3/14/12

Noon Position: 44 06' S, 19 21' E, SOG 7.5, COG 090, Day's Run 158nm.
This morning we crossed the longitude of Good Hope, and will cross under
Cape Agulhas some 600 miles to the north this evening. Exactly one
month from Cape Horn to Good Hope, and Odyssey is bound eastward still,
towards the Indian and Australia. I suppose I should be celebratory,
ecstatic, cheering, shouting and jumping up and down, but besides the
fact that that seems like just asking for a beating from the weather
gods, I'm not. I'm mostly just tired, mentally and physically. I've
been fortunate to avoid any gales in the South Atlantic, but the 40s and
50s are still rough sailing, and cold - only in the last few days have I
been able to start shedding a layer or two, and the olive oil remains
liquid after a thawing a few days ago. The iceberg watch certainly
isn't helping, getting up frequently during the night to check the
radar, since with one solar panel on the bottom of the pacific I can't
generate enough power on cloudy days to run the radar all night, but I
think it's more mental fatigue than anything else. I'll have moments of
energy, bursts of enthusiasm, singing to the sea, yelling at
shearwaters, greasing anything that I can grease, but by the end of each
day I'm feeling worn down again, not really motivated to write (at least
write something interesting), eat, or do much but pass out and sleep.
Here's hoping the Indian brings some energy back.