I have never sailed in conditions that change all the time. When we crossed oceans, east to west, the weather stayed the same for days. Now when the weather is shit that’s not necessarily a good thing but at least you know where you are. Here, it’s all wind then no wind then high seas then flat seas, engines off, engines on, sails out, sails away. It’s beginning to get on my nerves!
I start the day playing with a fishing boat that seems determined to get in my way. Maritime law says he has right of way because he is working and I am out enjoying myself (oh really?) so I try to do just that but as I change direction, he does too, or at least it looks that way. I keep an eye on him with the binoculars but I can see his port light and it is getting closer.
It doesn’t seem quite as cold as yesterday but my morning nap is taken with a single blanket doubled over and I’m nice and toasty warm. The sea is calm and for a few hours we have good wind speeds which is a good combination for a smooth glide through the water.
I look through the fridge and aware that the immigration authorities will want to know what fresh stuff I have on board, I cook it all so that I will not be called upon to dispose of it. Not that the authorities here are as ruthless as the Australian ones, at least I hope they aren’t anyway otherwise I will be losing the contents of my freezer too and given the amount of shrimp still in there, I would just cry (or stand there in front of them and cook and eat them).
It’s smooth enough for me to cut my hair and paint my toes ready for civilization again. The hair cut is a bit more ruthless than usual – but not by the standards of one given to me by a mental Australian hairdresser – I still have nightmares about that one - and it gives me money to spend on something else. Actually, I should have been adding up all costs for the hair cuts and dyeing sessions that I have not had and present the findings to Mike but as that would mean admitting how much I actually used to spend on my hair, I had better keep my trap firmly shut! He’s far better left in ignorance. Bless!
During the afternoon we are able to sail properly. If it had been in the right direction it would have been fantastic but I guess in this lark you can’t have everything. The winds move from being from the south west to the south east and we start heading towards New Hampshire instead of Maine but we don’t have any real speed so rather than wake Mike I just let us go. As we don’t want to arrive in the middle of the night we have plenty of time to play with.
In the early evening we have a visitor – a lovely big bird arrives on the bow seat of the boat and hitches a ride. He looks a little perturbed when we mess around with the genoa but makes no move to leave us even though he nearly falls off a couple of times and flaps around getting his balance back. He’s still there when I go to bed.
Position: 43 deg 06 min N, 70 deg 05 mins W
Distance so far: 1539 miles
Jean, it is so much more fun reading your blog now that I can hear it in your voice..interesting little things happen once you meet a person! Hope you get some good Lobster real soon. Diane (toast)
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