’ to follow. If the nav computer (and then the backup nav computer) fails, then we have the paper chart with which to navigate, but that is also mostly blue!
Kia is talking of moving one of the solar panels from the starboard side of the roof to the gap on the port side, to give us additional chances of generating the huge amounts of electrickery that Otto requires for the overnight Watch. The reason for the gap is due to a wayward sheet (rope) lifting the corner of the original panel on that side on the crossing from Gibraltar to Las Palmas. It turns out that whilst some solar panels do bend, others don’t and the one that broke was of the latter type. Anti-sheet devices are now fitted! Many of the panels are being shaded by the sails, and energy production drops as the sun moves around us during the day. On reflection, it’s decided that moving a panel is quite tricky, so would wait until we have calmer seas. Should Otto need it, we always have Jenny.
More weight was lost from the boat when the remaining bananas were fished out of an external locker. Problems occurred when Kia reached in and grabbed a bunch by the stem. The stem came away and the bunch made a joint decision to all fall further into the locker. Mutterings at Polina for buying so many were heard before a request to Richard to reach down and fish out the remaining. Well, the noises Richard made whilst trying to retrieve the overly-ripe bodies of the remaining bananas would make anyone think he was performing a ‘bush tucker trial’!
After much ‘eeeuuggh’-ing, the remains of bananas were retrieved. The almost liquified examples went overboard, whilst 3 that were slightly more solid were kept in order to be baked into a cake that Kia started making.
There’s talk of running Jenny tomorrow, and also the water maker - Richard is overjoyed as he senses a shower coming on!
John is busy learning how to use the sextant. Apparently he’s going to impart his knowledge on us, when he figures out how it actually supposed to work. (John is an Astro-physicist, so if he doesn’t know…)
Banana bread made (baked on the hob in a frying pan), it actually tastes pretty good. This parrot bobbed his head up and down in glee at the taste as it was quite a transformation from the soggy bananas that had appeared out of the locker.
After dinner Richard is caught deep in thought. Polina asks him “What’s the matter, you look deep in thought?” “I’m deciding whether to have the carrot cake or the banana cake” he replies. Polina looks on aghast. This choice is clearly too difficult for Richard to decide right away, as he returns outside with a drink, and no cake. Kia suggests having both, which would solve the problem, but not, as Richard explains, the problem of Richard’s expanding waistline.
It’s time for the night watch and Sabine has ‘dropped a leg’ into the water in order to generate some more electrickery. The starboard (right) electric engine has been lowered so that as we sail and surf the waves, we can generate some electrickery to charge the propulsion battery, to be transferred later to the house battery in order to feed Otto. This hybrid boat is both complex and clever.
Well, that just about wraps it up for today. Hopefully tomorrow we might have an answer to the question I’m sure is on all your lips: did he have carrot or banana cake?
This is Capt. Stape signing off with 1572nm to go. Ciao ciao squawk!

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