There has been another day and night of westerly winds behind us, and this has been good for progress.  We came over the edge of the continental shelf this morning and are currently forty miles SSW of Barra   ( 56:25.84N 08:11.92W )   .  This has taken me back to a summer holiday twenty years ago when Roger provided a lot of motive force in getting us out to Barra, and brought Ruth and Neil’s view of the world on a bit at the same time. 

 

Sheila and I have talked in years past about this being the most risky part of sailing - when land and its associated rocks, and when small local fishing vessels not using radar or AIS, are all getting closer.  There are none of these offshore.  The next 24-36 hours will thus be trickier.

 

There is always something new to find when sailing.  The worlds smallest momentous discovery is that there are two types of loo roll on board.  One type (for those who really love the detail it’s my second roll so far) has a smooth cardboard tube in the middle.  The other type has a rougher / hairier cardboard tube in the middle.  The boat is moving all the time. The loo rolls are slightly asymmetrical in that part of one sheet of paper usually hangs slightly from one side.  The hairy cardboard tube appears to grip the plastic spindle better and is able to resist any tendency for it to unwind as the boat moves, but the one with the smoother cardboard tube slips on the spindle and over some hours several sheets unwind on their own.  It’s taken a month, but I think I’ve cracked why they’re behaving so differently.

 

Erratum:   I was a bit tired yesterday, but now clearly recall that the duct tape came into its own on Apollo 13 not Apollo 11.