Friday, December 9, 2011

12/9/11

Noon Position 24 03.5' S, 118 08' W, SOG 6.8, COG 170, Days run 160nm.
We've gotten to the weather that I was hoping the trades would bring -
lazy, easy, and fast. I haven't touched the sails for the last two
days, and the boat is just scooting along, and we're actually starting
to climb back to the East as well. I've started in on doing some boat
prep for the southern ocean - I swapped down to the small jib and did
some sail repair on the big one, which is now in it's semi-permanent
home for the next few months as a seat at the chart table. The weather
is actually almost too nice again - it's making me lazy. I realized how
out of shape I've gotten after swapping jibs and spending a few hours
sewing - the next day I was actually kinda tired all day, just from the
stitching and battling with the jibs. I've started doing some leg
exercise in the mornings to pretend to fight off the atrophy, but I
doubt it will do much - it's hard to get a whole lot of exercise when
the longest distance you can walk at one go is about 15 feet. On land
my moods are normally pretty stable, but I've found that alone at sea
they tend to oscillate much for rapidly, and to greater extremes - small
things have disproportionate influences on how I'm feeling, whether its
the weather, or the fact that it is physically impossible to open a can
of pineapple juice without it spilling at least 2 drops in a random
direction. I think in some part it's due to the lack of sleep - I know
that I get very irritable when I don't get enough, and I've been
noticing that on days when I'm up frequently at night I'm a lot
crabbier. I think the solitude also plays a part - without anyone to
talk to, it's harder to share experiences and let others help moderate
my moods. It's not a bad thing, just part of the experience. I came
out here to see if I could sail around the world, to live fully, and
feeling fully certainly is part of that. I've heard rumors that there
are concerns about the organized crime ring surrounding pens that was
operating on board. The good news is that the ringleader has been
apprehended and strongly reprimanded, after being so crass as to leave 4
pens in the galley on top of the fridge, where clearly no pen has a
right to be. After restoring the pens to their natural habitat, the
criminals seem to have toned down their efforts - a clear win for justice.

1 comment:

  1. So happy for you to be making such good progress now! Love the picture and I can only wish for you those beautiful skies all the time.

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