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Mary Doll - Day 8 - On the crest of a wave



The calm seas are well behind us as the wind has steadily built and allows us the opportunity to get more miles under our belt. Morning brought a change of sails from one side of the boat to the other. Sounds simple enough. This involves going forward on deck and changing the pole and its lines. As we were swaying in the waves it was lucky that we had clipped on as we staggered to keep our balance and execute the manoeuvre.

We are now surfing down the waves in a southerly direction obtaining respectable speeds with the only downside that we are rolling a bit from side to side.
This wouldn’t be such a problem if the tasks of daily life didn’t get in the way.

Showering when the boat moves from one 20 degree angle to the other takes a bit of practice. If the bathroom door isn’t locked the occupant could quite easily find themselves back out in the saloon in a state of some embarrassment. Even with the lock mastered, washing your hair requires the breaking of the cardinal rule - one hand for the boat at all times. One handed hair washing doesn’t quite work so we have all adopted our own individual methods, some sitting on the floor, others braced against the wall and then again some of us don't have hair to wash. But at least we have showered.

We had big plans today to clean the decks and floors but the swell has put paid to that. Instead we have passed the time reading or having our quiz. At present Derek is still in the lead but luckily we are not a competitive boat :).

Flying fish are the only wildlife we spotted today and the one which landed on the deck during the night was given a swift burial at sea, no flowers please but donations to the Mary Doll maintenance fund gladly received.

Lewis is chef today with burgers on the menu, not homemade this time but the challenging sway of the boat limits the opportunity to be as adventurous as we have been before.

Our only real challenge has been our satellite communications which stopped working a few days ago. We are reading all manuals and trying to troubleshoot but so far no joy. A few of our neighbouring boats are helping out relaying the weather forecasts and generally keeping in touch. Our closest neighbours Maluu IV and Misty Mhor have regular radio contact, the sailing equivalent of chatting over the garden fence. It’s good to know we are not alone.





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