At least it’s brighter when I wake up although the sea is even livelier than yesterday.
Not much to report today. Same old sky, same old sea, same nothing to look at, no birds, fish, dolphins or whales, just some flying fish although I am surprised that there are any left in the ocean given the number the have littered about the boat. The sea has been too rough to risk losing life or limb just to jettison their little bodies overboard.
I look in the fridge at lunchtime and it’s a sobering sight. We have virtually no fresh food left. The quality was so poor in the Galapagos that I had to freeze a lot of it because it would have gone off, so we have plenty of actual food, but nothing fresh except some potatoes, onions and tomatoes. However, mixed in a fry up with chorizo and garlic, this turns into quite a good meal, which is just as well as we will be having this for lunch tomorrow as well.
Today is one of those days when I want to scream “stop the boat, I want to get off!”. The constant motion, although not making me sea sick, is really getting on my nerves. You can’t take more than two steps without lurching violently to one side or the other. Everything has to be done almost one handed, the other clutching at something to stop you crashing into something else. Cooking is decidedly un-ladylike. OK, naked except for my M & S apron, I may look like some sort of nautical sex goddess (no full length mirrors on the boat help this self-delusion), but standing braced up against the cooker, one knee and foot jammed up against the galley side in front of me, and the other foot jammed sideways against the other side behind me, it somewhat detracts from the image even in my delusional state! I do not know how I still have all my fingers intact as chopping food is decidedly hazardous. When I shower, a resounding thud from the bathroom is usually followed by a scream of “will you keep f***ing STILL”. Jeannius ignores me. After all, it’s not her fault.
Aboard Noeluna, it is Ferdinand’s 13th birthday and over the VHF we all sing happy birthday in our various languages. The poor lad not only has to suffer the singing of four crews in total, but he has the dubious pleasure of listening to me sing (Mike just stands there grinning). This is not something I would normally inflict on someone so young and impressionable. I hope he has earplugs to hand.
We get a call from Joe on Brown Eyed Girl to say that Judith has managed to order my camera and is actually arriving into Hiva Oa on 7 April rather than the end of April in Tahiti. Double hurray!!
The inverter trips itself off in the early evening and Mike goes down into his black hole to flip the switch. With his bright torch he is also able to see the problem with the watermaker ie why it is running so slowly. One of the metal mesh filters is entirely clogged with the same thick, brown, fishy oil that the hulls and anchor chain are covered in – courtesy of the bay at Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz. I know what I’ll be scrubbing tomorrow!
Our position is: 07 deg 34 min S, 119 deg 32 min W
Distance so far: 4444 nautical miles
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