Having slept very little, I am grumpy and tired when I have to get up. For the first time in ages, my lids are so heavy that I lie on the sofa with my eyes shut and the alarm clock on, set for 15 minutes. I’m more awake after that and spend the next 4 hours going from blog and film on one computer, to Mahjong, e-mails and watching the radar and MaxSea on the other.
Just before 6 am I notice a large blip appear on the radar and wait for AIS to update me. The ship is 14 miles away and moving towards us at twice our speed, I wait until the name appears on the screen then call them over the VHF. Twice I call and they do not respond. I am now getting twitchy as their closest point of approach varies from 3 miles to 0.1 mile depending on exactly where we are pointing – we wobble around all over the place when steering to wind.
In the end, when they are 11 miles away I wake Mike up. He calls them on the radio and there is no response. I am now double twitchy and think about getting some clothes on and putting on my life jacket. Mike changes course and assures me that we will be fine but it still looks close to me. Then suddenly they change course by 10 degrees which makes a whole lot of difference and respond to Mike’s radio calls. A few minutes later I see them appear out of the hazy horizon.
My morning sleep is nothing more than an morning doze and after going back a second time, I give in and accept that no more sleep with be forthcoming for a while. My shoulders and neck are now in their customary ‘no sleep knots’, something which makes the prospect of sleep very unlikely now. And I was doing so well.
The wind, as forecast, starts to die down after lunch, and instead of the 20 to 25 knots we have 8 to 14 knots. Our speed also drops and at just gone 4 pm I give in and put the engine on. Trying to keep us on course is another matter. With Mike asleep, steering to a wind that is all over the place as it gradually moves is a nightmare for me. Mike has told me that we need a particular course but I don’t know if this is the true course or the magnetic course and don’t really understand the difference. Every time I add a few degrees I don’t get the result I think I want and I am nearly crying with frustration when he eventually wakes up. I feel so useless. He gets us back on the right course (we are only a few degrees off) and tries to explain. Now I know I’m not thick but I find this really difficult to understand, and Mike, bless him, is not a born teacher. Anyway, I am still very hazy but a few glimmers of understanding have been born.
The wind changes and comes over our starboard side directly from the north. It is predicted to do a complete circle by tomorrow and by lunchtime should be coming from the south again but by tea time there is virtually no wind from anywhere and Mike decides for once to put both engines on and plough through while it is calm. We will motor through the night as the wind is predicted to move back round to the south tomorrow morning and pick up enough for us to start sailing again.
The cooler north wind creates a layer of condensation all over the outside of the boat and is makes the sofa and bed feel cool and unpleasantly damp. That should help me sleep – not!
Our position is: 28 deg 08 min S, 39 deg 18 min E
Distance so far: 17526 nautical miles
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